"Obstructionist" grit

If you still harbor any illusion that George the Younger is sincere in his pledge to move forward in a spirit of bipartisan cooperation, take a look at this blistering editorial in today's New York Times. Excerpts:

Without missing a beat, Mr. Bush made it clear that, for now, his idea of how to "put the elections behind us" is to use the Republicans' last two months in control of Congress to try to push through one of the worst ideas his administration and its Republican allies on Capitol Hill have come up with: a bill that would legalize his illegal wiretapping program and gut the law that limits a president's ability to abuse his power in this way.

Mr. Bush listed his priorities for the forthcoming lame duck session of Congress. It was an odd list that included only two really urgent items... The rest was a grab bag that included...a series of ideas ranging from bad to truly awful that Mr. Bush has been unable to get through Congress and hopes to ram through in the Republicans' last weeks.

For example, he wants the Senate to ratify his recess appointment of John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations. That vote, which is likely to be strongly debated, can easily wait for the new Congress, and should. Mr. Bush also pressed for quick passage of "the bipartisan energy legislation," which had Congressional officials scratching their heads in puzzlement about which bill he might mean. And he wants immediate approval of his administration's deal to sell civilian nuclear technology to India despite that nation's refusal to sign or abide by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

That was a bad idea from the start. But the wiretapping bill is simply outrageous, and it has no business being discussed in this lame duck session...

The White House refuses to explain itself because this has never been about catching terrorists. It is about overturning the crucial limits placed on executive authority after Watergate and Vietnam. Mr. Cheney and a few other hard-liners have been trying to turn back the clock and have succeeded in some truly scary ways, including the military commissions act they pushed through Congress before the elections. It is vital that they not be allowed to do any more harm.

With nothing left to lose, the Administration and its Congressional disciples look poised to accelerate their ongoing assault on the principles that once made America great. Let's hope that Democrats - who no longer have to worry about strategic capitulation for political gain - proudly demonstrate some real "obstructionist" grit during the lame-duck session ahead.