Goodbye, Constitution
Posted by unbrand on 11 October 2002 | 0 Comments
Here’s a letter I emailed to Senator Diane Feinstein after I found out she voted on October 10, 2002 for the resolution to allow Bush unprecedented power to pre-emptively attack Iraq. I am one of Senator Feinstein’s constituents and as such, I had to say something. If you have an opinion on this historic vote, I strongly encourage you to write your represententatives in Congress. To write to Senator Feinstein, here’s the link.
Oct. 11, ‘02 – To Senator Feinstein
I am a registered San Francisco Democrat. As I sit here and listen to the Blue Angels fly overhead, I’m filled with pride and a sinking feeling bordering on panic. I love San Francisco and California. I know Sen. Feinstein initiated the Blue Angels Fleet Week program here in 1981. I am proud to be an American and I am panicked by the figurative reminder the jet rumble makes—it’s quite a frightening metaphor for what just happened in Congress.
Here’s what I see:
- The Congress has just abrogated the Constitution, which they are sworn to uphold. I have never even heard of Congress willfully giving so much power to a President, thus bypassing the balance of power this country was founded upon.
- Senator Feinstein states on her website, in the explanation of her yes vote on the Iraq resolution yesterday (10/10) that she’s “encouraged” by Bush’s speech at the UN on Sept. 12. Please help me to understand something: why is it that on Sept. 25, Sen. Feinstein told the Senate that she was very concerned about the “politicization” of the war on Iraq? I was proud of Sen. Feinstein for being so outspoken and in my view, correct. Why, then, the about-face in the Oct. 10 vote explanation? What am I missing here?
- I called your San Francisco office a few minutes ago to state the above. The phone rang for about 2 minutes, then a friendly voice answered. As soon as I mentioned the words “registered Democrat” and “Iraq” she very quickly tried to get me off the phone. She asked my zip code, then a quick “Thanks. Goodbye.” I don’t blame her for being curt, I bet she’s swamped with similar such calls today.
- Just as an FYI, there’s a lot of protest going on here in SF. The Federal Building, just a few blocks from where I sit writing this, was effectively shut down by protesters today. There are graffiti’d web site addresses (in various places around the city) of sites that claim to be uncovering a lot about 9/11, the Iraq resolution vote, and the Bush family history. The 10/10 vote in the Senate only made that sinking feeling worse.
- I’m quite disappointed in Sen. Feinstein. Again, perhaps I’m missing something, but if I am, I truly would like to be enlightened. Maybe then the sinking feeling will go away. -more-> Additional text:
If you’ve ever seen the movie Network, then you know the point where the main character, Howard Beale, has his moment of epiphany when he’s given a spanking by Ned Beatty’s character. That’s where you get the famous line: “There is no America, there is no democracy. There is only IBM, ITT, AT&T, DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon.”
This speech from Ned Beatty’s character (a big corporate CEO) is designed to influence our Howard Beale, a prominent newscaster. Point being that Howard was getting too popular with his anti-corporate exhortations. Howard even had the audacity to tell people to go to their windows, open them, and scream out “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!”
So big corporate CEO tells newscaster (when the movie was made, in 1976, those two entities weren’t completely in bed with each other) Howard that Howard needs to “see the light,” and he does such a good job that Howard’s convinced. Howard then goes on his news program on TV and guess what? His ratings drop. But that’s what the big corporate CEO wanted all along. Why? Howard was threatening the CEO’s way of existence.
Is it possible that multiple Democratic senators in 2002 have “seen the light” the same way that Howard Beale did? Why else would they so publicly and so swiftly change their minds about an issue that dealt with upholding the Constitution, the single most important job they have? I’m referring specifically to Democratic Senators Daschle, Feinstein, Kerry, Lieberman, Edwards, Biden et. al. who voted to undermine our Constitution and give the President far more power than is allowed in our Constitution.
Particularly, Senators Byrd, Daschle, and Feinstein, all spoke out on the floor of the Senate against the President’s rushed and unmitigated power grab on the Iraq issue. Senator Byrd gave a moving speech to the Senate about giving too much power to the president. Not a single other senator joined him in trying to stop the president’s resolution. Why? The day of the vote, October 10, he gave another moving speech, this time, of capitulation.
Senator Feinstein spoke out about the same thing. Yet she, just 2 weeks later, changed her mind. Why?
The only possible reason why the Democratic senators switched positions is that they had a Howard Beale moment in which they “saw the light.” These are the people that we elected to office. If anybody has a better explanation for what has happened here, I’d love to hear it.