Isn’t it both ironic and deflating, that those who you elect and trust explicitly to protect and defend the Constitution, have now apparently decided in their own imperfect wisdom that there might be a better way. That evidently the rule of law should no longer remain the pillar of governance, but that the rule of man should supplant it. who now prefer a government operated by their many personal heroes and who cannot imagine any of them paying a debt to the society who trusted them almost unto oblivion. I remain stymied as to how we got to this place, how after observing eight years of reckless, sometimes patently criminal activity from my government, just how, please tell me, exactly how did the opposition party fall into lockstep with such fundamentally anti-American thought?

Andrew Cuomo, in a 1987 fundraiser had this to say about the rule of law and the Reagan Iran Contra scandal:

''When people in power,'' he said, ''start violating that rule which has kept us free and safe for 200 years -and millions cheer those violators -then we are in danger as individuals and as a nation. And Democrats must say so, no matter how forbidding the popularity polls.''

He continued, ''I think frankly,'' he said, ''it is that yearning for inspiration, for edification, that produced the phenomenon we witnessed during the Irangate hearings. So badly did we want a true believer, a hero, in the early days of the hearings, many of us were fooled into overlooking the fact that the men we chose to hoist onto our shoulders were in the process of destroying one of our most important values of all - the rule of law.''

For more than twenty years, neither of our political parties, and especially the Democrats, have learned much from this valuable statement, or from many others like it, so we continue the struggle for rights that our forefathers took for granted. Meanwhile, our representatives get briefed by trusted and loyal aides, while avoiding the negative talk in the media and in the editorial columns and only raise their heads above the fray to spin their political positions and rally their defenses to those who question their motives. As Cocktailhag so aptly put it:

“Like Lieberman, they are worse than Republicans, for the shameful "bipartisan consensus" they lend to each outrage, no matter how grave. What they accomplish is twofold: narrowing to parameters of the debate, and rendering such niceties as upholding one's oath of office a "fringe" position.”

When respect for the law disappears, and powerful people or groups can break the law with impunity, then the society is no longer is civilized. That is the situation we are dangerously close to in America today.

It's time to call these people out for what they are, even if they are Democrats.

But as someone who reads you every day, I'm simply becoming more and more frightened and disheartened by the content of your posts. Your tone suggests that we're screwed, there's nothing we can do about it.

Can you offer your readers any hope (other than the StrangeBedfellows campaign) that justice will ever be done here? The campaign is an excellent idea for preventing future abuses, but what about the abuses/crimes that have already happened?

Give us a straw to grasp at. Please. --Red Snapper

Red, I don't know if this will help, but here is how I choose to find solace at what is surely one of the most depressing times in our nation's political history:

1) This country has managed to weather similar attacks on our freedoms and liberties. McCarthyism, Japanese Internment, J. Edgar Hoover, etc etc. I realize those did not comprise the scope and pervasiveness of what we face today, but just as these atrocious laws have been passed, so too can laws be passed to undo them, or they can be rendered unconstitutional. That is why I plan to be a regular contributor to the ACLU in the weeks, months, and years to come.

2) Glenn is doing the very thing we need in order to get these atrocities addressed, and eventually reversed. Grass roots, large-scale activism will not transform the landscape overnight, but with time and dedication, it will make a difference. I think Glenn and others realize this, and as we all come to grips with the fact that it is no longer about red and blue, but rather about a criminal Congress acting as one against its citizenry, the results of our efforts will bear more and bigger fruit.

At least, that's what I am holding onto. Otherwise, I think I'd just move to Belize or something.

It sounds to me like most of the villains of Glenn's piece were sincere in their belief that the programs they were briefed on were maybe legal and defninitely necessary.

Thank goodness sincerity of belief has nothing to do with the rule of law.

Rapist: Your Honor, I was sincere in my affection for her when I raped her.

Judge: Well, we'll let you off this time since you really cared.

Honestly, what part of "violates the Constitution" do you not understand?

That's right, all this is bipartisan clearly demonstrating the tenor of the times. Don't like it? Too bad. Write your congressman.

Meanwhile back at wingnut central we get this from Turley....

What you're seeing in this bill is an evisceration of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. It is something that allows the president and the government to go in to law-abiding homes on their word alone, their suspicion alone, and to engage in warrantless surveillance. That's what the framers that drafted the Fourth Amendment wanted to prevent...

What an unmitigated crock of crap...
* There is no evisceration
* No one "goes in to law-abiding homes"
* And the framers certainly didn't worry about anyone overhearing spoken conversations. For that matter neither did the Supreme Court in 1928, when it declared wiretaps needed no warrants from anyone.

It's about time you people did something constructive, like investigate the favored few in Congress receiving special mortgages, while simultaneously upping the Fannie and Freddie loan limits. Tsk.

P.S. Tonya Harding wants her lead pipe back. Salonistas aren't the only ones with an agenda to kneecap their superiors.