<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 5.50.4611.1300" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Nathan:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><EM>Where was the "fold"?  Edwards, Cantwell, Leahy and Feingold are all listed as making tough questions and criticisms of Ashcroft policies. Yep, the hearing did not go as well as hoped because of cautiousness and limits on how long questions could go on from each Senator, but poor strategy is different from "caving."  If the Republicans had their way, no hearings would have been held at all.</EM></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I knew I could count on you to tout the Dems on this, Nathan. And believe me, I'm not interested in bashing them for lib bashing sake -- too much is at stake. But how does the Patriot Act become law without Dem support? I've heard nothing from Gore on this issue (is he still seen as a, or <EM>the,</EM> party leader?), and Lieberman's position is simply awful. And yes, there are some like Cantwell and Feingold who've taken principled stands, but they don't make up the core of the national party, and tough questions in a limited hearing session (one that turned into an Ashcroft infomercial) count for zip in the long run. Bottom line, the Dems as a national party are simply going through the motions on this, and even if they could stop Ashcroft, I doubt that they would, fearing how it would make them look come election time. To say the Dems are "cautious" because people like me mention Bob Barr (who seems to have a better understanding of Fourth Amendment issues than Lieberman, who encourages neighbors to spy on each other) makes my point: if Dems acted like a real opposition party, from top to bottom, people like Barr wouldn't stand out in comparison (and why would my mention of Barr hold them back if they truly believed in opposing Ashcroft?). Yes, yes, I know, the Repubs are worse, and we should be thankful that the Dems held hearings at all. But given the result, I wonder what the point was. Opposition pantomime? Raising questions with no interest in actually doing anything on the ground? I remember this during Iran/contra, and the taste is almost as sour.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>DP</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>