Will We Elect A President Or A Monarch In 2008?

The Democratic Activist
An excellent article by Charlie Savage at boston.com analyzes major 2008 presidential candidates' responses to questions asked in a recent Globe survey about executive power vastly expanded under the Bush/Cheney administration.

The article focuses on 12 questions highlighting candidates' positions regarding the limits of presidential power. Taken as a whole, they serve to illustrate whether or not individual candidates for the White House in 2008 believe the President of the United States is, or is not, required to obey the law. The candidates' answers about the appropriate extent of executive power (and, by inference, the legitimacy of the American tripartite system of checks and balances) tell much about whether or not they believe the president is above the law ... that is, whether or not the presidency has or should become a de facto monarchy and the United States a vertable dictatorship.

Another excellent piece by Glenn Greenwald (click here) references the boston.com article and provides a chilling analysis of Republican contender Mitt Romney's responses to these questions.

For the questions themselves and candidates' specific answers, go to Savage's article and see the section in the sidebar on the right side of the page titled "Read Answers By Question: Candidates Answers By Question" where candidates' responses to each question are listed for easy side-by-side comparison (such a comparison of the candidates' answers, including which candidates refused to offer any responses at all, is quite revealing).

Certainly, the question of whether or not the president is above the law goes to the heart of what America is, and who we are as Americans.

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Are we nation of laws, or of men?

Do we value freedom more than life itself, as did Patrick Henry and the other founding fathers of the American experiment in democracy ... or have we now come to prize safety, security, and comfort over liberty?

Is our most basic civil liberty the "right to be kept alive," as Mr. Romney asserts ... or are there things that matter much more? (And what would America's fallen say?)

Is "the land of the free and the home of the brave" fast becoming "the land of the enslaved and the home of the terrified?"

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American voters may well decide these questions in 2008.

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Wexler Wants Hearings ... Sign His Petition!

The Democratic Activist
The struggle for the conscience of the Democratic Party continues.

As party leaders continue to refuse to hold criminals in high office accountable for a long list of "high crimes and misdemeanors" in direct violation of their oaths of office and against the wishes of the vast majority of rank and file party members, vertebrate Democrats in congress are standing up and pushing back.



Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida (D - 19th) has begun a petition drive demanding that hearings begin immediately on H. Res. 799, the Cheney Impeachment Resolution now in the House Judiciary Committee. Together with fellow HJC members Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Wexler needs to convince reluctant Democrats on the committee that, in America, elected leaders who commit egregious felonies and war crimes should not be put above the law, and that the founders designed the tool of impeachment for just such an occasion as this. A few days ago, this trio of principled fighters for democracy in America issue an op-ed titled "A Case For Hearings" to launch the petition effort.

Wexler, who set an initial goal of 50,000 signatures total, got 30,000 the first day the petition was online. Public response has been strong, with approximately 20,000 new signatures signatures coming in each day (currently 111,000+ as I write this). Wexler's current goal is to gather at least 250,000 signatures by midnight, 12/31/07. It is noteworthy that the mainstream media is ignoring the Wexler petition, as it has the impeachment movement generally, but that nevertheless both the petition and nationwide support for impeachment continue to grow and expand by viral methods and the innate power of a righteous idea.

It is urgent that impeachment supporters sign the Wexler petition, encourage others to do the same, and demand mass-media coverage of this important news story.

Here's what you can do:

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1. Sign the petition here!

2. Spread the word! Write a short message on the Wexler petition containing a link to the information in this post, and email it to everyone and anyone you know who may be interested in supporting the impeachment effort.

3. Lobby the main stream media! Calls and email messages sent to electronic media outlets and local and national newspapers have a real effect on news coverage.

CNN Viewer Comment Line:

1-404-827-1500.

MSNBC (ask to leave a message on their Viewer Comment Line):

1-201-583-5000, or 1-212-664-4444.

Click here for dozens of email links to key departments in mainstream media organizations, and see the links in the "Media" section of the sidebar of this blog for links to local, national, and international newspapers.

