Contempt

Kagro X over at Daily Kos notes that Rahm Emanuel is blocking any vote by the House on contempt citations for those who have failed to respond to Congressional subponeas. Emanuel argues that this is not the right moment because it would divert attention from the Democrats moves to put strings on war funding and to add guts to the FISA bill. Kagro X goes on to comment:

Only guess what? The message on Iraq and FISA and these subpoenas is all the same: George W. Bush thinks there are no Congressional checks and balances against his "inherent powers."

If Congress legislates limits on his eavesdropping schemes, he'll veto them (so says Chuck Schumer's new pal, Michael "Wrong on Torture, but still kinda OK" Mukasey).

If they mandate withdrawal of troops from Iraq, he'll defy it (not veto -- defy).

If they subpoena his staff and demand answers, he'll block it.

But Rahm Emanuel thinks the Bush "administration's" blanket insistence on unchecked executive power can and should be split up into bite-sized chunks that the American public can safely ignore. Each front in the Bush/Cheney war on our constitutional system of government ought to be considered in isolation from the rest, so that they can be swept under the rug quietly in discrete and manageable news cycles. (But with a paper trail of press releases "objecting" to each fresh outrage, so that the historical record appears to register dissent.)

Or at least he hopes so, so that he can trade the long-term viability of the constitutional system of government for a strategy he believes will result in more seats in a branch that's got no game plan for preserving its power. More seats at the kiddie table.

The Iraq fight is the FISA fight is the subpoena fight.

Chairman Conyers wants it. Nancy Pelosi wants it. Even Steny Hoyer looks like he wants it.

But somehow, Rahm Emanuel's Kiddie Table Seating Chart carries the day.