Garlictorial: The Blank Check Club

"Come visit me sometime, my boy; Even you will take off your hat when you see how respected I am there. Only the day before yesterday, they wanted to make me their legislature - the whole legislature. I don't know what they mean by that, but it must be the greatest honor the can bestow ..."

Howard (The Old Man) from ''Treasure of the Sierra Madre'

I don't think that B. Traven, when he wrote this passage, or John Huston, when he filmed this scene, had our 43rd President in mind, but they could have been visionary ... Bush & Co. might as well be "the whole legislature" (though, to be fair, Dick Cheney will have his own "whole other legislature" and not be part of the Bush & Co's. "whole legislature").

It certainly appeared that the Bush Grindhouse barked "Badges? What Badges? ... We don't have to show you no stinkin' badges" and the Democrats in Congress cowered and ran for cover.

The problem stems well beyond, and isn't solely pinned to, just the Democrats

What is, perhaps, the most astounding, and deeply troubling aspect of having both the Senate and the House voting approval of The Commander Guy's dream FISA Law, is that this Congress hasn't had the courage, the sense of purpose, to hold this administration to scrutiny and accountability - criminally so, possibly - to the repeated abuses and felony violations of the original FISA rules, and, not to mention, the Constitution.

This may be akin to a bank robber having the police take his car to the car wash, before letting him hightail it on his getaway.

The Republicans, between their fear mongering, the sky-is-exploding, and their blind loyalty to their failure of a party leader, are like the frog sitting in that pot of water, croaking happily away, before it's too late, the 2008 elections representing the boiling death slowing engulfing them.

We gave them a song last evening and now, it appears, we missed the bigger picture.

They don't have a Democrat Caucus ... What they do have is "The Blank Check Club".

And there were two, at least, of the 16 Democrats, who are writing those blank checks and who voted for the bill, that have some "splaining" to do.

Senator Jim Web (D-VA), the hard core Navy man, who dusted off the Macaca Guy and just a short few weeks ago, stuck Senator Lindsay Graham's head on a pole during an exchange on 'Meet The Press', over Graham's fantasy-based assessments of Iraq, and using "our troops" as political pawns (a subject today by Frank Rich, in his column "Patriots Who Love the Troops to Death").

And there's the pragmatic, 'Can-Do" Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), who said she “I’m not thrilled,” to etch her vote in the Hall of Shame.

“There are some changes we need to make to make sure that American citizens are protected. But it’s a lot better than a lot of things that have been forced down this Congress’ throat right before recesses that trampled on American’s liberties.”

You're from the "Show Me" state, McCaskill, not the "It's A Lot Better Than" state.

Things that have been forced down our throats.

How's about the Democrats, such as Webb and McCaskill, elected in the 2006 wave of "things are going to be different" and promising to stand up to the Bush Grindhouse.

And what about the Democratic Leadership?

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. She must be out measuring the length of hoses, before she starts "draining the GOP Swamp", with her co-hort, Harry Reid, seemingly, more occupied with auditioning for the role of the Captain of the Titanic.

Reid must sure like the taste of shit, because that's what Bush & Co. keep feeding him and he's only been too happy to gobble it up.

There are some that are saying today that we shouldn't worry about this FISA vote, that it's only temporary, it's only for six-months.

Yeah, right.

They have the blinders on again.

For an administration that has so thoroughly trampled the Constitution, broken so many laws and lied us into an invasion and occupation of a sovereign nation - and then double-downed to lie some more, and "surge" more troops into the conflict, that they are worried about things being "temporary" or Sunset Clauses?

Likely, as soon as Congress returns from their capitulation-soaked vacation, the Bush Grindhouse will be amping up the rhetoric to make this new FISA law permanent.

They'll be booming of "al Qaeda everywhere" and pointedly warning, "your child" and "your family" may be the next terrorist target, trotting out new plots and new twists that puts a jihadists on your doorstep, and the Democrats will, if recent history tells us anything, fall into line and slurp it up like Happy Soup.

Or, just as likely, The Decider Guy will continue to govern as he has, virtually the entire time of his stolen presidency - via Signing Statement.

And he does this because Congress hasn't stood up and exercised it's Constitutional authority.

They fume and posture over it, but they haven't called him on it.

They haven't censured him on it.

And they haven't impeached him on it.

You seem confused about Impeachment, Madam Speaker.

Otherwise, you wouldn't have said “If I were not the speaker and I were not in Congress, I would probably be advocating for impeachment.”

Gee, what a major drag for us ... Too bad we don't have a private citizen who is in Congress and is Speaker of the House ..

Why bother coming back from vacation?

Perhaps, while you're back in district on your vacation, you'll sigh and moan, handing out some commemorative pens that you used signing those Blank Checks, falsely promising again how you're going to stop the war, how you're going to keep the Bush Grindhouse in-check.

But we know now.

The Bush Grindhouse has the Patriot Act, the new, harsh Executive Order, the Crony General running the Injustice Department, Cheney and his branch of government, and of course, the new and improved, bullet-proof FISA Law.

With his adroit use of the Signing Statement, No. 43 has got "the whole legislature" and that is the embarrassing and dubious honor you, the 110th Congress, have bestowed on the American people.

Bonus Links

Larisa Alexandrovna: An Open Letter: No more power to the Executive Ms. Pelosi. No More!

Larisa Alexandrovna: It's official, we are police state...

Meteor Blades/Daily Kos: Enough Already with the Pathetic Excuses

Video - Keith Olbermann and Jonathan Turley: Just how broad are the spying powers of the administration in the proposed terror bill and what should we be concerned about?

The Country's Brain Trust? ... Or, The Three Amigos? ... You Decide!