Joe Lieberman is rightfully repudiated by Liberal Democrats as an opportunistic political hack.
I, as much as anyone on this site, wish to see him subject to Congressional discipline and to be removed from his seat on Homeland Security.
Many members of this site, including Kos, now take Obama to task for the neutral position he has staked and are expressing disappointment at his apparent failure of political will.
This is extremely short-sighted and misguided.
May I explain after the fold?
An enduring legacy of the Bush Administration, and perhaps one of the most damaging, is the disrespect for the systematic checks and balances enshrined in the Constitution. At every turn, the current administration has pushed the bounds of executive privilege with reckless disregard for the principle of Separation of Powers, upon which he US system of governance is based.
This has been executed with impunity, unchecked and unchallenged by the Congress to the detriment of good governance.
Constitutional lawyers from both sides of the aisles, perhaps most notably and articulately by the conservative Bruce Fein, have spoken out on the danger of this systematic dismemberment of Constitutional safeguards and the danger is poses.
Fein has often made the point that the Founding Fathers, understanding first-hand the dangers and abuses inherent in imperial systems, exercised great wisdom and care constructing a system of government to avoid these abuses, which executives will be tempted to use if available.
I do not know if Obama’s background in Constitutional Law informed his decision, but I do know his decision respects and promotes the principle of this separation and the checks and balances provided to exercise it.
Obama is a member of the Executive Branch, Lieberman and his colleagues, the Congressional Branch.
As Obama correctly states, it is the responsibility of Reid as majority leader to deal with this situation and take whatever measures available and suitable to decide if he should continue to hold his committee chair.
If the outcome is unacceptable to Democrats, if the consensus is Reid is unsuitable to continue as majority leader, than this is the business of the Democratic Caucus to decide, and I encourage all Democrats to contact their Senators to express their opinions on the subject.
However, let’s not make the mistake of continuing down the path of the Bush Administration. The failure of Congressional Democrats to deal with Administration abuses is now, effectively, in the past, but there is no reason to let this go further.
Ideas do matter. Foundation principles do matter. The Constitution is the Law of the Land.
No?