So, let's imagine that Fitzgerald exposes the whole enchilada

[merbex]

That it all started with the forged documents and that it can be directly tied to the "cabal" (with kudos to Wilkerson)

What does the Repug Party do?

Do they stick together? Defend the indefensible?

Or are we also about to witness a Civil War in the Repug Party?

I feel that this is about as a historic time as any previous period in American History

I would like to send out my heartfelt thanks to the DU community for helping me understand it

[Birthmark]

1. My wife says

...that Fitzgerald should charge all of PNAC under the RICO statutes. That'd be fun, no?

[Independent_Liberal]

2. Speaking of going RICO on the PNAC...

Check this out:

www.wallacevbushlawsuit.com

Read the banner above.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[rzemanfl]

7. Impeach Bush/Cheney, John Kerry, Speaker of House

becomes President, Al Gore Vice-President, repeal all laws passed since 2001. Out of Iraq in 60 days. Done.

[Independent_Liberal]

11. What a dream that would be!

:)

[rzemanfl]

19. It is not a dream, it is our only hope. All it takes is both houses of

Congress, a willing congressperson and a willing Governor. It should be the Democratic platform for 2006.

[babylonsister]

4. According to Hardball, they're already lining up their

good little soldiers to replace anyone who might be in trouble/indicted.
But I'm sure the repugs are collectively quaking in their booties.
And I agree; DU has been a wonderful source, or multiple sources from all the informed members, to help me understand and try to follow anything going on politically. Thank gawd for the internet(s)and DU!

[Walt Starr]

5. Bush will issue pardons all the way around

The Republicans will realize noting will take down rove and they will get back in line.

Then Miers will be confirmed.

[tex-wyo-dem]

8. I don't know Walt...

call me overoptimistic, but if idiot son gets caught as an un-indicted co-conspirator I don't think pardoning underlings will be politically or legally possible.

[wiggs]

16. OK, you're over-optimistic

TRILLIONS of dollars are on the line here!

So far, there has been no political or legal scandal that can't be fixed the next day, or at least by the next election. Control of all branches of government, fusion of government and corporations, and right wing media ownership was not created by GOP just for the easy, smooth sailling days where everything is going fine. It was also put together for these kinds of obstacles and problems. I have a feeling that the Delay "no holds barred" approach of his defense is the kind of thing we'll see from this administration when they start to go down. All out political war.

Also, loyalty is the underpinning of this corrupt administration...so I imagine all the stops -- politically and legally -- will be pulled out to protect his inner circle. Remember that people in this administration fail upward, time and time again.

I'm not saying that Fitzgerald won't get his indictments and maybe even his convictions (please please please).... but one of the major regretable lessons to take away from the last 5 years is that NOTHING is out of bounds for these guys. We have to recognize that sad circumstance....have to recognize the political sea change that happened in 2000...have to catch up to reality.

And what political worries does Bush have? His ratings are horrible and congress's are worse! He's got POWER...nothing else needed.

[stop the bleeding]

6. There will be a small reorganization within, and maybe some infighting

/civil war with other less anchored neocons. Look at how much H. Miers has split them and the liberals did not have to a darn thing. Most things rot from the inside out.

[riverwalker]

9. Nice compliment to the blogs from John Dean today

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20051021.html

Waiting For The Valerie Plame Wilson Grand Jury: The Big Question Is Whether Dick Cheney Was a Target
By JOHN W. DEAN


<snip>
"This, however, is not to overlook several blogs, which have been reliable, and plugged into the story, or have taken the time to analyze what is out there and have occasionally broken fresh news. In this category, I would place high on the list the Daily Kos, Josh Marshal's TPM, and the Huffington Post, where Larry O'Donnell has provided some good insider tips.

Something is going to happen, and, I think, fairly soon. It has been many years since my conversations with well placed friends in Washington have reflected the sort of inside-the-Beltway tension that is now mounting. This tension was not matched during the Whitewater/Lewinsky investigation, nor during Iran-Contra. But it is very reminiscent of the wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in Nixon v. United States - the decision that famously forced Nixon to turn over his secretly recorded taped conversations -- and ended his presidency."

[babylonsister]

12. That's encouraging! I love it!

A DU member informs again! Thanks. :)

[Lancer]

10. Next week may be the most historic we have seen in decades.

I am certain there will be indictments, and many of them will be of the amorphous "conspiracy" variety. But I am beginning to believe Libby may actually be indicted on a charge of treason.

The way this investigation is being handled right to the wire indicates that something is coming. Like a hurricane stalled in the Gulf, it is building up strength prior to a massive, powerful strike.

I am old, I have seen.

