Dale Tozier Discusses the Republican Coup D'etat and the Future of Democracy in America
Sat, Jun 11, 2005
Day by day, the American media come to resemble more and more the Soviet media in their heyday.
Here is yet another remarkable story on the ongoing Republican coup that was apparently deemed not worthy of coverage by the American media. I apologize in advance if I got any parts of this wrong, but I am writing from memory, as I could not find any internet news stories on yesterday's extraordinary and historical events. (I use the term "historical" lightly, because I guess it won't be history if no one reports what happened and was shown on internationally broadcast CSPAN.)
If you have been watching the news, you do know that the congress recently ostensibly held hearings on extending the Patriot Act. You probably heard President Bush defending the Patriot Act, saying, among other things, that the government has thoroughly investigated all complaints of alleged abuses under the Patriot Act and found no problems.
Unless you listen to Air America Radio, you probably did not hear this story from yesterday:
As is routine practice for this Republican government, Democrats were not allowed to hear testimony from any of their desired witnesses during the House hearings on the Patriot Act. Only witnesses approved by the Republican members of the Judiciary Committee were allowed to testify. Historically, this has not been how the House operates, but that was before the coup began.
In response to being shut out during the full Judicial Committee hearings, the Democratic members of the Judiciary Committee invoked House Rule 11, which guarantees the minority party the right to conduct their own hearings on pending matters if they so request, calling their own witnesses. Committee Democrats formally submitted their request. In response they were assigned an obscure time slot while the Congress was in recess, ensuring a minimal audience and scant congressional attendance. Those hearings were held yesterday. At least, they were supposed to be held yesterday.
The hearings began with personal testimony recounting horror stories of innocent people, some American citizens, whose rights had been grievously violated under cover of the Patriot Act. Most of the witnesses had traveled great distances to tell their stories. The hearings did not get very far.
When Republican Committee Chair, James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (Wisconsin), got word of what was going out over CSPAN, he raced to the hearing room, and gaveled the hearings to an abrupt adjournment on his own authority ... authority non-existent under House rules. When the Democrats objected and attempted to continue, he ordered the microphones shut off.
Think about it.
This is not the first time such things have happened since the coup began. The House and Senate are supposed to operate under the guidance of law and rules long established. This Republican leadership has regularly simply refused to follow the rules and will not recognize any objections from the minority ... or even dissenting members of the majority.
For example, another story you did not learn about from the news was exactly what Senate Majority Leader, Bill Frist, was attempting to do during the filibuster fight. Per the media, you would think that Senator Frist was attempting to change the filibuster rules. In fact, Frist was simply attempting to make ignoring the rule official Republican Senate policy.
Changing Senate rules requires a two-thirds majority vote of the Senate. Frist never had the support of two-thirds of the Senate, so the filibuster rule could not be changed. Therefore, he intended to get a simple majority of the Senate to vote that the filibuster rule did not apply to judicial confirmations. That was, of course, patent nonsense, but this Republican leadership simply does not care about rules of order. There was the unpleasant complication for Senator Frist that the Senate parliamentarian (a Republican), whose job it is to rule on such disputed matters of Senate rules, was a man of ethics and did not agree that the filibuster rule does not apply for judicial confirmations. He told Senator Frist that he would object to such an reinterpretation of the rules. Frist saw no real problem in that. He would simply refuse to recognize the parliamentarian, ensuring that he could not object.
As one commentator on Air America put it, this ruse was as if a member had wanted to bring his dog on the floor, but was prohibited from doing so by a "no dogs on the Senate floor" rule. Lacking the two-thirds vote needed to change the no-dogs rule, a majority of the Senate would then simply vote that the dog was not a dog, and therefore not subject to the rule. Such a procedure makes a mockery of the rule requiring a two-thirds vote for a rule change.
