It's going to take a generation to move these spineless Democrats out of office. Unfortunately, that is our only alternative. You can't vote for a Republican these days and the Democrats make you embarrassed to ever be associated with them.
Jack Goldsmith is one of the most conservative lawyers in the country. He was the head of the Office of Legal Counsel for George W. Bush. He is telling you that what the Bush administration did for years in its first term was definitely illegal (that's why he demanded changes in their practices when he was at OLC) and strongly suggesting that what they are doing now might also be illegal.
So, what is the Democratic response? They are considering changing the law to make it legal in hindsight. The equivalent would be if the Republicans tried to pass a law saying it was acceptable to lie under oath after they saw Clinton perjure himself in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Could you imagine?
Of course not. Because the Republicans are fighters. As loathsome as their policies have been for these last six years, at least I respect their willingness to fight for their side. I also respected President Clinton when he fought back against them, whether it was when Newt Gingrich shut down the government or when they tried to remove him from office.
Read this New York Times article. The Democrats are going to help Bush break the FISA law. They are going to change the law so that he doesn't have to get a warrant. They are going to ignore the Fourth Amendment and current federal laws. Why would you help the least popular president in history? Why would you allow him to keep breaking the law?
The answer is at the end of the article. Interest groups that are working closely with the Democrats explain their primary concern -- being called weak on terror. But don't you see, you are weak! Miserably weak. Not because of any actions you might or might not have taken on the war on terror, but because you keep caving into an administration that has no political capital because you don't have the nerve to fight for your principles.
How is it possible to have any respect for these Democrats? Every day, I struggle not to call them cowards and weaklings. And every day they make it harder. They are truly pathetic. I'm so tired of encouraging them to grow a backbone. It's a hopeless struggle. I give up.
So, we have to pursue a new tack. The long road of primary fights for the next decade or two until we clear out the losers out of this party. The people trained and encouraged to lose by their consultants.
Let me tell you a quick story told to me by a former staffer of one of the Democratic leaders. He said a consultant told this senator that the only way he could lose his senate seat is if he was challenged the Republicans in any meaningful way. His advice was to give in to them on every occasion, and specifically at the time, on the Alito nomination.
This particular senator did not give in on the Alito nomination (nor did he put up any kind of effective fight, either). But the message from the "Democratic" consultant was clear -- you will never be challenged from the left, so always give into the right.
There is only one way to change that way of thinking. Challenge them from the left. Because this group of Democrats are hopeless. We need a whole new class of leaders.