The GOP is learning: It's not the President, stupid, it's the PRECEDENT!

[Pab Sungenis]

Lots of Republicans, and even a few Democrats like Al Franken, are blithely going along with the Bush Administration's orders for the FBI to break into the offices of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) and seize papers, but a few (and their number is growing) can see the bigger picture, and are finally taking a stand.

Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and former Speaker Newt Gingrich, along with a few other principled Republicans, are speaking out against the Administration's actions. They know it's not the hypocrisy of storming the offices of a Democratic Representative who is only under investigation while leaving the offices of indicted (Tom DeLay) or convicted (Randy Cunningham) Republicans alone. They know it's not about supporting the leader of their party. They know it's about the future; what an even less ethical (if that's at all possible) President than Bush might do with these kinds of powers in the future if they don't stop this now.

It's not the President, stupid, it's the precedent.

Let's imagine a future time, with a new President and a new Congress. We'll leave which party holds the White House and which holds the Congress vague for now, since this really is (or should be) a bipartisan issue. Suffice it to say in this scenario that the President is from Party A, and that Party B has just won control of Congress by narrow margins. They will be taking over on January 3rd.

January 2nd, there is a huge operation put into force. With National Security letters under their belts and some trumped up charges to justify it, FBI agents raid the offices of and arrest twenty Representatives and five Senators from Party B. Since the Supreme Court has already allowed the President to do so, he declares them enemy combatants, and orders them held without charge and without trial. The next day, the new Congress convenes. Although a fair number of members are absent and unable to take the oath, there is still a sufficient quorum. When the votes are cast for Speaker of the House and for reorganizing the Senate, lo and behold, it is Party A, not B, that is back in control.

As the months go on, there might be some resistence to the President's policies, which are starting to become more extreme, even from within his own party. The Speaker of the House decides not to let a favorite bill of the Administration's go to the floor. The next day, the FBI storms the Speaker's office, and "finds" evidence of corruption, money laundering, and white slavery. The Speaker is arrested and out of the picture. The Majority Leader, acting as Speaker, gets the message, and lets the bill go to a vote, which the President wins.

From that point on, it isn't hard to imagine the President using his "enforcement" powers to thin out the herd enough until a Rump Congress, cowed into submission by the scope of the "scandals" amongst them, declare a state of Emergency and suspend Congress, giving the President dictatorial powers. Since the President is Commander In Chief and controls the military, there can be no hope of a citizen uprising. All hail the Emporer.

It's a bit far fetched, but not far fetched enough to be amusing instead of scary. The Congress has already abrogated much of its oversight ability and its check and balance on the Executive. The Supreme Court has already been successfully packed with the cooperation of an acquiescent Senate. The PATRIOT Act and refusal to rein in the President's power over "enemy combatants" has already given George W. Bush near dictatorial power; he hasn't yet used it is all. But what if (as I said before) an even less ethical man is in the White House with all that power at his control? What if we wind up with someone in position who WANTS to weild that power, and WILL do so?

That's why the GOP leadership is starting to worry. They've imagined these scenarios. They know what could come. They know they've set the scene for a President to roll right over them and seize total power.

And they're afraid that the next person in the White House, who could and just might use those great powers, might be a Democrat.

Now that the Republican leadership is starting to see the light, we have to put pressure on them to rein in the Unitary Executive. We have to get them to hold hearings, provide oversight, and undo some of the damage they've already done. We have to put Democrats into Congress this fall who will then assert the Congress' rightful place in the scheme of things and repair the damage still left by the Republicans. And then we need a Democratic President who will commit to a series of Executive Orders within the first few minutes of his Presidency to forever abdicate the immense powers that have been willingly handed over to his predecessor.

Our republic, nay, our freedom, demands no less. No more kings.

[babylonsister]

1. I like this though might take issue correlating Hastert with

principles. Since when? I think he's speaking out for his own self interests down the road.

However you slice it, the current climate in DC spells trouble for all of us if these idiots aren't reigned in. I'm worried about now.

[LoZoccolo]

3. Was I right? Ha ha ha ha! n/t

[babylonsister]

10. Yes, but do you think Hastert is a principled man? I can't

wrap my mind around that one.

