Dawn
A tidal wave of votes against the Iraq war, against corruption, and against the way the war on terror is being lost, a wave of anger and disgust, has changed the face of Washington. The elections have ended one-party-rule.
And then today the Secretary of Defense, Mr. Rumsfeld, submitted his resignation.
Thank God, thank God, thank God.
According to Juan Cole, of the Informed Comment blog, the election results imply several interesting conclusions:
First, it demonstrates that when there is no light at the end of the tunnel, the American people choose to leave that tunnel. They don't want to be military occupiers. They want the war to be over with.
Secondly, Bush will not be able to stack the Supreme Court with another Scalia when Judge Kennedy, a moderate, retires.
Third, a war on Iran now seems highly unlikely.
Fourth, there will now finally be accountability.
On television, one hears the new Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, say the word "accountability" with relish. It means auditing for waste. It means taking the profit out of war. It means finding individuals accountable for their acts. and jailing the perpetrators of crimes. She speaks of "draining the swamp".
Those who encouraged torture in violation of our laws, those who spied without warrant when they could have easily obtained one, those who imprisoned at will anyone of interest and held them in secrecy abroad while they were tortured by others - all this will come out.
The subpoena power of the House has not been used by Republicans against Republicans, but the Democratic committee leaderships will certainly use it to vie for the headlines as the 2008 election year approaches.
So little moral authority remains with the White House that the "signing statements" that Bush has been attaching to each bill he signs will be indefensible in court. They will be just another embarrassment to a party that went on too long.
The Republicans' approach to science, which led it to favor science that supported dogma, will be compared to Russian science under Stalin. Science will seek truth, not justifications.
Questions can now be asked.
And then today the Secretary of Defense, Mr. Rumsfeld, submitted his resignation.
Thank God, thank God, thank God.
According to Juan Cole, of the Informed Comment blog, the election results imply several interesting conclusions:
First, it demonstrates that when there is no light at the end of the tunnel, the American people choose to leave that tunnel. They don't want to be military occupiers. They want the war to be over with.
Secondly, Bush will not be able to stack the Supreme Court with another Scalia when Judge Kennedy, a moderate, retires.
Third, a war on Iran now seems highly unlikely.
Fourth, there will now finally be accountability.
On television, one hears the new Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, say the word "accountability" with relish. It means auditing for waste. It means taking the profit out of war. It means finding individuals accountable for their acts. and jailing the perpetrators of crimes. She speaks of "draining the swamp".
Those who encouraged torture in violation of our laws, those who spied without warrant when they could have easily obtained one, those who imprisoned at will anyone of interest and held them in secrecy abroad while they were tortured by others - all this will come out.
The subpoena power of the House has not been used by Republicans against Republicans, but the Democratic committee leaderships will certainly use it to vie for the headlines as the 2008 election year approaches.
So little moral authority remains with the White House that the "signing statements" that Bush has been attaching to each bill he signs will be indefensible in court. They will be just another embarrassment to a party that went on too long.
The Republicans' approach to science, which led it to favor science that supported dogma, will be compared to Russian science under Stalin. Science will seek truth, not justifications.
Questions can now be asked.
posted by Dan McIntyre at 3:38 PM
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