Will you vote to end the occupation in Iraq?
Will you vote to bring our troops home in an orderly fashion? (I recall watching the debacle as we left Viet Nam).
Will you vote to restore our Constitutional rights assaulted by the Bush administration?
Will you support and vote for single payer health insurance?
Will you give all your efforts to a sane energy policy while protecting the environment?
Will you get the federal tenderhooks out of education policy (NCLB is an abomination).
Will you engage in a debate about immigration that is not secret, but transparent for the voters to see/hear and work towards balanced legislation?
Will you uphold the Constitution of the United States?

Let me add that doing any of the above involves many complexities, but if you will be wise enough to explain your positions, remain flexible, and respond to those who voted for you, you will be a fine Congressman.

Russ Warner @ 156

I will continue to refer to our country as the United States of America.

Luckily, I won’t have to deal with Bush. He has clearly committed impeachable offenses and I believe that history will impeach this president better than we ever can.

I would never support legislation giving any president the authority to control all three branches of the government. Our constitution protects us from this.

That is all wonderful but…

Impeachment CAN take place after the criminals have left office. History will only set in stone their “unitary executive” magic powers if Congress doesn’t do something real and substantive to reject that load of crap.

Next point, there is no legislation giving Bush those Dictator powers of all 3 branches of government, it is his own “unitary executive” hand writing it in an Executive Order stating this is just the way it is. He’s even acting on one of those handy dictates right now since he declared a “national emergency” about Lebanon’s government(!?!?). He has handed the Treasury Secretary the power to seize any and all assets and property of anyone they deem to be “undermining” the Lebanese government. He has a similar order out there doing the same thing for anyone “undermining” the government of Iraq (like Hillary Clinton “undermining” Iraq’s “government” by asking for Pentagon plans on withdrawal or protesters calling for a full pull-out and end to the occupation of Iraq). The orders are extraordinarily broad and free-floating.

The Treasury Secretary now has police-like powers, without any recourse from the victim, to seize assets and property on his own say-so. A flimsy, non-judicial declaration that “so and so is undermining the Iraq government or the Lebanese government…”

THAT is just a small slice of the problems of this current Junta in DC. Impeachment, now or after they leave office, is imperative to discredit and disallow this crap forevermore.

Thanks. Oy vey.

“How many divisions does it control?”

That said, let me offer one additional comment, one I hope doesn’t come across as totally maudlin. People often hide behind the public personae they create. But it is a lot more difficult to hide your long term influence on the people you’re around every day of your life. I’ve spent a fair bit of time talking not just to Russ but to his wife and two sons. Simply put, they are all good, honest, and above all principled people. It has long been my observation that “as the tree is bent, so grow the twigs”. I don’t see how Russ could both be the duplicitous SOB he’d have to be to abandon his progressive principles so capriciously and simultaneously have the family that he does.

“constitution protects us”

Well- not all by itself- by itself it just lays there- it only protects us if people in government MAKE it protect us.

And it certainly doesn’t protect us from a President that states that it is “just a piece of paper!”

LS @ 151

1. America vs “the Homeland”
2. Impeachment?
3. Executive order giving W ability to determine “national emergency and takeover of all 3 branches of government.

??????????

I will continue to refer to our country as the United States of America.

Luckily, I won’t have to deal with Bush. He has clearly committed impeachable offenses and I believe that history will impeach this president better than we ever can.

I would never support legislation giving any president the authority to control all three branches of the government. Our constitution protects us from this.

That is all wonderful but…

Impeachment CAN take place after the criminals have left office. History will only set in stone their “unitary executive” magic powers if Congress doesn’t do something real and substantive to reject that load of crap.

Next point, there is no legislation giving Bush those Dictator powers of all 3 branches of government, it is his own “unitary executive” hand writing it in an Executive Order stating this is just the way it is. He’s even acting on one of those handy dictates right now since he declared a “national emergency” about Lebanon’s government(!?!?). He has handed the Treasury Secretary the power to seize any and all assets and property of anyone they deem to be “undermining” the Lebanese government. He has a similar order out there doing the same thing for anyone “undermining” the government of Iraq (like Hillary Clinton “undermining” Iraq’s “government” by asking for Pentagon plans on withdrawal or protesters calling for a full pull-out and end to the occupation of Iraq). The orders are extraordinarily broad and free-floating.

The Treasury Secretary now has police-like powers, without any recourse from the victim, to seize assets and property on his own say-so. A flimsy, non-judicial declaration that “so and so is undermining the Iraq government or the Lebanese government…”

THAT is just a small slice of the problems of this current Junta in DC. Impeachment, now or after they leave office, is imperative to discredit and disallow this crap forevermore.

Yay or nay?

Roll back Bush’s tax cuts for the rich?
Repeal the Military Commissions Act?
Support single-payer healthcare?
Support reinstitution of the Fairness Dictrine?
Support Net neutrality?

Again, I appreciate you being here-I’m just trying to cover as much ground as possible in a short time. Thanks!

Please?