Progressive Talking Points 12/21/05

Smear Game

The President and his supporters continue to defend his "warrantless" domestic spying program, arguing that the Authorization to Use Military Force that followed the 9/11 attacks granted him the authority to spy on Americans without a court order. As a result, the American public was reintroduced to a tactic often used by the Bush administration – the smear game. Through Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and the usual band of talking heads, the Bush administration sought to deflect attention from its own illegal efforts by leveling false accusations against those who have opposed the President’s actions.

• Opponents of the President will be smeared. The Bush administration resorted to a tried and true tactic yesterday. Instead of admitting that its domestic spying is in violation of the law, the President and his staff attacked the patriotism and motivations of those who dare to criticize and question this program.
  
  
• President Bush continues to feel and act as if he is above the law. Whether the discussion is torture, secret prisons or warrantless spying, the Bush administration views laws as if they were recommendations. This attitude calls into question whether Bush has any intention of abiding by the deal he made with Senator McCain to prohibit the torture and abuse of prisoners in the war on terrorism.
  
  
• The Authorization to Use Military Force does not give the President a blank check. President Bush has argued that the Authorization to Use Military Force gave him the authority to spy on Americans without a warrant, but this is not what Congress intended in voting for the law. Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) even argued that the Authorization to Use Military Force “is a very limited concept.” And the Supreme Court agreed in 2004 that “A state of war is not a blank check for the President.”