The past two days have presented the spectacle of former Republican chairs of Senate committees acting as if they still owned the place. Yesterday it was James Inhofe of Oklahoma having to be reminded who holds the gavel and who makes the rules. Barbara Boxer was very direct, very pointed, and very accurate - he might have gotten away with such bully-boy tactics before, but the grown-ups were put in charge by the voters, so start acting like an adult, or just leave.
Today it was that egregiously awful Arlen Specter - remember Anita Hill, anyone? - wondering why the Senate Judiciary Committee couldn't just go along with the White House rules; after all, Specter seems to suggest, something seems to be better than nothing. Leahy's response, quoted above, sums up the past six years - nothing, zip, zilch, nada. The United States Senate does not go begging, hat in hand, for favors. It invites testimony, and if those invitations are declined, it demands it under penalty of law. Period. This White House has no more chances left - not with this Congress, not with the American people, not with the world at large. The entire Department of Justice is under a cloud; its integrity, its independence, even the reputations of those USAs still in office are all questionable now because one wonders, exactly what they did to remain in office, what kind of compromises they accepted, what kind of interference they countenanced. Of course, this cloud hovers over not just Justice, but every executive branch office, because the Third World junta running this country thinks it is entitled to do whatever it wants, regardless of law, custom, or the Constitution.
I am glad that Specter made a spectacle of himself, because it is quite clear now, if ever doubt rested in any heads, where he stands. His institutional cowardice, his party pandering - last fall he spoke against the bill that, among other things, gave the AG the power to do what has led to this entire mess - and then, after giving a roaring speech about the destruction of our civil liberties, he voted for the damn thing. Back in the early 1990's, he was in full prosecutor mode, attacking Anita Hill's integrity and veracity, when even a cursory glance at the mountain of evidence would have made it quite clear that her allegations - Clarence Thomas is crude, porn-loving, and sex-obsessed - could be corroborated by any number of people (as was done by the authors of Strange Justice). Specter's spectacle back then was harassing a witness who was reluctant enough to testify about matters no person should have to air in public. Now, he pleads for another freebie for the White House.
No, Arlen. No, James. It is time to recognize and admit that the Republicans lost, and the rules are set by people who are doing things the right way - listening to witnesses, not badgering them; and demanding answers under oath rather than having off-the-record chats, with an agenda set by those being interviewed. We are tired of nothing, and it seems we might get something after all.
Here's hoping.
