Pruning Shears

Well, a very good week was followed by a very bad one.  The capitulation on FISA tells me that a lot of representatives think they can disregard strenuous opposition from the left (when it comes from the right - see immigration - they comply).  One of the few positive developments was the new alliance formed with civil libertarians on the right.  If it endures and projects a more diverse spectrum of opposition to the erosion of our freedoms it could end up as more than just a silver lining.  It also increases my sense that the ground is shifting under the politicians’ feet and they are largely ignorant of it.

Speaking of which, there’s a good deal of ignorance or worse in how the legislation is being characterized.  Glenn has some details.  He writes it is “vital to target and defeat selected Democrats in Congress who are enabling these unconstitutional and lawless assaults”, but I’d say anyone who voted for it should be targeted.  No reason to single out one party, especially if we are trying to create a broad coalition.  And let’s face it, if you really want to get Washington’s attention send a few GOP incumbents down to defeat in primaries over this issue.

This week the action is in the Senate and it doesn’t look good.  There is a lot of debate on the left over how Obama stands on this and how much he can do.  While the ideal situation would be for the entire bill to be defeated I don’t think most people are taking an all-or-nothing approach towards him.  If telecom amnesty was stripped and the rest of it went through I think most would grudgingly accept it.  He’s the leader of his party and even though it has a reputation for being undisciplined he could make a difference if he really wanted to.  If the bill goes to the President’s desk in its current form he can be faulted for practicing politics as usual in Washington DC.

Side notes: Obama pledged to comply with Congressional subpoenas.  Atrios notes that abuses Republicans are blind to at the moment will become outrages under a Democratic President, so look for subpoenas to become sacred.  Those of us blogging from the left will face a test of our own:  Will we be as vocal about them then as we are now?  I hope so.  The right loudly proclaimed principles of limited foreign intervention, fiscal responsibility, obedience to the law and so on during the 90’s and promptly trashed all that when it controlled all the levers of power.  The past eight years have been an uninterrupted lesson in conservative hypocrisy, and one of the reasons I’m proud to be a liberal is that I think we are more likely to stand on principle even when it means being critical of our own.  If November produces another Democratic wave we will probably be tested on that frequently.

And since Obama claims he won’t invoke executive privilege indiscriminately we may as well look at an example of why doing so is such a terrible idea. (Via email from PW.)