This tactic works for two simple reasons: First, not only do the Republicans control all three branches of government, but they maintain such tight control over party discipline that even those moderate Republicans who are personally appalled at the abuses of power they witness daily are afraid to cross their party leaders. Therefore, who are the Democrats to turn to for relief from this coup which respects no rules? The obvious answer is that their only recourse is to turn to the public.
That brings us to the second reason why this works. For reasons so complex that they are better left to another essay, the media is incredibly docile and compliant when it comes to confronting this administration. So, the public simply does not know what is going on. The public could find out -- if it was curious enough to explore hints that there are major stories that are somehow not being covered by the mass media -- but the public is preoccupied with stories such as the Runaway Bride, Michael Jackson, and Brad and Angelina.
Hence we have the ongoing coup, where rules, laws, and the constitution are simply ignored in Washington. Not only does one party control all three branches of government, but it is running roughshod over the constraints under which it is supposed to govern. The rights supposedly guaranteed the minority are simply being denied and ignored. The Republican leadership has essentially declared itself to be the final arbiter of all disputes, and it operates in extreme secrecy and with an arrogance that would have given pause even to Nixon. The only antidote to such a coup is an aroused public, and the public is dozing. People in Europe are more aware of what is going on in America than are Americans.
To be fair, only part of the public is dozing. There is a segment that is paying close attention -- the extreme Christian right. But they fully endorse and are a driving force behind the coup. They actually believe that it is their God-given right to rule America according to their beliefs, without regard or respect for other opinions. Those who disagree are not seen as just in opposition, but are contemptuously regarded as the godless, errant Christians, and unpatriotic, unworthy to share in the running of America.
This situation is not only reprehensible, it is downright dangerous. To date, there is nothing going on that could not be reversed by a simple loud outcry from the public. But power grabs have a way of spiraling out of control. Hitler was democratically elected. The German public did not have to vote him in, nor did it have to look the other way as he began to dismantle democratic government. But it did, and their situation soon evolved beyond their ability to reassert control.
All forms of coups are dangerous ... even little coups that the public decides it is not too concerned about. When a political party is allowed to ignore some of the rules and laws under which it is supposed to operate, that party inevitably lets power feed its thirst for more power. Up to a point, in a democracy the public can rise up and put that party back in its place. But, there will come a point where even the public loses its say.
There is considerable evidence that the 2000 election was stolen by abuse of government power and that a similar steal was attempted in 2004 (though I am not convinced that Republicans would not have won even in an election which they did not try to fix). Of course, if the electorate had cared enough about the abuses to be outraged, those abuses could not then have happened. If we ignore these abuses, and continue to reelect the worst abusers, the day could easily come when they will simply ensure that they win future elections, whatever real public sentiment may be.
Think about those Democratic House members who yesterday found their "guaranteed" rights as legislators gone ... simply stolen by a tyrant with no respect for Senate rules ... with no one to turn to for redress. How helpless do you suppose they felt? The day could come when we are all that helpless.
It's pretty simple. We are either going to rein the Republican leadership in and force them to respect due process, or they are going to continue grabbing power until we, the voters, no longer have the power to rein them in. The Republican leadership is presently out of control. Republicans are not inherently evil people, but control of the party has been captured by zealots. The problem is that we, the voters, have, with our inattention, given them the impression that we don't care and will forgive all; and they are running with that impression. If we wise up, they will wise up. If we doze too long, we will one day awake to find our democracy gone.
Dale E. Tozier
July 17 Postscript:
If what I have since heard on Air America Radio is correct, Chairman Sensenbrenner has now put out an edict that House Democrats are not to be allowed to use any room on Capitol Hill for any independent public hearings on any subject. They may go off the Hill if they so desire, but they may not call those meetings "hearings". They must call them "forums".
The Democrats held their "forum" on the Patriot Act this past week. The forum was not covered on any major-network news program that I watched. The "News Hour" on PBS did cover the forum.
Coincidentally, on June 9th a House subcommittee also voted in favor of eliminating all federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting over the course of the next two years, beginning with a 25% cut for next year's budget.
