FILIBUSTER BUSH, IMPEACH ALITO
Submitted by davidswanson on Sat, 2006-01-14 18:47. Media
By Paul Rogat Loeb
..........suppose the Democrats started debating the
nomination, and didn't stop, in the process addressing the real roots of why
Alito would be so destructive. They could read from articles and books about
this administration's abuse of presidential power. They could talk about
whether we really want government officials to be able to strip us of our
rights at will, listen in on our phone and email conversations without a
court order, and infiltrate the citizen groups through which we gather
peacefully to express our beliefs. They could talk about the choices women
were forced to make when abortion was illegal, what it's like to be
discriminated against, then told you don't meet an impossible burden of
proof, and whether police should be able to shoot unarmed 15-year-olds who
flee after stealing $10. They could talk about the Sago mine disaster, and
the fruits of a politics where unions are busted and regulations gutted at
every turn. They could tell the stories that bring seemingly abstract issues
of jurisdiction and constitutional interpretation to life, and make clear
their real-world consequences.
In the process they could remind America that this president, with this
track record of lies, deceptions, and favors for the most destructive
private interests, deserves no presumption of deference. And that when he
nominates someone, like Alito, who will only further his abuses of power,
Senators have a moral responsibility to oppose him however they can. The
wink-and-nod games of the hearings were designed to obscure Alito's record
and frame him as genial and reasonable. If the Democrats accept this, or
even quietly vote against him without further protest, they further the lie
that this is an ordinary nomination in an ordinary time. If they filibuster
and stand firm, there's a chance that the now politically weakened
Republicans will back down and not risk putting themselves on the line for
destroying nearly 200 years of Senate tradition for the naked goal of
increasing their power. But Democrats have to take the risk of standing
strong, and we as ordinary citizens have to do all we can to convince them
to do so.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6771
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