Not a Time For Partisanship
Dear editor:
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, attacked Democratic senators on the judiciary committee who questioned the legality of the president’s NSA warrantless, spying on Americans program. He stated, "I am concerned that some of my Democrat colleagues used this unique public forum to make clear that they believe the gravest threat we face is not Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, but rather the president of the United States,"
At this juncture, without meaning to, he’s partly right. Probably the gravest threat to American constitutional liberties is President Bush. But on the other hand, he is wrong, as it is not just the Democrats. Many Republicans feel the same way and refuse to be the rubber stamp for the president that Senator Roberts is.
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), chairman of the judiciary committee, put it best, when he rebuffed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for stating that the Constitution gives the president undisputable powers to conduct warrantless surveillance. He remarked that such an interpretation “is not sound” and that he, Gonzales, was, “smoking Dutch Cleanser.” He went on to say "I think there's a chance the administration might take up the idea of putting this whole issue before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. . . . I think they are seeing concerns in a lot of directions from all segments: Democrats and Republicans in all shades of the political spectrum."
It is time for this administration, and its cohorts in Congress, to recognize the fact that Americans of all stripes and colors, including both Democrats and Republicans, are worried about their Constitutional rights of privacy, protection under the law, and a law abiding government, which the Bush White House, in this case, definitely is not. People have become tired of the president constantly overusing 9/11 and the fear of terrorism as a justification to act outside of and above the rule of law.
Senator Roberts and his colleagues should be smart enough to recognize that this is not a time for partisanship. Are they truly ready to give absolute loyalty to a failed president all in the name of party unity? Don’t they realize that by doing so they are destroying everything they were elected to “protect and defend?” Are they ready to give up their importance and power as a legislative branch of government? I hope not.
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, attacked Democratic senators on the judiciary committee who questioned the legality of the president’s NSA warrantless, spying on Americans program. He stated, "I am concerned that some of my Democrat colleagues used this unique public forum to make clear that they believe the gravest threat we face is not Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, but rather the president of the United States,"
At this juncture, without meaning to, he’s partly right. Probably the gravest threat to American constitutional liberties is President Bush. But on the other hand, he is wrong, as it is not just the Democrats. Many Republicans feel the same way and refuse to be the rubber stamp for the president that Senator Roberts is.
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), chairman of the judiciary committee, put it best, when he rebuffed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for stating that the Constitution gives the president undisputable powers to conduct warrantless surveillance. He remarked that such an interpretation “is not sound” and that he, Gonzales, was, “smoking Dutch Cleanser.” He went on to say "I think there's a chance the administration might take up the idea of putting this whole issue before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. . . . I think they are seeing concerns in a lot of directions from all segments: Democrats and Republicans in all shades of the political spectrum."
It is time for this administration, and its cohorts in Congress, to recognize the fact that Americans of all stripes and colors, including both Democrats and Republicans, are worried about their Constitutional rights of privacy, protection under the law, and a law abiding government, which the Bush White House, in this case, definitely is not. People have become tired of the president constantly overusing 9/11 and the fear of terrorism as a justification to act outside of and above the rule of law.
Senator Roberts and his colleagues should be smart enough to recognize that this is not a time for partisanship. Are they truly ready to give absolute loyalty to a failed president all in the name of party unity? Don’t they realize that by doing so they are destroying everything they were elected to “protect and defend?” Are they ready to give up their importance and power as a legislative branch of government? I hope not.
posted by Sam Schoolsky | 1:09 AM
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