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Via Atrios, Iraq War veteran and Democratic Congressman Patrick Murphy:

We had a saying in the army: Lead, follow, or get out of the way.

Well, the past four years, the Republican-led Congress followed.

They had their chance, and they followed lock-step as this president led our country into an open-ended commitment refereeing a religious civil war.

For the last four years this Republican Congress followed lock-steps as my fellow soldiers continued to die in Iraq without a clear mission, without benchmarks to determine success, without a clear timeline for coming home.

…

To those on the other side of the aisle who are opposed, I want to ask you the same questions that my gunner asked me when I was leading a convoy up and down Ambush Alley one day. He said, “Sir, what are we doin’ over here? What’s our mission? When are these Iraqis gonna come off the sidelines and stand up for their own country?”

So to my colleagues across the aisle: your taunts about “supporting our troops” ring hollow if you are still unable to answer those questions now, four years later.

Trex takes the long view and says maybe we shouldn’t be hasty: (Warning: strong language.)

Given that the Republican Party has roughly the same prognosis as Terri Shiavo in the upcoming elections and that we may see the GOP brand sullied and disgraced for a generation as a result of the Bush Administration, I think we may be acting a bit hastily on this proposed roll-back of Executive Powers. … Just think what President Obama could do with those powers. …

Or let’s say President John Edwards has just been sworn in and he decides it’s time for a little payback. He picks up the phone and calls his people at the NSA and says, “I need to see all of Bill Donohue’s cell-phone records, taxes, credit card transactions, and checking account records for the last ten years. Oh, and freeze his assets. I think he may be involved in terrorist activity.”

…

“But please!” Donohue would beg, “Let me speak to an attorney! Let me at least know what charges are being brought against me!”

Nope. Too bad, so sad, but all that went out the window when the Bush administration gutted habeas corpus.

Or say that President Hillary Clinton is tired of Tom DeLay’s lip. So she decides to have his money-laundering trial moved to a military tribunal at the Detention Facility at Guantanamo Bay. No jury, no cameras, no witnesses, and the tribunal won’t kick off until, oh, 2012, or whenever we get around to it. It would be perfect.

See? Life with a Democrat Unitary Executive could be great! President Kucinich could rule by decree … He could have Bush and Cheney imprisoned in an undisclosed location indefinitely! And wouldn’t that be fun?

So, please … lay off on the challenges to Bush’s god-like powers of the Imperial Presidency. He’s only going to be around for a few more months, and then once he’s gone, we’ll be in charge. And what use will due process, checks and balances, and the Constitution be to us then?

Democrats, embrace you inner autocrat! You have nothing to lose but your souls!

And it might just be a way to get more Republicans to stand up for Constitutional rights.