Senate Debates Censuring Bush
We are living in interesting times. Very Interesting times. History will judge us by our conduct and the causes we align with during such a tumultuous and challenging period. And, while many of our politicians will barely register as a blip in the pages of history, some of them will be long written of and made to account by future generations; that is, if such politicians are lucky enough — or crooked enough, as it were — to evade the judgment of their contemporaries.
Today the US Senate held a hearing on a motion to censure President Bush for his illegal domestic wiretapping program. The censure motion was introduced by Senator Feingold, after much consideration and after concluding that he and his colleagues would be neglecting their duties as legislators, if they simply allowed this President — or any President — to ignore the law because he found it inconvenient to abide by it. Even Bush concedes that he authorized the domestic wiretapping program multiple times, in direct violation of FISA.
It’s clear that, given Bush’s admission to breaking the law, Congress cannot simply ignore such blatant disregard for our system of checks and balances. However, Senator Feingold has managed to get this far only through skillful maneuvering and by stopping short of calling for Bush’s impeachment (which he clearly deserves); because, even at this point, Senate Republicans are vowing to “crush the measure if it reaches the floor.”
That Senator Feingold has managed to get his censure motion this far is a great testament to his political skill, courage and conviction — all of which were in clear display during his openings remarks at the start of the hearing:
(Video credit goes to David Edwards, of Veredictum.com.)
John Dean, Nixon’s counsel during the Watergate break-in scandal, attended today’s hearings:
At 67, Dean remains immediately identifiable as the young White House counsel who warned Nixon that the Watergate coverup was becoming "a cancer" on the presidency, and who eventually testified against his former boss at riveting televised hearings. He served time in a minimum-security facility for obstructing justice.
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Dean said he has "more expertise than anyone might wish" on how "presidents can get themselves on the wrong side of the law." He told Hatch that there is "lots of evidence" that Bush violated the FISA law. "I don’t think you have any," Hatch retorted.
Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) rejected the call for censure but said the surveillance program should come under the FISA court’s auspices. He noted that Feingold’s censure resolution did not accuse Bush of "bad faith," prompting Feingold to respond:
"If you want the words ‘bad faith’ in there, let’s put them right in, because that’s exactly what we have here. . . . The lawbreaking is shocking in itself, but the defiant way that the president has persisted in defending his actions with specious legal arguments and misleading statements is part of what led me to conclude that censure is a necessary step."
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Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) did not stick around for questions and answers but dismissed Dean as someone who is trying to sell books and "is a convicted felon."
Dean may have the last word, however. "The book I am going to be publishing soon that mentions the senator from Texas will not be out until this summer," Dean told the committee. Later, someone asked about the book’s title. "Conservatives Without Conscience," Dean said with a smile.
Interesting times, indeed.
