{cross-posted from Scrutiny Hooligans}
"The tragedy of our day is the climate of fear in which we live, and fear breeds repression. Too often sinister threats to the Bill of Rights, to freedom of the mind, are concealed under the patriotic cloak of anti-communism." - Adlai Stevenson, 1952.
You may have wondered how the Bush Administration and their partisan minions get away with scandal after scandal. How can they openly torture, lie, spy, peddle influence, ignore the poor, and wage endless war? They can do it because Americans are afraid. The fear tactic relieved the Old Guard Democratic Party of its spine, stigmatized dissent, and made it possible for our government to break the law without overwhelming public outcry.
Courage vs. Cowardice after the jump
Senator Russ Feingold is standing up and saying, "Enough".
He is moving to censure the President over the illegal domestic wiretap program. Wingnuts across the internets are setting up an unholy howl to paint Feingold a traitor, and the corporate media eagerly laps up
quotes like this one from Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council:
"I mean, this is -- in a time of war, this is borderline treasonous behavior. I mean, this takes politics to a new low. I mean, this literally -- what he is doing -- puts our military and our nation at greater risk by sending the message that we're divided, that we're not intent on protecting our nation against terrorists."
In otherwords, if the President breaks the law, then anyone who holds him accountable wants the terrorists to win. In otherwords, Perkins says that Feingold wants you and your children to die.
Fear and oppression are in full swing from now until November. The Republicans want you to make a choice - you're either with the President and willing to afford him imperial latitude in his decision making or you're with the terrorists.
Russ Feingold is asking that the Senate take up the issue of the Bush administration's vast data-mining operation spying on ordinary Americans without legislative or judicial oversight. Republicans want to crucify him for this.
It is insulting to suggest that America can't overcome radical Islamic terrorists wihout doing away with our national values. It's a cowardly nation that, when confronted with a far weaker enemy, abandons its principles out of fear.
Russ Feingold is asking us to stand up and be courageous, to stand up for the Rule of Law and the Constitution of the United States. He's asking us to win this war with honor and with our national spirit intact. He's calling George W. Bush into account for his cowardly willingness to jettison American liberty in the name of American liberty.
The Republican Noise Machine is about to try to tar and feather Russ Feingold. They're sharpening their spears, ready to discredit his courage by invoking the oppression born of fear.
Unless Americans like us are willing to support Senator Feingold, the culture of fear will persist. Russ, like you, believes we can vanquish the terror threat, obey the law, and lead the world by example. George W. Bush and the 35% of Americans who still support him are so fearful that they would sacrifice America's values in their panic.
We can live in fear, or we can adopt the courage of conviction. Russ Feingold is telling us to stand up not only to the President's lawbreaking but to the premise that fear of death trumps our basic humanity. Contact your representatives today and tell them you support Russ Feingold's move to censure the President.