DET e-mail your comments
Day by day, the American media come to resemble more and more the Soviet media in their heyday.
Here is yet another remarkable story on the ongoing Republican coup that was apparently deemed not worthy of coverage by the American media. I apologize in advance if I got any parts of this wrong, but I am writing from memory, as I could not find any internet news stories on yesterday's extraordinary and historical events. (I use the term "historical" lightly, because I guess it won't be history if no one reports what happened and was shown on internationally broadcast CSPAN.)
If you have been watching the news, you do know that the congress recently ostensibly held hearings on extending the Patriot Act. You probably heard President Bush defending the Patriot Act, saying, among other things, that the government has thoroughly investigated all complaints of alleged abuses under the Patriot Act and found no problems.
Unless you listen to Air America Radio, you probably did not hear this story from yesterday:
As is routine practice for this Republican government, Democrats were not allowed to hear testimony from any of their desired witnesses during the House hearings on the Patriot Act. Only witnesses approved by the Republican members of the Judiciary Committee were allowed to testify. Historically, this has not been how the House operates, but that was before the coup began.
In response to being shut out during the full Judicial Committee hearings, the Democratic members of the Judiciary Committee invoked House Rule 11, which guarantees the minority party the right to conduct their own hearings on pending matters if they so request, calling their own witnesses. Committee Democrats formally submitted their request. In response they were assigned an obscure time slot while the Congress was in recess, ensuring a minimal audience and scant congressional attendance. Those hearings were held yesterday. At least, they were supposed to be held yesterday.
The hearings began with personal testimony recounting horror stories of innocent people, some American citizens, whose rights had been grievously violated under cover of the Patriot Act. Most of the witnesses had traveled great distances to tell their stories. The hearings did not get very far.
When Republican Committee Chair, James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (Wisconsin), got word of what was going out over CSPAN, he raced to the hearing room, and gaveled the hearings to an abrupt adjournment on his own authority ... authority non-existent under House rules. When the Democrats objected and attempted to continue, he ordered the microphones shut off.
Think about it.
This is not the first time such things have happened since the coup began. The House and Senate are supposed to operate under the guidance of law and rules long established. This Republican leadership has regularly simply refused to follow the rules and will not recognize any objections from the minority ... or even dissenting members of the majority.
For example, another story you did not learn about from the news was exactly what Senate Majority Leader, Bill Frist, was attempting to do during the filibuster fight. Per the media, you would think that Senator Frist was attempting to change the filibuster rules. In fact, Frist was simply attempting to make ignoring the rule official Republican Senate policy.
Changing Senate rules requires a two-thirds majority vote of the Senate. Frist never had the support of two-thirds of the Senate, so the filibuster rule could not be changed. Therefore, he intended to get a simple majority of the Senate to vote that the filibuster rule did not apply to judicial confirmations. That was, of course, patent nonsense, but this Republican leadership simply does not care about rules of order. There was the unpleasant complication for Senator Frist that the Senate parliamentarian (a Republican), whose job it is to rule on such disputed matters of Senate rules, was a man of ethics and did not agree that the filibuster rule does not apply for judicial confirmations. He told Senator Frist that he would object to such an reinterpretation of the rules. Frist saw no real problem in that. He would simply refuse to recognize the parliamentarian, ensuring that he could not object.
As one commentator on Air America put it, this ruse was as if a member had wanted to bring his dog on the floor, but was prohibited from doing so by a "no dogs on the Senate floor" rule. Lacking the two-thirds vote needed to change the no-dogs rule, a majority of the Senate would then simply vote that the dog was not a dog, and therefore not subject to the rule. Such a procedure makes a mockery of the rule requiring a two-thirds vote for a rule change.
This tactic works for two simple reasons: First, not only do the Republicans control all three branches of government, but they maintain such tight control over party discipline that even those moderate Republicans who are personally appalled at the abuses of power they witness daily are afraid to cross their party leaders. Therefore, who are the Democrats to turn to for relief from this coup which respects no rules? The obvious answer is that their only recourse is to turn to the public.
