Glenn Greenwald: The Strong and Tough Democrats

[babylonsister]

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/08/06/3000/

The Strong and Tough Democrats
by Glenn Greenwald

snip//


In the NYT, James Risen, the reporter who first revealed the existence of the NSA program, described the legislation as one which “broadly expanded the government’s authority to eavesdrop on the international telephone calls and e-mail messages of American citizens without warrants.” As Hiatt also pointed out, Risen explained that “its impact went far beyond the small fixes that administration officials had said were needed to gather information about foreign terrorists,” and instead, “the new law for the first time provided a legal framework for much of the surveillance without warrants that was being conducted in secret by the National Security Agency and outside.” Risen quoted the excellent Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies in Washington, saying: “This more or less legalizes the N.S.A. program.” Prior to the November, 2006 elections, the Bush administration tried desperately to force the Congress to enact new FISA legislation to legalize warrantless eavesdropping. The Democrats resisted just enough to prevent its enactment. Karl Rove and Republicans generally then ran around the country exploiting that obstructionism in order to accuse Democrats of being “soft on terror” and “wanting to prevent the President from listening in when Osama calls,” the Republicans were crushed in that election, and Democrats obtained an historic victory. In the not-blue state of Montana, Jon Tester defeated an incumbant GOP Senator by running on a platform of repealing the Patriot Act in its entirety. Wouldn’t the most basic rationality compel Democrats to draw the conclusion that this rank Terrorism fear-mongering does not actually work?

Yet here they are, after refusing to legalize warrantless eavesdropping prior to their midterm victory, allowing this legislation to pass now that they are in the majority. It is as politically self-destructive as it is unconscionable on the merits.

While the premise of this behavior is that Democrats must avoid appearing “soft” and “weak,” one article after the next describes their behavior as “surrendering,” “capitulating,” “bowing to pressure,” “caving in” and “suffering defeat” — all at the hands of a weakened, isolated and pervasively despised lame duck President whose political party is in shambles. The worst thing one can be in American politics and American culture generally is a loser, and Democrats perpetually turn themselves into losers and convince themselves when doing so that they are appearing “strong” and “tough.”

What makes this all the more appalling is that it was so easily avoidable. All Democrats had to do was offer legislation to fix the only real gap in FISA and then demand that the President sign it or risk a Terrorist attack. They could have gone on the offensive ahead of time by crafting the legislation and then made it their own cause to demand that the President sign it immediately in order to fix this problem and protect us from the Terrorists.

But they did none of that. They waited around, as always, with no aim and no strategy and no principle and no belief and allowed the President to dictate their behavior and control the debate. It is exactly what they have done on every virtually major issue over the last six years — from Iraq to the Military Commissions Act to the Alito nomination to the whole slew of still-secret surveillance programs that they meekly allow to remain undisclosed, even to them.

In the process, they gutted the few existing restrictions on the government’s power to spy on us. They revitalized the GOP base which is revelling in their Victory and dispirited and infuriated their own base. They revealed themselves, yet again, as weak and principle-free as they are politically inept. And even Fred Hiatt sees all of that.


© Salon.com

[yurbud]

1. Dems think they can look tough on foreign affairs by being wimps with mere political opponents?

yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

The way to look tough is to do what Paul Newman did in Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid: go up to the biggest bully calling you out and kick him right in the nuts.