An up or down vote

Dear Editors,

Republicans love to denounce Democrats in the Senate Judiciary Committee for being "obstructionists" who refuse to give this president's judicial nominees "an up or down vote." Seems that Republicans hold themselves to an altogether different standard, however, when it comes to investigating this president's warrantless domestic surveillance program -- an investigation they refused to authorize yesterday in a straight party-line vote. (See, for example, Charles Babington and Carol D. Leonnig, "Senate Rejects Wiretapping Probe," Washington Post, February 17 2006, page A06).

Though it has become something of a commonplace, Lord Acton's famous "Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely" rings truer every day, as the headlines report more and more scandals, coverups, inside deals, bribes, denials and lies permeating the three branches of government controlled by the Republican Party. Make no mistake about it: we are living in a "democracy" whose system of checks and balances has simply ceased functioning. One wonders what it will take for the American people to take this country back.

[Sent to: Washington Post, Washington Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Cincinnati Post, Columbus Post, Dallas Post Tribune, Denver Post, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Chicago Sun-Times, Quad-City Times, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Seattle Times, Times-Picayune, Akron Beacon Journal, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Louisville Courier-Journal, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Peoria Journal-Star, Poughkeepsie Journal, Providence Journal, Sioux City Journal, Topeka Capital-Journal, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Evansville Courier & Press, Grand Rapids Press, Green Bay Press-Gazette, San Antonio Express-News, American Conservative, American Enterprise, American Prospect, American Spectator, Cook Political Report, Human Events, Washington Monthly, Weekly Standard, ABC News, CBS News, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, NBC News, PBS]