Just Don't Come Near Our Offices

Carl Hulse's must-read piece in the NYTimes today is remarkable, if only for its uncanny overtones of the Martin Niemoller "First they came" poem. After its record of near-total acquiescence with Administration demands and applications of "executive authority" for the last five and a half years, the legislative branch finally has gotten its dander up - over an FBI raid into the offices of a House member (even one who had $90,000 stashed in his freezer).

Hulse: "Lawmakers and outside analysts said that while the execution of a warrant on a Congressional office might be surprising — this appears to be the first time it has happened — it fit the Bush administration's pattern of asserting broad executive authority, sometimes at the expense of the legislative and judicial branches."

I somehow doubt this incident is going to revive the prerogative of Congress to actually do something in the face of creeping executive power, but hey, maybe it's a baby step in the right direction.