Weekly Inquisition - Episode 19

[Ryan Olson]

Now that the Democrats have control of the House and Senate, what should their first course of action be?

[Brian]

Impeach the bastards!
Having said that, we know that won't happen, at least not right away.
The Democrats have already announced they will seek a raise in the minimum wage, but
any legislation the Democrats pass will most likely be vetoed by Bush.
What the Dems should do is repeal all of the legislation this administration has passed that has laid the groundwork for  fascism in America. But they won't and even if they did, there's the veto, again.
In the meantime, while this is being played out, investigations should have been started on a whole array of issues and as the frustration sets in and the facts accumulate, I'm hoping the impeachment option will gain steam.
We'll see.
But if it were up to me, I say Impeach them immediately and avoid all of this. This isn't politics as usual. These guys don't deserve to be negotiated with. They have taken this country to an all time low while stuffing their pockets. They are guilty of Treason and should be prosecuted. I want them removed from the White House either in cuffs or straight jackets.

[Ryan Olson]

I love it!  I'm with you Brian.  I definitely want Bush and the other Republican to feel the pain during these last 2 years -- I don't want them to leave office unscathed, and I think investigations need to happen.  Much of their behavior definitely appears to be criminal in nature.

But what Republican-passed legislation could be repealed?  I suppose we could start with the Patriot Act, and the torture legislation imbedded in the Military Commissions Act of 2006.  But it seems that much of what Bush does, criminally, is linked to his presidential signing statements.  Maybe the Democrats should form a commission to investigate every single presidential signing statement, and look to 'kill' any that are particularly dangerous?

I've also been thinking that some sort of plan or solution for Iraq would be difficult to hash out, and will take time... but what about bringing to the House/Senate floor something as simple as this:  the government will not pay to construct, maintain, or occupy any permanent military bases in Iraq, with either current or future government spending.

Let's let everybody weigh in on this -- who wants to stay in Iraq indefinitely, and who wants no part of it?  The Vietnam War was stopped by cutting of the military spending, and I don't want any part of that, the military already seems underfunded as it is.  But cutting off spending for permanent military bases seems like a step in the right direction, and would send a message to the Iraqi people:  our plan is not to occupy your county indefinitely.

Thanks, as always, for your feedback Brian!

[StopWarCrimes!]

Impeach, Impeach, Impeach.  No doubt about it.  Impeachment is off the table my ass.  If they don't impeach I will have lost all faith in the system (the little bit I got back from the fact that Americans actually voted the Republicans out that is). 

[matt]

So far I think that they've mostly made the right moves, talk bipartisan and let Bush show how little he gives a crap about that idea, such as with the idea of 20,000 new troops sent out or the Bolton nomination and now adding this new guy Eric Keroack as the new chief of Family Planning Programs.  This guy is the director for a Christian non-profit that preaches that contraceptives are "demeaning to women".  It's good that people get an idea of how little the administration plans to change, even though the people of this country obviously want some change from the status quo, but then this is the same president that basically said the American people are short-sighted and stupid for voting so many of his allies out.
As for the Democrats, Pelosi's 100 hour plan seems to have gotten underway for the most part and it sounds pretty good.  A good start, but I hope they're just building steam.