4. Call congressmembers Robert Wexler, Luis Gutierrez, and Tammy Baldwin, and thank them for their patriotic stand in support of impeachment. While you're at it, call HJC Chairman John Conyers and the "Ninny Nine" and demand that they either join the impeachment effort or get out of the way! (Click here for complete info on contacting these key individuals to encourage their support of the Cheney impeachment resolution.)

Here's the toll-free Capitol Switchboard number:

1-800-828-0498.

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Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Santa Rosa City Council Passes Impeachment Resolution!

The Democratic Activist
Great news ...

Last night, the city council of Santa Rosa, California overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling for the U.S. Congress to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney!

The vote was 5 to 1 in favor of the resolution, with one abstention. Santa Rosa now joins Sebastopol, Santa Cruz, San Francisco and other cities across America that have endorsed impeachment. Advocates of the resolution presented signatures of more than 2,000 Santa Rosa residents, and the massive show of citizen endorsement convinced at least two council members to change their minds and vote in favor of the resolution. The city council will now send an official letter to Washington to "petition congress to start impeachment hearings."

Click here and here to read articles on the council's resolution that appeared on the web site of the local Santa Rosa newspaper, The Press Democrat.

Here's how the individual council members voted, along with their contact info:

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Mayor Bob Blanchard
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 543-3017
Fax: (707) 543-3030
bblanchard@srcity.org

Voted "No."

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Vice Mayor Lee Pierce
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 579-1449 ext. 300 ("The Tiosk Group")
Fax: (707) 579-0882
lpierce@srcity.org

Voted "Yes."

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Councilmember Jane Bender
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 538-9644
Fax: (707) 543-3030
jbender@srcity.org

Abstained.

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Councilmember Carol Dean
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 575-3350
Fax: (707) 543-3030
cdean@srcity.org

Voted "Yes."

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Councilmember Susan Gorin
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 525-8335
Fax: (707) 543-3030
sgorin@srcity.org

Voted "Yes."

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Councilmember Veronica Jacobi
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 575-5594
Fax: (707) 543-3030
vjacobi@srcity.org

Voted "Yes."

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Councilmember John Sawyer
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 578-6006
Fax: (707) 578-6006
jsawyer@srcity.org

Voted "Yes."

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Unfortunately, the Council is taking a lot of heat from local residents for passing the resolution. Those opposed to impeachment are leaving negative comments under The Press Democrat article linked above, and, presumably, others are contacting the council directly to register their displeasure.

It's important that impeachment supporters, especially those that are Santa Rosa residents, contact their city council members to express their thanks for the courage and patriotism showed by the council in passing this important resolution. Our city has joined others in setting the right example, and it's critical that these local governmental leaders hear applause and appreciation from grateful citizens.

Here's what you can do:

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1. Contact the Santa Rosa City Council members individually to extend your personal thanks for their appropriate, principled stand in support of impeachment at this critical time in our nation's history. Phone calls, emails, letters, and faxes to council members would go a long way to balance the opposition they're currently receiving from local Bushites.

2. Read articles in The Press Democrat discussing the resolution here and here, and add your own supportive comment at the bottom of the page. You will need to register, to do so. (Comments are limited to 250 characters – so keep yours short, but passionate! And don't worry ... they take a few minutes to show up on the comments page).

3. Send a "letter to the editor" to Santa Rosa's local newspaper, The Press Democrat!

Here's the address:

letters@pressdemocrat.com

Keep your message under 200 words, and be sure to include your name and address (they'll print your name and city).

Why not forward a separate copy of your letter to The Press Democrat to all seven city council members, to let them know of your active support? (But don't cc the council members – "letters to the editor" cc'd to others are unlikely to get printed.) Using the links under "Media" in the side bar to the right, it just takes a few more clicks to send your message to editors of other local and national newspapers and major electronic media outlets. (You could also use the text of your message to easily craft individual emails, faxes, and/or letters to council members.)

4. Send a short message about this story, along with a link to this post, to as many impeachment supporters as possible (those both inside and outside Santa Rosa) -- or to your entire email circle!

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Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist