Yesterday I mailed off a letter to my Congressman, Representative Brad Miller. As I mentioned a few days ago, Representative Miller has sent me e-mails on occasion, and I decided to write to him about the recent revelations regarding the President’s decision to flaunt the courts and the Constitution and institute illegal wiretaps on persons who may or may not have been connected with terrorist cells. While phrased that way the President’s program may sound innocuous, it’s not–the Constitutional system of checks and balances requires judicial oversight on the power of the executive; there must be probable cause which requires some burden of proof rather than the President’s say-so which apparently required no burden of proof.
Today I mailed off a letter to the Raleigh News & Observer, the local newspaper. They’ve published none of my letters in the past, and I’ve no doubt that this one, too, will be ignored.
The general thrust of both letters? The President did a very bad thing, he admitted to illegal actions, and Congressional investigations are necessary to safeguard the Republic against the unfettered power of an absolute executive. The President is not a King, and he is not above the law.
Ironic, I’m listening to Coldplay’s “Politik” right now. I hadn’t made the connection when I started writing this.
Impeachment? Well, former White House Counsel John Dean says it’s possible, and he would have some first-hand experience.
The letters are in the mail, though a perusal of Representative Miller’s webpage suggests that for a timely receipt of the letter due to security concerns around the Capitol e-mail or fax would be best. Tomorrow, then, I’ll fax a copy of the letter to his Washington office.