With all due respect to President Clinton, though the era of big government may be over, the need for good government endures. Now there is nothing inherently wrong with government, with well-intentioned, progressive people seeking to use the power of government for the good of the majority, and not the privilege. Government has been the primary force for positive social change in our country's history. It can be again.

I've had the privilege of serving in a number of government positions in my career, and understand better than most the great difficulty, the enormous challenges, the
consequential choices that many who serve today are facing. I respect the vast majority of them for their sacrifice and also for their service. But, too many have made too many decisions that instead of strengthening the nation, have put it at risk.

The notion that the Department of Justice would in essence sanction the use of torture as part of the President's plenary power over military operations is as wrong as it is shortsighted. This position flies in the face of the entire history of American law, helping to create a climate in which unnecessarily abusive conduct can somehow be considered legitimate.

It also puts our own soldiers, the young men and young women who fight bravely for the United States today, and will again tomorrow, at risk of similar abuse should they be captured by the enemy on a now unknown foreign battlefield. What will the United States say about their treatment then? How will an American President seek to credibly invoke the protections of the Geneva Convention in the future? This memorandum and other policies are reflective of a politicized Justice Department that is no longer tethered to its traditional moorings. . . .

Now the battle that I spoke of is not only about this year's elections, though they are a major part. The battle is also about what will happen over the next few years, irrespective of the election cycle. We are the eras of the progressive tradition that is responsible for virtually all of the significant movements and policies that have positively transformed this nation: the Civil Rights Movement, Social Security, women's rights, the movement toward true equality for the gay and lesbian communities, Medicare.

Throughout this nation's history, it has been liberals who have pushed the envelope, who have taken chances, who have made this nation better than it was. By contrast, and we see this especially today, conservatives have been defenders of the status quo, afraid of the future, and content to allow to continue to exist all but the most blatant inequalities.