It's All Very Simple, Really

My vastly-more-productive fellow local blogger Jeff Pruitt was very, very angry this past Friday:

It isn’t everyday you can vote to expand the President’s warrantless wiretapping program AND give immunity to companies that have admittedly violated the US Constitution.

I can’t say much about this right now because I’m simply too pissed off. I just want to say thanks to all the House Democrats who sold out their party and their country today by caving to the criminal Bush cabal and passing the draconian FISA amendment bill. Thanks for weakening the 4th amendment, expanding presidential power and granting amnesty to all the telecom companies that knowingly and willingly violated our constitutional rights by illegally spying on American citizens.

Congratulations for passing a bill the Republican controlled congress couldn’t get through. And you should all be very proud that Republicans actually have a higher favorable rating of you than Democrats. Awful jackasses.

Jeff, allow me to suggest a few things.

(1) There's no important difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

(2) The House Democrats didn't "sell out their party." They served their party's interests (more on that below). As for "selling out their country," well, guilty as charged. How does that differentiate them from their Republican counterparts? See item (1), above.

(3) The Bushies presumably promised the telecoms that, if they played ball, no harm could come to them. This promise was no doubt presented as binding on successor Administrations. Suppose the Democrats (who will occupy the Oval Office soon enough) had canceled the deal. Don't you suppose the Democrats will also have uses for everyone's emails and phone calls? See item (1), above. They, too, will need the telecoms, which aren't likely to be so cooperative next time unless the gentlemen's agreement is honored.

The constitutional republic -- to whatever extent it ever actually existed -- is dead. It can't be revived by voting within the context of a completely-rigged system. Perhaps it can't be revived at all.