The Dems' Impeachment Dilemma: NO Impeachment = LEGAL WIRETAPS

[Leopolds Ghost]

Dems must either impeach the President for illegally wiretapping all Americans or else pass an ex-post facto law legalizing it.

Whereas the Iraq war lies hinge on traditionally secretive foreign policy skullduggery going back centuries, Bush's flagrant use of wiretapping and possible use for blackmail purposes makes it impossible for Dems to overlook, much less oversee the continuance of such a program, unless they are themselves acquiescing to blackmail, as one Dem strategist insisted they must in the wake of the Foley scandal ("to prevent this from biting us in the end.")

In other words, expect the legalization of the Specter/Lieberman bipartisan domestic surveillance act in late 2006,

thereby immunizing Bush from prosecution and removing the only prima facie case for asserting that Bush "trampled on the bill of rights".

Pelosi, who like Rockefeller said she opposed domestic surveillance "unless it is made both legal AND effective" will have no choice but to endorse it.

There are no good options for those of us who oppose impeachment but support the bill of rights.

They have already taken away our inalienable right to vote and assemble without government-issued photo ID. I see little hope here.

[fasttense]

1. The Democratic legislature must investigate and expose

the criminals to prosecution or they will pay a heavy price. If they don't investigate and put criminals in jail, they will be blamed in the 2008 elections for the mess that was left behind. They need to point to people who have been prosecuted to show Americans they have done something. Remember corruption was the number one issue in the exit polls.

[Zhade]

2. Damn important point, LG.

Well, we'll see who's for the rule of law and who's for allowing criminals to go free as this shakes out.

One thing's certain: I sure ain't gonna be quiet about it. No sir.

[papau]

3. Specter/Lieberman bipartisan domestic surveillance act grants power of the king to W

Pelosi destroys the Democratic Party if she allows this to go forward with a major fight to delay - and that is a fight easily won that will cause the death of this very bad idea.

[acmejack]

5. Can't they just keep it from ever moving forward now?

Since they control the Rules Committee and therefore the scheduling?

[papau]

6. Post 1/20/07 we control - but this lame duck session needs Dems doing delaying tactics n/t

n/t

[acmejack]

7. Duh...

Space-the final frontier! I plead the early hour...

[papau]

8. :-) I call these moments "senior moments" :-) and I have quite a few daily

n/t

[Leopolds Ghost]

9. You guys don't get it? We can't avoid legalizing domestic surveillance

Bush has admitted to doing it and says he'll continue breaking the law, creating a constitutional crisis.

Dems have only two choices:

* Hearings that would lead to impeachment ("off the table")

* Ratify Bush's actions by "fixing" the law like we did for the Banks

(when they started buying up financial service firms months before
the Gramm bill was passed eliminating New Deal restrictions on
horizontal integration in the financial industry)

There are no other options.

Any American could take Bush's underlings, or Phone cos. to court right now for high crimes.

Dems would be forced to pass a law to protect Bush, because they refuse to impeach him and THERE IS ALREADY A LAW AGAINST domestic surveillance of all Americans.

[Leopolds Ghost]

4. To clarify: We can't have it both ways.

If we vote to make Bush's wiretaps illegal,

-- Lieberman DLC wing, Southern/midwestern Blue Dog wing, and the Clinton/Pelosi/Feinstein/Schumer coastal neoliberal wing will vote against us, saying it would destroy our antiterror effort.

If we fail to do so,

-- Going by present law Dems would be forced to impeach after the most
perfunctory hearing on the issue, as the facts and the law are already
known. Even if it would be unwise to do so, our hand would be forced
by the evidence.

Or:

-- You get a constitutional crisis

Or:

-- Dems tacitly endorse removal of privacy restrictions, restrictions on use of government issued ID to regulate and track the exercise of basic citizenship rights, Patriot Act and other loss of civil liberties.

Remember, you can't roll back PATRIOT act if you refuse to force
a crisis by insisting Bush halt domestic spy operation.

It is a no-win situation for those of us who feel bipartisanship is the best course of action.