Sunday, April 12, 2009

Hey Congress.. WAKE UP AND DO YOUR DAMN JOB!!!

Hey Congress.. Wake Up and do your damn job. That's what I think Pres. Obama is trying to say without saying it.

Yeah, I could be wrong, and I could be alone in my thinking. But I believe there are a few of you out there who see the things that are happening and wonder what is the world is he doing and why is he doing it.

Just last week there was this:

The Obama administration said Friday that it would appeal a district court ruling that granted some military prisoners in Afghanistan the right to file lawsuits seeking their release. The decision signaled that the administration was not backing down in its effort to maintain the power to imprison terrorism suspects for extended periods without judicial oversight. In a court filing, the Justice Department also asked District Judge John D. Bates not to proceed with the habeas-corpus cases of three detainees at Bagram Air Base outside Kabul, Afghanistan.
Tina Foster, the executive director of the International Justice Network, which is representing the detainees, condemned the decision in a statement. “Though he has made many promises regarding the need for our country to rejoin the world community of nations, by filing this appeal,President Obama has taken on the defense of one of the Bush administration’s unlawful policies founded on nothing more than the idea that might makes right,” she said.


But do you remember when he said this:

In September 2006, Obama said on the Senate floor that “restricting somebody’s right to challenge their imprisonment indefinitely is not going to make us safer. In fact, recent evidence shows it is probably making us less safe.”

See, he is trying to tell us something I think. He also did this before. He said he wasn't going to use the Executive Orders and Signing Statements like Bush did. And he hasn't so far. Well, he doesn't want to. He is waiting on Congress to step up and do their damn job.

If they would pass a law, stating these people had rights, just like everyone else does, and overturn the orders Bush put in place, Pres. Obama could then sign it and it would be taken care of. He would follow the law.

As, FDR said.. “Force me to do what I said.” That's what he is asking us to do. That's what Pres. Obama is asking Congress to do.
As a commenter at another blog I go to said so very well,

“ It's time for them to reign in the executive in such a way that it becomes legal precedent and not expect Obama to do it for them by executive order alone. The problem is they are content to lament this in news conferences and press shows while not seriously considering action because, once again, they don't know how to make the argument against what's being done. It's once again the "We Don't Have The Votes/There Are More Important Issues Right Now/Is That My Phone Ringing?/Blah Blah Blah" excuse for why they don't have the balls to make it happen. “


That's what I mean. I think that is what he is saying, but he can't come out and tell them to do their job, it is up to them and us. We have to hold them and him to it.
It is the same with holding the Bush Administration accountable for the crimes they committed, it really isn't up to Pres. Obama to accuse or charge them with crimes. That is not for the Executive branch of the Government. That should come under the Judicial or the Legislative also. Again it goes back to Congress or the Attorney General to get the process started.

Once it is started, then if needed Pres. Obama might weigh in, but he is really out of any criminal proceedings in the Government.

Maybe I am wrong, maybe I am living in a dream world and just buying into all of this, but this is what I am thinking.

After the horrors of the last 8 years, I want to believe again. I want to think we have someone different and good in the White House and I refuse to give up this soon. So, I for one am not going to write him off yet. I am going to continue to believe and hope and look for the change I worked for, called for, knocked on doors for and finally voted for.

5 comments:

♥♥♥♥♥ Jennifer™® ♥♥♥♥♥ said...

your blog is very nice

Tango daddy said...

You are not living in a dream world and I do like your chain of thought. It is up to us to make him do it. Put anything up to the new President in a timely manner and he will deal with it fairly!!

Fran said...

I don't view presidential choices as *all of nothing*. For him or against him. In a sense that is what they tried to sell us with Bush. that you HAD to totally agree & support everything he did & iced that cake with the thought that inherently equates to patriotism.
We must follow our leader.

I don't buy that & I think that is a dangerous path to follow. Besides, Obama himself has promoted all these neighborhood group think tanks for solutions & directions.

So I don't think we need to draw lines in the sand, such as if Obama ddoes not do EVERYTHING the way I see it, I no longer support him, etc.

For me-- the crux of the issue is this-- G. W. Bush was able to mow down the Constitution & rule of law with frightening ease. He really was a rogue who did not follow both the U.S. laws , rules & treaties, but also broke International laws. Once that has beeb violated, he has opened the door for those presidents who follow to continue to violate the Constitution & laws of the land.

So for many progressive minded people, they are very closely watching the candidate who is touted as a "Champion of the Constitution", and Civil rights leader/lawyer. Because the last president was so out of line, we want to see Obama at least follow the existing rules & laws.

There is not an unreasonable expectation that he has superpowers to fix all the 8 years of problems Bush left behind, especially the financial ruins.
Bush took 8 years to really screw things up, and it will take a long time to correct so many things that are really broken.

But established things-- like rule of law-honoring habeas-corpus, warrentless wiretapping, and other things Bush started should be obvious violations of our established rule of law.

Reasonable people are looking for our leader to simply honor long established, foundational elements.

Too bad there is not a *reset* button, that outlaws all the things Bush did & sets us back to the rule of law starting point.

Lots of folks just don't want a new president who winds up keeping so much of the unlawful garbage Bush enacted, in place.

The bottom line is this~ just because a politician can deliver a smooth speech, does not make him progressive. I'm watching to see if the actions match the words.

If someone promises change, but deliver more of the same- wars, over the top war budgets, and a continuation of broken laws & violation of the constitution, that does not stack up to change.

Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.

We should be paying attention & willing to call out important items that need correcting.
It does not mean we don;t support the president, we are allowed to disagree.
I voted for the guy. I made calls too, to encourage others to vote for him.
I really want him to be successful, and I want law & order restored to our country.

We the people may need to call him out on wrong decisions. I don't see that as throwing in the towel on him or giving up on him.

Patricia said...

I think it's good to question, but I certainly wouldn't give up on him because of any of this. I believe his intentions are correct and his judgement is sound. We will all be watching to see where all this goes, of course. As Fran said above, we're watching all this very closely because of the Bush administration's behavior. I'll bet that most of us don't really know what policies - as opposed to laws - were in place in previous administrations or what laws were respected and which were bent or even broken. Amnesty International probably was paying attention, but I don't think the normal, politically aware citizen was. I doubt there's been consistent clarity on this kind of thing for a long time. Achieving that would be a first step.

enigma4ever said...

you are not wrong and you are not alone...

it was 8 very long years of bush- sadly that left most of us jaded and out of patience...and tired ...very very tired....

so Obama is facing more critics than most....

most of us want change and want it now on many fronts..and truthfully obama has done more than most in a short time...as a president he has done alot in the first 80 days...and considering the Huge Pile of Crap that Bush left...and considering the Obstruction party that has taken shape- the GOP- that seems to be the only thing unifying them ( Boener etc )...and yes, I would love to see us out of Iraq sooner than later and Afganistan confuses me...and yes, Mainstreet is still hurting....but I also know under McCain right now I would be filing or trying to file immigration paperwork to move Anywhere....seriously...

and about What is still on the agenda...the Terra list and No Fly List- that is personal to me...Civil Rights - the Illegal Spying on Citizens...and also the absurd patriot act- and yeah what is going to happen with gitmo- I know he will work on ALL of this eventually- but yeah a part of me wants it done now...but that is me...

I am glad that he is working on so many issues at one time...and I trust him...I actually sleep at night...I didn't under Bush....

okay I rambled enough...