It's no accident that every time George Walker Bush gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar, his manufactured defense ties somehow back to September 11, 2001. It's all he has, all he knows.
He believes that 9/11 defines his presidency, and as such, it has provided him with a blank check that supercedes both law and ethics.
Secret European prisons? "I'm protecting you from another attack." Torture and Indefinite Detention? "We must have these tools to fight the war on terror." Staging videoconferences with soldiers and planting pro-American propaganda in the Mid East media? "Common practice in winning the war of information." The War in Iraq? "Fighting them 'over there' so we don't have to fight them here." Illegal domestic spying? "I am charged with protecting the American people."
Clearly, Bush has overdrawn his blank check account as it relates to 9/11. He will continue to do so until we stop griping and start acting. My "to do" list for today is on the flip. I hope you join me.
First, a message to the DNC, the DCCC and every other Democratic leadership group out there...
The only time I ever hear from you is when you want money or you want me to sign a petition that the White House will never accept. I have one request from you: MOBILIZE YOUR CONSTITUENTS! Tell us what to do. Tell us what will be effective. Give us some guidance.
Here we are -- tens of thousands of bloggers, voters and concerned citizens -- trying to mobilize each other. Don't get me wrong -- it's what I love about communities like Kos -- but at some point, you need to ask us to do something beyond sending money and signing online petitions.
Until then, in the name of 9/11, I will mobilize myself.
Since it's -4 degrees outside, and since my Packers don't play today, and since I'm done Christmas shopping, here's how I'll spend my Sunday:
1. I will write a letter to my main representatives (Russ Feingold, Herb Kohl, Tammy Baldwin) and ask them to move "administration oversight" to the very top of their 2006 priority lists. Clearly, the Bush Administration is dangerous and dictatorial when unchecked. And it's their job to do the checking.
2. I will leave voicemails at their local and DC offices, briefly reiterating the letter.
3. I will write letters to the editor at large and small newspapers throughout Southern Wisconsin, expressing my disgust for the administration's cavalier, above-the-law behavior -- especially when it's packaged as "for my own good," in the name of 9/11.
4. I will send a letter to Howard Dean, asking him to better mobilize the Party with a coherent, unified action plan that will get results.
I will lather, rinse and repeat throughout the holidays, so that the pile of mail in Congress is absolutely overwhelming when they return from their break.
Finally, I will send one thank you card to George W. Bush, because if one good thing has come out of his presidency, it's that millions of otherwise passive political participants are starting to wake up and take action. Well done, King George.