The Advisory Branch

The Senate Judiciary Committee has done a good job of showing Alberto Gonzales to be nothing more than Karl Rove in an Attorney General's clothing. After months of interrogating countless Justice Department officials, it is clear that our justice system has been politicized to levels unprecedented in recent history. What the Committee has not been able to do, however, is force Gonzales out. Despite blatant unethical (while perhaps not officially illegal) behavior and widespread condemnation from both sides, Gonzales refuses to quit and the President refuses to fire him. So what is a committee to do?

Their apparent solution is to propose a vote of no-confidence, which is exactly how it sounds: the congress will pass a resolution expressing discontent with Gonzales, asking him to quit. In reality, this no solution at all; it's nothing more than a fancy way of submitting a complaint.

Considering this and all the talk of so-called "non-binding resolutions" condemning the President's plan for a troop surge earlier in the year, one must wonder how this congress views itself. Do they think they are merely an advisory board, whose purpose is to timidly complain when the President does something they don't like?

We need a congress that is willing to act, not simply express disapproval. This week they caved in on the Iraq funding. They will no longer include a timetable for withdrawal in the war funding bill, even though the president absolutely needs congress to fund military operations. If they continue down this path, they will set a dangerous precedent for other congresses in the future to act qua a privy council, only to have their recommendations laughed off by a grossly over-powerful chief executive.