A conundrum I never tire of -

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

How is it that one political party was willing to "go to the barricades" and impeach over a President lying about consensual adult sex which affected no one but the three people involved in the triangle and should NEVER have been a subject of inquiry anyway, all the while screaming "Rule of Law, Rule of Law" -

And another political party is unable to gather themselves for the same fight even when it involves a President claiming non-existent rights of a "unitary Executive", wars based on personal animosity, illegal wiretapping, politicizing the Justice Department, outing CIA agents, malfeasance (Katrina)and torture, just on the short list? Actions that did affect the lives of thousands if not millions of Americans and others, and yet this party just can't find it within themselves to fight for the Constitution and (for real) the Rule of Law. How is this possible?

A lack of political will and righteousness that I will never cease to find just outright shocking.

[flor de jasmim]

1. Beyond shocking

And now it seems Bush is systematically shutting down everything: DoJ, USDA, accountability everywhere, .... we have some very rough times ahead.

[ThomWV]

2. I sometimes blame it on my inability to scream loud enough

I do everything in my power to point out that dichotomy every chance I get.

[Hydra]

3. Because "Rule of law" is bulls***

Rule of law is a polite way of saying "do what I tell you, or I'll blow your brains out."

This truth is simply becoming more clear each year.

[OneBlueSky]

4. my theory is that they're scared shitless of Bush and Cheney . . .

I think they figure if they institute impeachment proceedings, BushCo will stage another "national crisis," institute martial law, shut down the Congress, and assume full dictatorial powers . . .

it's either that or the unpalatable notion that they actually agree with what Bush has done and continues to do . . . while their votes (e.g. for war funding) would suggest the latter, I'm hoping (perhaps in futility) that that's not the case . . .

whatever the reason, the Congress long ago stopped representing "we, the people" in favor of the corporate interests that bankroll their campaigns and hire them when they leave government "service" (or sometimes while they're still IN government) . . .