Feingold to introduce censure resolution

Update: The transcript of Howard Dean on Wolf Blitzer can be found here. I haven't found the video available anywhere yet.

Via Crooks and Liars:

On "THIS WEEK," Sen. Feingold told George Stephanopolous that he wants the Senate to admonish Bush for approving domestic wiretaps on American citizens without first seeking a legally required court order.

Crooks and Liars has the video, and Raw Story has the transcript.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Tomorrow in the Senate, you're going to introduce a resolution to censure George W. Bush. Let me show that to our viewers.

It says, "Resolved that the United States Senate does hereby censure George W. Bush, president of the United States, and does condemn his unlawful authorization of wiretaps of Americans."

That is a big step. Why are you taking it now?

FEINGOLD: It's an unusual step. It's a big step, but what the president did by consciously and intentionally violating the Constitution and laws of this country with this illegal wiretapping, has to be answered.

There can be debate about whether the law should be changed. There can be debate about how best to fight terrorism. We all believe that there should be wiretapping in appropriate cases -- but the idea that the president can just make up a law, in violation of his oath of office, has to be answered.

More here.

It's quite good, I think. I especially like this part:

FEINGOLD: What I'm interested in is my colleagues acknowledging that we as a Congress have to stand up to a president who acts as if the Bill of Rights and the Constitution were repealed on September 11. We didn't enact martial law on September 11. We still have a constitutional form of government, and if the Congress of the United States does not stand up for that authority at this point, it will be an historic failure of our system of government.

Wow--he talks like he's got one of these...



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