Until the Democratic Party shows some spine and draws a line in the sand — that an end to the tax breaks for the wealthy needs to be part of any debt/budget bill — please take my name off your list.

Also, it is impossible for me to forget the words of Congresswoman Pelosi: “Impeachment is off the table.”  The Constitution has been eviscerated while Democrats have stood by with nary a whimper.  It is a gutless, unprincipled party, bought and paid for by the same interests that buy and pay for the Republican Party.

Is torture illegal under the War Crimes Act of 1996?  Do we have an obligation as a signatory to the Convention Against Torture to prosecute those responsible for torture?  (President Reagan praised the ratification by the United States of the Convention Against Torture, noting that it marks a significant step in the development during this century of international measures against torture and other inhuman treatment or punishment.  He stressed the importance of prosecuting those who are responsible for torture, saying: The core provisions of the Convention establish a regime for international cooperation in the criminal prosecution of torturers relying on so-called “universal jurisdiction.  Each State Party is required either to prosecute torturers who are found in its territory or to extradite them to other countries for prosecution… By giving its advice and consent to ratification of this Convention, the Senate of the United States will demonstrate unequivocally our desire to bring an end to the abhorrent practice of torture. President Ronald Reagan, Message to the Senate, May 20, 1988.)

 If the answer to those questions is “yes”, how can the President and Congress stand by and ignore the war crimes committed by people at the highest levels of our government?  How can you stand by and permit the addition of a U.S. citizen to an assassination list?  Are you familiar with the Due Process Clause of the US Constitution?  Or is it just another of the constitutional provisions (like the War Power Clause) that you pretend does not exist?

How dare you send an email with the subject line “Standing strong.”  You didn’t do it on Iraq, you didn’t do it on torture, you didn’t do it on signing statements, you haven’t done it on Afghanistan, you haven’t done it on defense spending, you haven’t done it on real health care reform, you haven’t done it on energy policy and the climate crisis, you haven’t done it on the evisceration of our system of checks and balances through the invocation of the state secrets doctrine, and you haven’t done it on the debt ceiling fiasco.  Those who have stood strong in Congress can be counted on one hand - and they have faced nothing but opposition by Nancy Pelosi and most of the rest of the so-called Democrats.

I’m done with the Democratic Party.  As I said on Amy Goodman’s show a couple years ago, I’ve put my ”Proud Democrat” coffee mug in storage.  I think now I’ll just throw it in the garbage and have done with it.

Again, please take my name off your list. 

Rocky Anderson