It's been a tough few years for "we the people."
The Bush Administration has seized, consolidated and wielded executive power in ways unparalleled in modern American history. And on January 21, 2009, the next president of the United States and the next Congress will confront a host of critical issues created by our leaders under the guise of protecting America from terrorists.
The abuses of power include disregard for fundamental principles of American democracy -- separation of powers and our system of checks-and-balances; politicization of the justice system; grotesque acts of torture; disregard for international laws and institutions; and violations of fundamental civil rights and liberties at home and abroad.
President Bush will leave the White House in a few months, but these problems will remain. Now, and for the foreseeable future, we as a nation must fight to reclaim and preserve our fundamental values of liberty and justice, and ensure that the unprecedented power grabs of recent years don't set a dangerous precedent for the future. We must stop the erosion of our Constitution. We must recapture the flag.
