Sunday, December 18, 2005
Where does Single Party Rule Take Us?
This past week's revelations about the Pentagon's and administration's illegal domestic spying practices, as well as the Katrina response disaster and the epidemic of cronyism that has spred like wildfire throughout the Republican Party, has dramatically showcased the results of one party government.
This from a Washington Post Article:
The question isn't whether or not we want a partisan government...it's whether or not we want a functioning government...one that has a the strong checks and balances that our forefathers intended when they crafted the Constitution, or the one we see today.
What can you do to help government function properly? Quite simply, you can help restore checks and balances and break the stranglehold the Republican Party has on governmental power by working to remove Sue Kelly from office in November, 2006.
This from a Washington Post Article:
In an interview last week, Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, said "it's a fair comment" that the GOP-controlled Congress has done insufficient oversight and "ought to be" doing more.
"Republican Congresses tend to overinvestigate Democratic administrations and underinvestigate their own," said Davis, who added that he has tried to pick up some of the slack with his committee. "I get concerned we lose our separation of powers when one party controls both branches."
Democrats on the committee said the panel issued 1,052 subpoenas to probe alleged misconduct by the Clinton administration and the Democratic Party between 1997 and 2002, at a cost of more than $35 million. By contrast, the committee under Davis has issued three subpoenas to the Bush administration, two to the Energy Department over nuclear waste disposal at Yucca Mountain, and one last week to the Defense Department over Katrina documents.
Some experts on Congress say that the legislative branch has shed much of its oversight authority because of a combination of aggressive actions by the Bush administration, acquiescence by congressional leaders, and political demands that keep lawmakers out of Washington more than before. (emphasis mine)
"Republican Congresses tend to overinvestigate Democratic administrations and underinvestigate their own," said Davis, who added that he has tried to pick up some of the slack with his committee. "I get concerned we lose our separation of powers when one party controls both branches."
Democrats on the committee said the panel issued 1,052 subpoenas to probe alleged misconduct by the Clinton administration and the Democratic Party between 1997 and 2002, at a cost of more than $35 million. By contrast, the committee under Davis has issued three subpoenas to the Bush administration, two to the Energy Department over nuclear waste disposal at Yucca Mountain, and one last week to the Defense Department over Katrina documents.
Some experts on Congress say that the legislative branch has shed much of its oversight authority because of a combination of aggressive actions by the Bush administration, acquiescence by congressional leaders, and political demands that keep lawmakers out of Washington more than before. (emphasis mine)
The question isn't whether or not we want a partisan government...it's whether or not we want a functioning government...one that has a the strong checks and balances that our forefathers intended when they crafted the Constitution, or the one we see today.
What can you do to help government function properly? Quite simply, you can help restore checks and balances and break the stranglehold the Republican Party has on governmental power by working to remove Sue Kelly from office in November, 2006.
