IT'S A PARIS HILTON MOMENT FOR THE RIGHT - DON'T MISS IT
Just when Howard Dean thought he should take a fourth of July break, he should cancel it. Tuesday, he should announce a special (internet?) fund-raising campaign to put the Senate back into Democratic hands, with the 60 votes needed to get most anything done. I'd contribute to start picking off some of these GOP Senators who have so closely supported such a cavalier Executive.
WILL THE PEOPLE MOVE INTO THE 'NON-COOPERATION' BOX WITH KING GEORGE?
Rahm was just a little bit ahead on the defunding. I'm all for a strategic protest of turning the lights off the White House for a month or two (Newt-v-Clinton is no longer an apt worry), but would rather $120 Million dollars of ads saying, "We know why Pete Dominici supports George Bush, but why do you support Pete Dominici?" or "John Sununu enables Bush - why are you enabling John Sununu?" Or, "If you want a party that represents people, then stop voting for the Party that represents itself."
Maybe Harry Reid will have the energy (and focus?) to muster a censure vote in the Senate (or some other no-confidence measure?). If so, we'll at least have a list of who voted for it and who didn't.
Last, no one has yet been charged with the key, underlying crime in the Plame case. This suggests to me that a new Special Prosecutor is needed. This time his mandate should be expanded.
THE EFFECTS OF TORTURE ON THE TORTURERS
You know, people who study these things note the effects of torture on the torturers. The phrase "beyond good and evil" comes to mind. Even "Born Again" takes on a whole new meaning, when people are willing to cheer criminals, Executive or otherwise ("Libby Given Standing-O at Conservative Happy Fest").
THE LAW-AND-ORDER HYPOCRISY OF THE GOP AND THE RIGHT
Don't ever think that the GOP really stands for law and order. Another thesis, I think propounded by Truman, is that they want to buy the law, so that there is order. (This is why Libby is fined, rather than jailed, like all of what Leona Helmsley called 'the little people'.) Whatever the case, it would be nice to strip "law-and-order" from the GOP machine, as has been done with "strong-on-defense". It's pretty clear it can be done now, given the contempt of the people that Bush and Cheney and their Senators have shown.
Of course, Libby, as convicted, gets "amnesty", and gets his fast-track back to being almost anything he wants, since that's what it means to be "commuted" (including having a security clearance, I'm guessing - the legal details of how far the commutation went I don't know, yet). Meanwhile, all those GOP Senators just can't bear giving amnesty to all those folks who actually have jobs and are proving to be a valuable part of America, even if they overstayed their legal welcome to do so. But, it doesn't stop there. As has been pointed out here before, we deport even legal folks, who are convicted of far lesser things than was I. Lewis Scotter Libby.
