Best and Worst

Senator Russ Feingold throws down:

A liberal Democrat and potential White House contender is proposing that the Senate censure President Bush for authorizing domestic eavesdropping, saying the White House misled Americans about its legality.

"The president has broken the law, and, in some way, he must be held accountable," Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) said.

There is sure to be a lot of debate about whether this criticism of the President is a smart move politically for Feingold and the Democratic Party, but amidst all the hand-wrining it is important to remember that substantively this is the right thing to do. Accountability and rule of law are not the sexiest issues, but it is no exaggeration to say that these principles are central to our democratic system. Feingold's attempt to protect those principles is patriotism at its very best.

It's not surprise, though, that Republican's promptly trotted out their customary accusations of treason against Feingold. Within minutes, Senator Bill Frist was stepping up to the plate:

Frist, appearing on ABC's "This Week," said that he hoped al-Qaeda and other U.S. enemies were not listening to the infighting.

"The signal that it sends, that there is in any way a lack of support for our commander in chief who is leading us with a bold vision in a way that is making our homeland safer, is wrong," Frist said.

There is sure to be a lot of debate about whether this obsequious and unwaveringly loyalty to the President is a smart move politically for Frist and the Republican Party, but amidst all the jaw-boning it is important to remember that substantively this is the wrong thing to do. Frist's apparent belief that being a good citizen demands sitting down, shutting up, and letting the President do whatever he wants, undermines the principles of accountability and rule of law that are central to our democratic system. Frist's attempt to attack these principles is jingoism at its very worst.