Demanding Accountability By Senator Russ Feingold Daily Kos July 22, 2007 The last time I posted on Daily Kos, it certainly generated a lot of interest, even though many people disagreed with what I had to say. I read all of the comments and I know many of you disagreed with me. As always, I appreciate how honest and passionate the Daily Kos community is about the issues that matter and even when we don’t agree it was important to have the civil exchange that we did. After that last post, you really got me thinking. While I still am not convinced that Congress should pursue impeachment, you made some great points about how important it is to hold this administration accountable for its terrible misconduct. That includes tough oversight by Congress, but we should do more than that. The history books should show that Congress formally condemned this President, and others in the administration who have so brazenly misled the American people and undercut the rule of law. So, as I announced a little while ago on Meet the Press, I plan to introduce two censure resolutions in the Senate in the coming weeks. These will be broad resolutions, one of which will address the war in Iraq, including the administration's efforts to mislead the nation into, and during, the war, mismanagement of the war, and its attempts to justify this Iraq mistake by distorting the situation on the ground in Iraq. The other condemns the administration's abuse of the rule of law. Because, of all this administration's outrageous misconduct, those are truly the worst of the worst. As you know, over a year ago I introduced a resolution to censure the President for his illegal wiretapping program, and for the way he misled Congress and the public before and after the program’s disclosure about whether his administration was following the law. I appreciated the strong support I got from all of you for that effort. You really helped galvanize support for that push for accountability, and encouraged people all over the country to recognize how damaging the President's actions were to our basic freedoms. This time I am taking a broader approach because the list of administration wrongdoing, misleading statements, and out and out lies, just keeps getting longer. Congress should censure the President not only for the illegal wiretapping program, but for the administration's phony reasons for going to war in Iraq, for trashing habeas corpus, for giving the green light to torture, and the list goes on and on. I want Congress to condemn what the administration has done, both for the American people, and for history. We all know what a disaster this administration is, and generations to come should know it too, so they can avoid a repeat of the misconduct we have witnessed over the past six and a half years. I know some of you may not believe these resolutions are enough, and I understand that. I am as frustrated as you are about this administration’s actions and I hope the proposal I made today is something you’ll consider helping me with (in addition to other efforts you may support). Together we will hold this administration accountable for its many abuses. The history books will show we were vocal in condemning the President’s abuses of power. I want you to know how much your honest opinions influenced my thinking on this, and how much I value what all of you have to say. This conversation isn't over by a long shot, in part because these resolutions aren't written yet. I'll be working to put them together, and I welcome your input. So let's keep talking. Update: Thanks everyone for taking time out of your weekend to offer me some feedback. I want to address some of the comments and questions you’ve posted. I did speak with Senator Reid about this and rest assured I will certainly be making my case to him and my other colleagues. As I said on Meet the Press, even Republican Senator Gordon Smith has had some very strong words for this administration’s actions regarding Iraq. Democrats and Republicans alike should be outraged at the contempt the administration has shown for Congress – from interpreting the laws we pass however they want through signing statements, to writing its own laws like we saw with the illegal wiretapping program, to treating Congress as nothing more than an ATM machine. As far as impeachment is concerned, as I have stated, I do not believe it is the right course of action right now. Censure is a way to formally rebuke the administration for its misconduct so that the historical record is clear, without putting the country through a very trying process. Again, if the House votes to impeach, I will approach it with all the seriousness I did when President Clinton was impeached, listening to the case presented. Censure is not a cure all. We need to act to correct the problems created by this administration. We need to get our brave troops out from the middle of what is largely an Iraqi civil war. We need to significantly revise the Military Commissions Act, get to the bottom of the U.S. Attorneys scandal, and find out more about the warrantless wiretapping program before we move forward with a legislative fix. There is a lot more to do and I will work with my colleagues on the Senate Judiciary, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committees to do it. But I also think that censure is important to show future generations that we formally condemned the actions of this administration.