[LoZoccolo]

11. I think almost everybody has some priniciples.

If you were to ask me if he follows enough of the principles I value to be an elected official I would say "no". But I wouldn't necessarily say that just because people are protecting themselves when they advocate something like limited powers of government makes it any less a principle.

[LoZoccolo]

2. You're gonna get junk for saying "principled Republicans"!

I know what you mean, though. They have some principles and neglect others. I used to have to defend Clinton against people who were saying he was completely unfit to govern due to his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

Good observation though, about the precendent. Someone on here once said that you can get a Republican to oppose the USA PATRIOT Act with three words: President Hillary Clinton.

[Pab Sungenis]

6. There are some pricipled Republicans.

I think I've met all five of them.

[Toots]

8. How could any person who voted for Cheney & Bush* have principles?

I find that to be an oxymoron, Principled Republicans...:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[leesa]

4. Nah...they're just protecting their asses now. They are up to their

eyeballs in criminal activity right now and they are just carrying on the GOP tradition of hiding the evidence. There are no principled Republicans in this Congress, especially NOT Hastert. The idea of 20+ Congress people being arrested is appealing.

[Olney Blue]

5. All in the name of war....

:kick:

[originalpckelly]

7. Good work pabsungenis...

you came up with a few scenarios I hadn't.

For any other Democrat who thinks the GOP is simply protecting their ass, you need to wake up and smell the coffee.

What if we manage to take back Congress in this election? What happens if we start investigations into the President (after we ge rid of our defective leaders,) why don't you think about what could happen then?

I wouldn't be surprised if one of the people investigating the President suddenly is appears to have corruption charges against him/her.

We know from previous experience during Watergate, that the FBI and other government agencies can be tricked into working for the President.

What if the President were able to trick the FBI into searching the offices of someone in Congress, to find out how far along the investigations into his activities are, and to figure out how to do a better cover-up?

We just need to remember that we should trust no one. I think Speaker Hastert is a crook and trying to save his own skin, but that doesn't mean he isn't right about this.

We also have to remember that AG Gonzales was ready to resign, so it wasn't simply a political operation. My final opinion on Gonzales is that he is being reckless while doing his job.

Of course the whole leak to the press about his willingness to resign, could merely be a rouse, to give him some credibility. We know from Valerie Wilson, that the press can and has been manipulated before.

[ramblin_dave]

9. Can the FBI go into the White House and search offices

for evidence of criminal conduct? If not, what would stop them - the law, the constitution, what exactly?

[Pab Sungenis]

13. The President.

The FBI is under control of the Attorney General, who takes orders from the President. FBI agents show up at the White House, the President comes out and says "I outrank you. Go home."

[Canuckistanian]

12. Interesting quote from Wayne Madsen. Bear with me here.

May 24, 2006 -- The recent Saturday raid by 19 armed FBI agents on the House of Representatives office of Rep. William Jefferson was not a warning to the current 109th Congress but a threatening broadside against the 110th Congress, which looks to have at least one house controlled by the Democrats. The unitary fascist Bush White House is sending a message to a future Democratic Congress -- "engage in investigations, hearings, subpoenas of Bush administration current and ex-officials, and impeachment notions, and this type of ransacking of congressional offices will be the rule and not the exception."

~snip



Bush fires warning shot over the bow of a potential Democratic 110th Congress: "Investigate me and have your offices searched and ransacked . . . I'm the first president in history to do it and I will do it again!"

[ananda]

14. Remember.. Reeps.. stoopid...

Precedent nor anything else can stop these dangerous lunatics from doing anything they goddamm well please.

Remember the nuclear option?

Sheesh.

[Pab Sungenis]

15. What I'm saying

...is they're starting to realize the dangerous precedents they are setting.

[Senator]

16. Keep teasing the freepers with - Precedent Hillary!!

With full Urinary Authoritarian Executive* Powers.

--
* Based on the newly-discovered, "inherent" (i.e., faith-based) Constitutional Authority for an appointed ruler (as opposed to elected leader) to piss down the back of the American People and tell them it's raining.

.