That brings us to the second reason why this works. For reasons so complex that they are better left to another essay, the media is incredibly docile and compliant when it comes to confronting this administration. So, the public simply does not know what is going on. The public could find out -- if it was curious enough to explore hints that there are major stories that are somehow not being covered by the mass media -- but the public is preoccupied with stories such as the Runaway Bride, Michael Jackson, and Brad and Angelina.
Hence we have the ongoing coup, where rules, laws, and the constitution are simply ignored in Washington. Not only does one party control all three branches of government, but it is running roughshod over the constraints under which it is supposed to govern. The rights supposedly guaranteed the minority are simply being denied and ignored. The Republican leadership has essentially declared itself to be the final arbiter of all disputes, and it operates in extreme secrecy and with an arrogance that would have given pause even to Nixon. The only antidote to such a coup is an aroused public, and the public is dozing. People in Europe are more aware of what is going on in America than are Americans.
To be fair, only part of the public is dozing. There is a segment that is paying close attention -- the extreme Christian right. But they fully endorse and are a driving force behind the coup. They actually believe that it is their God-given right to rule America according to their beliefs, without regard or respect for other opinions. Those who disagree are not seen as just in opposition, but are contemptuously regarded as the godless, errant Christians, and unpatriotic, unworthy to share in the running of America.
This situation is not only reprehensible, it is downright dangerous. To date, there is nothing going on that could not be reversed by a simple loud outcry from the public. But power grabs have a way of spiraling out of control. Hitler was democratically elected. The German public did not have to vote him in, nor did it have to look the other way as he began to dismantle democratic government. But it did, and their situation soon evolved beyond their ability to reassert control.
All forms of coups are dangerous ... even little coups that the public decides it is not too concerned about. When a political party is allowed to ignore some of the rules and laws under which it is supposed to operate, that party inevitably lets power feed its thirst for more power. Up to a point, in a democracy the public can rise up and put that party back in its place. But, there will come a point where even the public loses its say.
There is considerable evidence that the 2000 election was stolen by abuse of government power and that a similar steal was attempted in 2004 (though I am not convinced that Republicans would not have won even in an election which they did not try to fix). Of course, if the electorate had cared enough about the abuses to be outraged, those abuses could not then have happened. If we ignore these abuses, and continue to reelect the worst abusers, the day could easily come when they will simply ensure that they win future elections, whatever real public sentiment may be.
Think about those Democratic House members who yesterday found their "guaranteed" rights as legislators gone ... simply stolen by a tyrant with no respect for Senate rules ... with no one to turn to for redress. How helpless do you suppose they felt? The day could come when we are all that helpless.
It's pretty simple. We are either going to rein the Republican leadership in and force them to respect due process, or they are going to continue grabbing power until we, the voters, no longer have the power to rein them in. The Republican leadership is presently out of control. Republicans are not inherently evil people, but control of the party has been captured by zealots. The problem is that we, the voters, have, with our inattention, given them the impression that we don't care and will forgive all; and they are running with that impression. If we wise up, they will wise up. If we doze too long, we will one day awake to find our democracy gone.
Dale E. Tozier
July 17 Postscript:
If what I have since heard on Air America Radio is correct, Chairman Sensenbrenner has now put out an edict that House Democrats are not to be allowed to use any room on Capitol Hill for any independent public hearings on any subject. They may go off the Hill if they so desire, but they may not call those meetings "hearings". They must call them "forums".
The Democrats held their "forum" on the Patriot Act this past week. The forum was not covered on any major-network news program that I watched. The "News Hour" on PBS did cover the forum.
Coincidentally, on June 9th a House subcommittee also voted in favor of eliminating all federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting over the course of the next two years, beginning with a 25% cut for next year's budget.
DET e-mail your comments
posted by Satya | 3:33 PM
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