The beauty of the Constitution is that every two years we can get rid of almost 90% of the members of Congress (all 435 reps and 33 or 34 Senators). Of course, the reality is that more than 90% of congresspersons are reelected.

We thought that 2006 would be one of those years where the change in House and Senate leadership would result in actual change. It now appears that we were wrong. Whether throught complicity or cowardice, those Democrats that we elected to stem the tide of the abuses of the Bush Administration have instead shown themselves only too willing to grant him whatever he asks.

However, rather than despair, I am now choosing to see 2006 as the first stage of a six year plan. 2006 allowed the Democrats to take control of Congress. However, as Glenn so ably demonstrates, the Stepford-like voting of the Republicans still has them in de facto control of the Senate. Only a few Democrats need to defect (defecate?) in order for the Republicans to rule the day, which they have pretty much done for the last 13 months.

Our next step in 2008 will need to be electing a non-Republican president, and adding more Democrats to both houses. This removes the Leader/Daddy that Republicans seem to so desperately need, and further reduce their influence and ability to act in lockstep. Perhaps this will lead to a further splintering of the Republicans.

At the same time, recognizing that a healthy percentage of Democrats will still be tempted to "bipartisanize" or "bipartisanate" with their Republican bretheran, we will need to start laying the ground work for a stronger pack of Democrats. This will require hard work. We will need to engage the Democratic party at the local level and work to change the way in which candidates are (s)elected.

We will need to make certain that going forward from today Democrats put forth candidates who profess the following beliefs:

(1) The federal government cannot listen in on Americans' telephone calls without a warrant.

(2) The federal government cannot monitor Americans' e-mail communications without a warrant.

(3) The federal government cannot monitor Americans' internet activity without a warrant.

(4) The federal government cannot surveil Americans without probable cause.

(5) The federal government cannot surveil Americans when those Americans voice disagreement with the federal government.

(6) The federal government cannot jail Americans indefinitely without pressing charges.

(7) The federal government cannot call Americans "enemy combatants."

(8) The federal government cannot torture Americans.

(9) The federal government cannot "harshly interrogate" Americans.

(10) The federal government cannot send an American to another county to be tortured or harshly interrogated.

(11) The federal government cannot torture or "harshly interrogate" anyone, whether or not an American.

(12) The federal government cannot send anyone to another country to be tortured or harshly interrogated.

(13) The federal government cannot abdicate its responsibilities under the Constitution to the President, whether in time of war or time of peace.

(14) The federal government exists in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare.

(15) The federal government will not operate in secret.

(16) Anyone who does not believe any of the foregoing does not belong in the federal government.

As the story goes, Diogenes searched ancient Greece for one honest man. That story has been reverberating a lot in my brain, because what all of us here are searching for are 537 honest men and women. It is no wonder that our task seems so difficult.

However, I will no longer allow myself to give up hope, and I take my inspiration from many of you here. I also take my inspiration from my feeling that time is running short. I feel that something more terrible than what we have witnessed these last seven years is coming, and that now is our last chance to stop it. These next four years will tell the tale.