The White House-backed bill makes a mockery of legislative procedure. The most extensive reorganization of the federal government in 50 years is being rammed through Congress in a 484-page bill that most senators and congressmen have not read, with many provisions on which there have been no hearings and no public discussion. Senator Robert Byrd, the senior member of the Senate, spoke last Thursday night on the Senate floor, denouncing the legislation as a “sham,” and urging his colleagues not to “roll over and play dead.”
Daschle and the Democratic leadership, however, have made it clear that they will not conduct any struggle against the bill, and Daschle himself said he might vote for it. The Democrats’ complicity underscores the fact that there is no significant constituency for the defense of democratic rights against the power of the state in either party. Congress has become little more than a rubber stamp for the demands of an executive branch that is preparing to combine war abroad and repression of political opposition and dissent at home.
By the Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Site: http://www.wsws.org
18 November 2002
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Daschle and the Democratic leadership, however, have made it clear that they will not conduct any struggle against the bill, and Daschle himself said he might vote for it. The Democrats’ complicity underscores the fact that there is no significant constituency for the defense of democratic rights against the power of the state in either party. Congress has become little more than a rubber stamp for the demands of an executive branch that is preparing to combine war abroad and repression of political opposition and dissent at home.
By the Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Site: http://www.wsws.org
18 November 2002
Please continue for important Links...