Now Congress is considering granting Mr. Bush just such legislation in his relentless pursuit to continue with such wholesale spying on the American people. Bush needs this insurance policy for the telecom firms to “buy” their continued support for his illegal program of surveillance on average American citizens. Without it, that support would surely evaporate and along with it his chances for prolonging this most despicable of domestic programs.
Why would Congress continue to roll over to this most renegade of U.S. presidents. There are many reasons but suffice it to say that the Democrats in Congress – as a whole – are simply not “there” on the need to clarify their intentions to themselves and to the American people. Democrats have not reached that point where they will dig in and give no more. Republicans are good at that. Democrats are inherently deficient in this capacity. They simply do not have that toughness or resolve.
This resolve is necessary because the Republicans will flail the Democrats for lack of patriotism and treasonous behavior unless they give unstinting and unquestioning fealty to Bush’s totalitarian approach to the fight on terrorism. The so-called fight against terrorism should now be seen for what it really is, the frightening prospect of an ever-swifter onslaught on our civil society and the complete “lock down” of all of U.S. society under the heel & boot of the Bush Doctrine of pre–emption – the pre–emption upon the U.S. citizenry.