January 16, 2006 Al Gore delivered a speech on constitutional issues facing this country. These few words spoken by Gore are arguably one of the most important speeches (so far) of the 21st Century. We are at a critical time in our history.
It is time that the people of this country demand that this administration stop ignoring the Constitution. It is time that the people of this country demand that this administration stop all illegal activities.
It is time that Congress stands up once again to become the deliberative Legislative body that once was a check on the Executive branch. We do not need a rubber stamp Congress. We need a Congress that will exercise its right and obligation to be the branch that makes the Laws. Laws that the Executive branch is legally bound to follow.
Part of the problem is right here in our own 4th congressional district. We have sent ‘Doc’ Hastings to Congress only to have him slavishly regurgitate the administration party line. He is titular head of the disfunctional House Ethics Committee that is strangely silent on the corruption within the Republican Party. His silence speaks volumes about where his allegiances lay. Not with the people that elected him. His silence on the constitutional issues of the wiretapping shows that he does not care about the rights of the people. His silence puts him on the side of breaking the laws that protect us from government. His silence is frightening.