That's the question you should ask every Democratic representative and Senator--especially the new ones.

The Republicans are saying they will never disgorge their authoritarian gains. Listen to this bravado from the Republican losers in the White House. They just don't know any other way to behave. Mike Allen:

Advisers expect a battle royale over the balance of powers if Democrats use their new subpoena power to try to conduct what the White House is already calling "witch hunts." Bush and Vice President Cheney have made the expansion of executive power one of their hallmarks, and advisers say they do not plan to give up any of the ground they have won without a fight all the way to the Supreme Court. "We're going to have a fierce constitutional showdown over the boundaries of power between the executive and legislative branches," one adviser said. "The executive usually wins those battles, so we think we'll consolidate our gains."

Well, no. That's more Republican bogosity. In reality, look to the Magna Carta (which also established the right of habeas corpus that the authoritarian Bush regime has abolished):

Magna Carta (Latin for "Great Charter", literally "Great Paper"), also called Magna Carta Libertatum ("Great Charter of Freedoms"), is an English charter originally issued in 1215. Magna Carta was the most significant early influence on the long historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law today. Magna Carta was originally created because of disagreements between Pope Innocent III, King John and his English barons about the rights of the King. Magna Carta required the king to renounce certain rights, respect certain legal procedures and accept that the will of the king could be bound by law.

The influence of Magna Carta outside England can be seen in the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights. Indeed just about every common law state has been influenced by Magna Carta, making it one of the most important legal documents in the history of democracy.

The Republicans, sick puppies that they are, want to abolish all that. The people don't agree, and that's what this election was all about. If they're smart, the Dems will hammer this point home, and consolidate their new-found power for a generation.