Democrats afraid to use their power

By Weekly Archive On Nov 13, 2007

Use
it or lose it. It’s true about many things, but especially political
power, which is nothing to be timid about. Once you achieve power,
you’re expected to use it to realize the goals you believe in.
Otherwise, you might as well give it up.

But,
sadly, that’s the way it is with Democrats today. They were out of
power in Congress for so long that, now that they’re back in power,
they’re afraid to use it — as we’ve learned in several painful
examples.

They
were elected to end the war, but when George Bush vetoed their
timetable for bringing our troops home, Democrats gave him all the
money he wanted for Iraq, no strings attached. It looks like they’ll
do so again, with his request for $196 billion in supplemental
spending for Iraq.

They
were elected to end the illegal acts of an imperial president, but
when George Bush demanded authorization to continue tapping our
phones without a court order, Democrats gave him all the authority he
wanted, the Constitution be damned.

They
were elected to extend health care to 4 million children not yet
covered by the SCHIP program, but once George Bush vetoed their
original plan, Democrats ran out of steam. Instead of repeatedly
sending the same proposal back to the White House, forcing Bush to
veto it again and again, they seem to have given up the fight.

And
they were elected to end the practice of torturing prisoners of war,
but when Michael Mukasey, George Bush’s nominee for attorney general,
refused to denounce waterboarding as torture, in direct defiance of
U.S. and international law, Democrats decided to endorse him anyway.
For all practical purposes, they might as well have reinstated
Alberto Gonzales.

Now,
I admit, you can’t lay all the blame on Democrats. With Republicans
standing in the way, Democrats by themselves simply did not have
enough votes to override the president’s vetoes on Iraq funding or
children’s health care. Nor could they convince enough Republicans to
defend the Fourth Amendment by breaking with the White House on
warrantless wiretapping. Failure to move on those three issues lies
mainly with Senate Republicans.

But
Mukasey’s a different story. Blame that one, the most dangerous of
all, squarely on Senate Democrats. This time, they had the votes.
This time, they didn’t depend on Republicans to break ranks. This
time, they had all the power they needed to do the right thing. And
they blew it. With Mukasey certain to be confirmed as the 81st
attorney general, Democrats have saddled the nation with a top law
enforcement officer who believes everybody must obey the law except
the president of the United States. God save the Republic!

What’s
hard to understand is: Why? George Bush’s approval ratings are lower
than Richard Nixon’s. He has no political clout left. What’s the
possible justification for allowing him to appoint someone who’s
openly willing to undermine the Constitution? Indeed, why give
lame-duck George Bush any victory at all?

Trying
to defend their votes to confirm, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Dianne
Feinstein argued that since Mukasey, while imperfect, was the best we
could ever hope for from George Bush, they had no other choice.
Nonsense. There’s obviously one other choice: Do nothing. Acting
Attorney General Peter Keisler appears competent enough. Better to
stick with him for the next 14 months than give Bush another rubber
stamp for his illegal activities.

Yet
over and over again, Democrats look like they’re uncomfortable in
their own skin and afraid to use their political power. And that’s
dangerous, both in the short term and the long term. Short-term, they
lose significant opportunities to get things done. But long-term,
they risk losing public confidence.

With
75 percent of the American people believing the country is heading in
the wrong direction, Democrats have an excellent chance of sweeping
the field in 2008. Indeed, there appears to be no Republican
candidate who can stop them. For Democrats, the danger is not the
enemy outside, but the enemy within. Here’s my fear: If people get
the sense that Democrats are afraid to use the power they already
have, they won’t be willing to give them any more.

Use
it or lose it. Either Democrats start using their power to stand up
to George Bush, or they risk losing it all.

Bill
Press is host of a nationally syndicated radio show and author of a
new book, "How
the Republicans Stole Religion."
His email address is: bill@billpress.com. His Web site is:
www.billpress.com.