Opposition, Not Obstruction

I'm going to make this my slogan. I was thinking of doing a post to outline it's true meaning, but better, perhaps, to simply illustrate. My post on tax reform at Tapped is one such example. What Atrios has to say is another. The massive disrespect for the rule of law that Alberto Gonzales represents is a clearly a characteristic he shares with his boss. Blocking him from becoming Attorney-General, even if possible, would do almost no good. And there would be a political price to be paid. The thing for Democrats to do is to raise all the objections to him (practically speaking, Senator Salazar probably ought to take the lead here), note how unfortunate it is that the president has so little respect for the rule of law or for the safety of our troops, vote "no," and let him get confirmed.

Democrats need to closely horde their (very limited) capacity to actually prevent things from happening. Like a parliamentary minority, their main role is simply to raise objections and frame an alternative vision. They're not partners in the running of the government, not legislators in the traditional American sense. They're an opposition, that needs to be clear about what it stands for, clear about what it thinks needs to be done, and basically willing to let the party of government govern until they get a chance to contest the government's visions with their own on an election day.