As Monica testifies...

I heartily suspect the real reason Comey and Ashcroft refused to sign-off on the secret plan was that, despite its double-speak label, ("Terrorist Surveillance Program") the real intent of the "program" was to enable spying on Democrats in the upcoming 2004 election cycle.

It may not have been explicit in the proposal's language, but hidden in the legaleze of that program was some sort of twisted "get out of jail free" card that would have allowed "them" to use their new found surveillance powers to spy on their Democratic opponents.

And considering the mountains of trash that was being revealed about Republicans at the time, it explains why their desperation made them slip-up by pressuring a pair of bona fide conservatives (Ashcroft and Comey) with their pernicious neocon demands.

One of the shameful factors that seems to be missing scrutiny, though, is how long it has taken for Comey (or Ashcroft for that matter) to reveal just how devious and dangerous the whole event became.

There is a lot of good reason to defend and commend both Ashcroft sand Comey for defending our Constitutional rights. But why did they help perpetuate the cover-up with their long silence?

I think Comey's really been struggling with this regret, since it happened. Just how do you tell the referees that your captain is cheating, without being labeled a traitor by the guilty parties and their enablers, who are also your teammates?

Simple... you just DO IT!

Too late for that, maybe Comey and Ashcroft and many others who enabled the neocon cabal to perpetrate this travesty will come forward with revelations that can help prevent this from ever happening again.

Can you imagine what the Republicans would do if Democrats built such a lawless gang at the top of their party? It would be a constant drumbeat of righteous indignation, and a whining demand for "the rule of law."

So where were these great Protectors of Liberty when Cheney and Rove were so blatantly building a personal, private-interest, no-bid book-cooking shadow government within our own Federal (federalist society, indeed!) government?

While there are some stalwarts in both parties, I think many opportunistic Republicans are growing a sudden, new constitutional conscience only because they lost big, as a party, in November, 2006, they lost Bin Laden in Afghanistan and they lost the war in Iraq.

They are just a big bunch of losers. But they are so afraid of the word "loser" they are willing to watch another thousand Americans die, simply to protect their false bravado.

HYPOCRITES!!!