Sadly, the scenario of Democrats hiding under the table whimpering while Republicans take principled stands against their own out-of-control brethren goes back at least to the days of Joseph McCarthy. "Tailgunner Joe," who, we note, was not a tailgunner, but had lied about his war record (another chickenhawk!), ruined family and family, career after career, life after life with the most baseless and flat-out insane allegations alone. Just being called before the HUAC was enough to ruin you -- and God help you if you told these people where to get off, or dared try to protect yourself under the Fifth Amendment. You gave them the answers you wanted, or went straight to prison. And, interestingly, in a foreshadowing of Al-Gore-as-arrogant-Poindexter bashing, the press went gleefully along with it. After all, it was mainly "eggheads" and intellectuals, writers and Ivy League types who caught the worst from Kenneth Starr's spiritual father.

Edward R. Murrow was going out on a limb when he did his See It Now broadcast exposing the venality of the junior senator from Wisconsin. Fortunately he had a boss who was willing to let him take the chance. Imagine that happening today. It certainly didn't happen during the Clinton impeachment circus. If Cokie Roberts had been around in the early '50s I can only imagine the jaw-dropping banalities she'd be mouthing to excuse McCarthy: "Sam, as you know, Washington is a community, and people get together when they sense something isn't right. And communism, you must admit, is a real threat. Of course, now, McCarthy can be, um, somewhat controversial in his methodology. [Laughter all around.] But as they say, you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs."

(In recent years Reich-wing "intellectuals" like William F. Buckley, et al., have been working to whitewash McCarthy's image for the record, using variations on that thesis. Never mind the ruined lives, the Constitution being used as toilet paper by a vindictive, partisan Inquisition: the Communists were a threat, and if we had to become just like them to get rid of them, well, it was a long time ago and why do you care? You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, and those people weren't members of our country club anyway, so there.)

Again, the Democrats all but hid under the tables lest they be accused of being "Reds" themselves. And, as historian David Halberstram notes in his book The Fifties, the Republicans let McCarthy go on with his reign of terror until he had more or less won them the 1954 congressional elections. (The main accomplishments of these Congresses were, we note, putting "In God We Trust" on our currency and "under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance. They even fought Republican President Eisenhower on building the Interstate system!) That the Republicans are standing up now is encouraging. But don't look for them to restore the rule of habeas corpus. Or reform election laws. And no doubt the Democrats in congress see soon-to-be-former Rep. McKinney as getting what was coming to her: an Aunt Thomasina with Republican backing emerging from political nowhere to neutralize her once and for all within her own party.

Bottom line: It's up to us, We the People, to light the fire under the Dems.
Time to start firing off some e-mails. Again. And again.

Thanks for all the great work you do, Bartcop. One of the reasons the media acts the way it does is to make people who ask the obvious questions feel isolated and alone. You are an encouragement to every one who dares believe in the real America, as opposed to the warped cartoon version the conservanazis have made of it, all the while wiping their bottoms with the American flag (which, when you think about, explains why they don't want anyone burning it -- the flag is their favorite toilet paper, next to the Constitution).

Please withhold my name, for reasons you and the staff at MWO understand all too well.