Telecoms, Rove, and The Rule of Law

Fast on the heels of the Democratically controlled Senate's capitulation on Bush's telecom immunity bill comes former Bush political guru Karl Rove's refusal to answer a subpoena. The House had summoned Rove to testify in a hearing about the dismissal of Justice Department lawyers, allegedly for political reasons. Rove, however, ignored the subpoena and offered instead to make a statement off the record and not under oath. Both actions indicate a surprising disdain for the rule of law and send a particularly disturbing message. The Bush Administration is setting the precedent that those in power are able to decide when and to what degree to follow the law. Such a principle is anathema to the idea of government by laws, not men. Even more disturbing is the Democrats complete lack of principle. Although some members of Congress have stood up for the rule of law--particularly Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin--far too many have done nothing to check the power of a lame duck president with atrocious approval ratings.