Censure

Sure, a resolution to censure is nearly meaningless. But given the flaccid opposition the Democrats have provided so far, it's a start.

A liberal Democrat and potential White House contender is proposing censuring President Bush for authorizing domestic eavesdropping, saying the White House misled Americans about its legality.

"The president has broken the law and, in some way, he must be held accountable," Sen. Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, told The Associated Press in an interview.
The resolution says the president "repeatedly misled the public" before the disclosure of the NSA program last December when he indicated the administration was relying on court orders to wiretap terror suspects inside the U.S.

"Congress has to reassert our system of government, and the cleanest and the most efficient way to do that is to censure the president," Feingold said. "And, hopefully, he will acknowledge that he did something wrong."

I wouldn't count on that. Remember what happened last time Bush was asked about his mistakes? From the White House Web site:

Q Thank you, Mr. President. In the last campaign, you were asked a question about the biggest mistake you'd made in your life, and you used to like to joke that it was trading Sammy Sosa. You've looked back before 9/11 for what mistakes might have been made. After 9/11, what would your biggest mistake be, would you say, and what lessons have you learned from it?

THE PRESIDENT: I wish you would have given me this written question ahead of time, so I could plan for it. (Laughter.) John, I'm sure historians will look back and say, gosh, he could have done it better this way, or that way. You know, I just -- I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with an answer, but it hadn't yet.

Doesn't sound like someone with a lot of experience recognizing his own missteps.

The president's action were "in the strike zone" in terms of being an impeachable offense, Feingold said. The senator questioned whether impeaching Bush and removing him from office would be good for the country.

In the House, Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is pushing legislation that would call on the Republican-controlled Congress to determine whether there are grounds for impeachment.

Which is akin to asking Raphael Palmiero if he ever used steroids, speaking of strike zones.

(Senate Majority Leader Bill) Frist, appearing on ABC's television show "This Week," said that he hoped al Qaeda and other enemies of the U.S. were not listening to the infighting.

"The signal that it sends, that there is in any way a lack of support for our commander in chief who is leading us with a bold vision in a way that is making our homeland safer, is wrong," Frist said.

Yeah, and I hope they don't know that Bush's domestic approval rating is in the 30s. And I really hope they don't know that big Dick's approval rating is in the teens.

Frist is still peddling that "dissent emboldens our enemy" crap. Except, of course, when that dissent comes from an unassailable source, like Jack Murtha. Then it's "legitimate."

A longtime critic of the administration, Feingold was the first senator to urge a withdrawal timetable for U.S. troops in Iraq and was the only senator to vote in 2001 against the USA Patriot Act, the post-Sept. 11 law that expanded the government's surveillance and prosecutorial powers. He also voted against the 2002 resolution authorizing Bush to use force in Iraq.

And that is exactly the reason he can make the statements he's making and introduce a censure resolution -- because he has a record of opposing the administration's madness when so many of his colleagues were enabling the administration to get us into the messes we're in today (they just wanted to be popular sooooo badly). Karl Rove and the other GOP attack dogs will still go after Feingold, but at least they can't use a vote in favor of the war or the USA PATRIOT Act against him.

Sure, Feingold is laying the groundwork for a possible presidential run. But, regardless of why, he's doing the right thing. And I don't see any of his colleagues stepping up to the plate.