Looking forward by looking back...in anger

The Times editors get it.

The Democratic majority in Congress has a moral responsibility to address all these issues: fixing the profound flaws in the military tribunals act, restoring the rule of law over Mr. Bush’s rogue intelligence operations and restoring the balance of powers between Congress and the executive branch. So far, key Democrats, including Mr. Leahy and Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, chairman of a new subcommittee on human rights, have said these issues are high priorities for them.

We would lend such efforts our enthusiastic backing and hope Mr. Leahy, Mr. Durbin and other Democratic leaders are not swayed by the absurd notion circulating in Washington that the Democrats should now “look ahead” rather than use their new majority to right the dangerous wrongs of the last six years of Mr. Bush’s one-party rule.

This is a false choice. Dealing with these issues is not about the past. The administration’s assault on some of the nation’s founding principles continues unabated. If the Democrats were to shirk their responsibility to stop it, that would make them no better than the Republicans who formed and enabled these policies in the first place.

There remains a great deal of damage that even a lame duck administration can "accomplish" before the term ends. I've heard lately that Democrats need to move beyond "Bush hatred" and start reaching across the aisle to Repubenablers. It isn't Bush hatred, it's defense against the danger that Bush still poses.

Here's a phrase you're going to be hearing a lot of in the months to come: "Constitutional crisis." To paraphrase the emperor: bring it on.