Extra! Extra! Scare Tactics Work!
...just in case you didn't know.
The Democratic-controlled Congress did something deplorable last Saturday night: They gave President Bush and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales more unchecked power to wiretap your ass. Without a warrant.
I know! The very same Attorney General who is currently up to his armpits in scandal and probably committed perjury on this very issue.
Why did Congress cave? Good question. Because the president used fear to intimidate them.
Enough is enough. Pretending they care, we should send a clear message to Congress that there is no trade-off between fundamental liberties and security. Preserving our Constitution is essential to our security—we can't sell freedom 'round the world when we're actively squashing it at home.
This petition is a good place to start.
Sure, our elected reps will laugh at us in the halls of Washington, poo-pooing as always, but everything on television is a rerun and Weeds hasn't started yet so what the f*ck?
Give it a go.
posted by kate @ 12:01 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Democrats are mindless sheep!!!!!!
These blogs are a replica of what our government does. No one is able to debate an idea without framing it either in an offensive or defensive political stance. The populace engages in the proverbial marble fight, while the government keeps the marbles.
Are we all familiar with Echelon and the satellite named Vortex?. These date back to at least prior mid-80's.
I may be making a big assumption, but I don't think Bush or Gonzales were more than a pimple on the ass that was being "wiretapped" back then.
My point is, that if "we the public" are serious about dealing with important issues, "we" are going to have to take them out of the 'label maker machine'.
One more point. All politics are local. Do the math. When you vote for your local politician, what per cent of the total number of voter's are you? When you vote nationally, what per cent are you?
If we are serious about making a change, we have better chance at trying to influence our local election than a national election.
Our elected reps in the halls of Washington laugh at us because they understand what I am saying.
>>Why did Congress cave? Good question. Because the president used fear to intimidate them.<<
I was wondering if you would get to this.
There's rumors going around that Congressional Republicans told the Democrats that if they didn't pass this and something happen they would pin it on them, but I haven't found any hard evidence of that being the case. Have you?
Or maybe you've heard something else, and if you're able please let me know.
Here's a quote I found at another liberal pol site that summarizes what I've read from your comrades about this topic:
"You realize leadership could have shelved that bill knowing it would pass in the house with democratic support. You bet they asked each member before they brought it to the floor so it was just for show knowing they could not convince any republicans that night."
I think our leadership is beyond disappointing. They gave into several arguments the Repubs used instead of sticking to their guns. Because of that, they are just as bad.
Bahhhhhh......
OK, I'll open the below to the floor:
>>There's rumors going around that Congressional Republicans told the Democrats that if they didn't pass this and something happen they would pin it on them, but I haven't found any hard evidence of that being the case. Have you?
Or maybe you've heard something else, and if you're able please let me know.<<
If Bush, or Cheney, or the Republican leadership or whoever else forced the Democats hands by intimidating them, then I'd like to see the documented evidence. So far, all I've seen is rumors that it happened. I haven't seen a single Democratic member come out and say "they twisted our arms via intimidation," much less evidence of such happening.
16 Senators and one Lieberman voted yea. 26 opposed. Let's not group them all as caving.
If you look (requires research ;-) ), you'll find yea Senators like Nelson who have a large centrist constituency that may explain some of the yea votes.
Others I fear are simply fearful of being labeled "soft" on terrorism.
Finally, It's not unheard of in any vote where there is strong back room arm twisting or "exchanges" of support (vote for mine I'll help with yours).
Disappointing yes, but reflective more of Reid's leadership than a wholesale capitulation of the party.
Sorry I haven't documented anything, I thought that a rather strange request outside of the Justice Department.
stankbreath t...
OK, I found something from Sen. Russ Feingold:
"There was an intentional manipulation of the facts to get this legislation through. The White House has identified the one major remaining weakness in the Democratic Party, and that’s its unwillingness to stand up to the administration when it’s making a power grab regarding terrorism and national security. They have figured out that all they have to do is start talking about an imminent terrorist threat, back it up against a Congressional recess, and they know the Democrats will cave."
And from Rep. Jane Harman:
"(The White House) very skillfully played the fear card. With the chatter up in August, the issue of FISA reform got traction. Then they ran out the clock.”
So now I have two people saying the WH was twisting arms, but it's basically their opinion, neither offers any evidences that was the case besides circumstancial.
And Congressional recess isn't required. In fact, I would think the majority of Americans would understand if the Dem Leadership had come out and said "We've been briefed about some intellegence issues that require our immediate attention, but we're not seeing eye-to-eye with the Republicans on how to resolve it it just yet, so we're hanging out for a few days until we can bang out a compromise." Instead, they took what we now have and left town. So it leaves me wondering whether or not what was accepted was really OK with the Dems, and they knew it would pass so the vote took place, but there were a number of them who needed to vote against it in order to have cover. Wouldn't surprise me at all.
This is from the NYT's:
"At a closed-door briefing in mid-July, senior intelligence officials startled lawmakers with some troubling news. American eavesdroppers were collecting just 25 percent of the foreign-based communications they had been receiving a few months earlier. Behind the New Wiretapping Rules Congress needed to act quickly, intelligence officials said, to repair a dangerous situation. The report helped set off a furious legislative rush (to cap the holes)."
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