The GOP vs. The Rule of Law

The authoritarians currently running the Republican Party are willing to betray any American law or tradition in the service of their Commander-in-Chief. Quite a few battles coming to a head now are illustrative of this.

On the debate over wiretapping and FISA, the GOP has refused for over two years now to make a honest case for their side, relying instead on rank fearmongering and bullying. An editorial at the National Review begins-

The legal authority for the United States intelligence community to collect foreign intelligence — information that protects Americans from terrorist attacks and that our soldiers in harm’s way rely on to do their duty — will expire at midnight on Friday. And Democrats are perfectly willing to allow that to happen.

This is false on so many fronts (we're all doomed if the Democrats don't cave quickly enough!). The biggest is that the law that will expire this weekend is the 2007 'Protect America Act', which simply amended FISA to the President's liking. Its expiration would mean that the original 1978 FISA law would be the prevailing law again. And that law more than met all of our intelligence needs from the Cold War through the post-9/11 period (and has been repeatedly updated since then). Conservatives never complained that it-- with its rubberstamp secret court and provisions for getting warrants retroactively-- was insufficient... until their President was caught violating it in secret, at which point they all mysteriously realized they hated it. To the extent that are some Democrats left "perfectly willing" to stand up to this nonsense, I salute them.

Moreover, the Democrats as a whole seemed willing to renew the 2007 bill, except they objected to the provision providing amnesty! immunity to the telecom companies who helped the President set up this spying system... a system whose roots predate 9/11! And the President made clear that he was willing to veto the bill (and thus doom us all!) if they refused to keep that provision intact. So how are we supposed to take any of this seriously?

Next issue... torture. The White House has continually insisted that "we do not torture" (at least as they define it), and yet has gone to great lengths to protect their right to not torture. Earlier this week, the Senate voted "to prohibit the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods on terror suspects." Meaning they voted in favor of a position the White House claims to support (maverick torture-hater Johnny McCain voted in favor of torture, natch). The Dems snarked-

Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York dared Bush to veto the bill, saying that the president's Iraq war commander, Gen. David Petraeus, rejects harsh interrogation.

"If it's good enough for General Petraeus and FBI Director Robert Mueller, it's good enough for all of America," Schumer said. "If the president vetoes this, he will be voting in favor of waterboarding."

And yet-- and please, don't faint-- that is exactly what the President is planning to do.

Final issue... checks and balances. During their investigation into the U.S. Attorney purge last year, Congress subpoenaed Harriet Miers and White House chief of staff Josh Bolten to testify about the White House's role in the matter. The two refused. You see, the Constitution gives Congress the power of subpoena, but President Bush understands that this doesn't apply to people who work for him. And so, nearly a year later, Congress has finally voted to hold the two in contempt. According to the article, "The matter will now be referred to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia." As we remember from the Clinton impeachment saga, Republicans are sticklers for the rule of law, especially in the face of executive pushback. And so they all held firm and... walked out in protest of the vote. Expect this battle to continue for some time.

These issues may seem separate, but contempt for the rule of law is the tie that binds them all together. The President may well win all three battles in the end, but the cost will be the soul of the Republican party, and America further conceding the high ground.