As in the aftermath of Watergate, new legislation will be drafted and new bills will be passed to prevent "this sort of thing from happening again." But you can't legislate morality, and this is the most amoral administration in our country's history. When it's all over, however, the Republic will survive.

[Demobrat]

15. Treason.

Now there's a word I haven't even really allowed myself to think. I'll be happy with perjury.

Treason. And Bush an un-indicted co-conspirator. There. I thought it.

[babylonsister]

17. Treason is the reason for the Fitzmas Season!

[merbex]

The reason I asked was because I happen to be on my local

Dem Town Committee

We are hearing rumblings from a few Republicans that they are "sick" over what is happening to the country and to their party

They feel that the Party "has left them" that they "don't recognize"their Party anymore

The next 6 weeks is going to see a seismic shift in American politics

But we Democrats have to respond correctly

[AlCzervik]

13. You know, some of the repubicans---just a few now--

will be really pissed because they will finally realize the evidence they got was bogus, that Bush lied to congress and they supported him, some will vocal and maybe bolt.

[PatrioticLeftie]

14. The Repugs will implode

The neo-cons will diffuse
The Democrats will take back the White House
And America will be great again

[knight_of_the_star]

18. here's an interesting one

If this shit hits the fan like expected, you can bet there will be a seismic shift in American politics.

The GOP's coalition will not be able to hold up, not when everything they claim to oppose manifests in a court case to make Watergate look like small potatoes.

At the same time, the Democratic Party leadership, outside of the DNC, has demonstrated an excessively tepid approach to handling the GOP over the past year or so. They have always chosen to hold back for fear of offending anyone when they could have scored knockout blows.

Taking into account that party faithful on both sides of the line are seriously doubting their own parties, coupled with the fact that up until Terry Schiavo most Americans felt there was NO difference between the two parties when you really got down to it, it is entirely possible that BOTH parties will simply disappear within an election cycle, two at most.

I predict first the GOP will fall to infighting.

The Democratic Party will follow, at least in its present form, due to lack of decisive leadership.

Maybe for once we could go in the direction the founders envisioned, of having nonpartisan politics. Maybe we could truly get back to the great American experiment's original parameters.

Or maybe I'm just dreaming that would ever happen.

[Jose Diablo]

20. Interesting conjecture, about both parties imploding

It's hard for me to see much difference in philosophy with many Dems and Repubs.

Corporate money and its influencing the government to attack the foundations of unions is not a democrat value. Yet we have seen this time and time again. All the pro corporation legislation, at the workers expense, comes from both sides of the aisle. It's not just recently either, with the Bu$h administration. This sort of blending of the idealogical line has been going on since Reagan started busting unions and packing the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board). The deal is though, with only the media and no internet, who could see this accurately?

I think the electoral college and its 'winner takes all' is what has allowed the corporations to corrupt both parties with it's money. The government prior to Reagan typically acted as a referee, during and after Reagan, the government came down hard for the corporation's side, consistently. It reverted back to the pre-FDR days of supporting corporation 'rights' at workers expense.

Voter participation in elections has always been very low. This should have been a clue something is very wrong with the election process. Voter disenfranchisement by the voting machines is just the latest clue something is very wrong. When voters begin to think it doesn't matter who they vote for, that all the candidates presented to them are basically the same, why vote?

I think what we see today, is most people do not feel the government is theirs. And they are right, the corporations have stole the government from the people. Question is, what will the people do about it?

Edit to add: Within Congress, there is a fixed number of Representatives. As the population increases this mean each Representative has more constituents. When the number of constituents/Representative goes above a certain number, this means we get into big time with the amount of money it takes to get elected, thus the 'money people' gain a much bigger voice to the Representative. I would submit this has corrupted the House of Representatives, which should be the voice of 'the people'. In regards to how many house districts there are, I think Capitol Hill need a much bigger building for the "House".

Go back to about 50,000 constituents per Representative should bring the costs down to get elected plus be more representative of 'We the People'.

What we have today, is essentially 2 Senates. The Senators should be appointed by the state governors to give the governors more power in federal government (remove some power of the Federalists) and there should be many more Representatives to better reflect the constituency, the people.

Scrap the Electoral College to make the Executive a popular vote, appoint the Senators and many more Representatives should rebalance the government to protect both the minority (Corporations) and the majority (We the People). And of course, dump the voting machines.

We should then be able to move forward to meet the challenges of the future with a responsive and representative governance.

[sandnsea]

21. If the left would organize

Those moderate Republicans who fade away from the association with the radical right will meld into a centrist Democratic Party. The left could rise up under the Greens and become the second party. That would leave us in a very good place for at least 20 years. Moderate Democrats and Left Greens. But if that's going to happen, the left has got to hurry.