Letters to the Editor

A country in shambles, under GOP rule Efforts to blame Democrats for the country's deep woes assume deep stupidity on the part of the glorified Regular Voter. Glenn Greenwald [2008-10-04]

• PHaedrus

  Glenn, I'd be interested in a list of legislation introduced by the Democrats that would have changed our current course. It's easy to blame the Reps, but absent a true alternative the Dems are just as culpable. I don't pretend to be truly informed here, though, so if there really has been legislation that would end the war, stop torture, stop rendition, re-institute habeas for all, etc., I'll feel better about the Dems. Heck, I don't even recall hearings into this stuff.

  I didn't argue that the Democrats would have better. I just pointed out the fact that the GOP has ruled the country as it was driven into the ground.

  But since you asked, the Democrats have introduced countless bills to end the war; they did introduce legislation to re-instate habeas corpus (which failed with overwhelming GOP opposition and overwhelming Democratic support); the Congress passed a bill to apply the torture prohibition to the CIA but Bush vetoed it and the GOP helped sustain the veto; and Democrats did introduce legislation to ban waterboarding (ditto -- McCain voted against that bill, Obama for).

  http://thinkprogress.org/2007/09/19/breaking-senate-rejects-habeas-legislation/

  http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00340

  http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/13/mccain-waterboarding-fail/

  http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,336952,00.html

  -- GlennGreenwald
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