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GOPers Rebuff Dem Attempt to Extend Administration Surveillance Law
On the Senate floor today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) offered a 30-day extension to the Protect America Act, the administration's surveillance bill that expired two weeks ago.
Given that the President and Republicans have been making speeches and running ads claiming that the nation is at risk because Democrats let the law lapse, you might say it's a reasonable proposition. Just yesterday, the President said that it's "important" for the American people to "understand that no renewal of the ... the Protect America Act is dangerous for the security of the country."
As Reid put it on the Senate floor this morning:
As we move forward [with negotiations between the Senate and House surveillance bills], there is no reason not to extend the Protect America Act to ensure that there are no gaps in our intelligence gathering capabilities. Even Admiral McConnell, the Director of national Intelligence, has testified that such an extension would be valuable. But the President threatens to veto an extension, and our Republican colleagues continue, inexplicably, to oppose it.
But no. When Reid offered the measure as a unanimous consent measure, the Republicans objected.
It's no mystery why. The Republicans and the administration want all the political pressure they can bring to bear on Dems who oppose retroactive immunity.
Comments (8)
The Republicans are confident that journalists are too incompetent or uninterested in doing their job to apprise Americans of these loathsome actics. Will this story be told in our major media outlets? Don't hold your breath. They're too busy telling us they feel something going up their pantsleg when they hear Obama speak.
February 29, 2008 3:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Republicans paid good money for Journalists to say the party line and save the costs of actually gathering facts.
If someone tabulated the party line statements and sorted them by media mouthpiece (like David Brooks, and others) we could see what Journalists are getting paid to spread the gospel of Bush.
I cannot believe that Armstrong Williams, who got 1/4 million dollars to speak the party line was the only Journalist bribed.
After all it's just another monumental violation of the law - buying off Journalists.
No mater how unpopular the Bush BS, there is a never endless crew who say and print the party line EVERY TIME -- PAYOLA ME THINKS.
February 29, 2008 3:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
the GOP is geared for talk radio politics where they push anything like this to a deadline that makes it possible for the talk radio monopoly, coordinated with an overall media fear campaign, to rally bush's base to harass opposition.
February 29, 2008 3:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
the GOP is geared for talk radio politics where they push anything like this to a deadline that makes it possible for the talk radio monopoly, coordinated with an overall media fear campaign, to rally bush's base to harass opposition.
February 29, 2008 3:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
What a tool Reid is. This hump makes
Tom Daschle look like he really had a set of balls.
Instead of some lame posturing that will give him cover/deniability for his shameless caving on the issue of Telcom immunity, Reid and Durbin should be twisting arms and breaking legs and telling Jay Rockafeller never to let immunity out of committee on the next bill.
Sweet Jesus, watching these Democrats try to stop Bush is like watching a flock of Deacons and Rotarians try to stop the New England Patriots.
Can I cc: Durbin and Reid directly from TPM when I post?
February 29, 2008 3:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
!!!HILLMENTUM™!!!!
February 29, 2008 4:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Point #6 of the 14 Points of Fascism:
http://www.ellensplace.net/fascism.html
6. A controlled mass media
Under some of the regimes, the mass media were under strict direct control and could be relied upon never to stray from the party line. Other regimes exercised more subtle power to ensure media orthodoxy. Methods included the control of licensing and access to resources, economic pressure, appeals to patriotism, and implied threats. The leaders of the mass media were often politically compatible with the power elite. The result was usually success in keeping the general public unaware of the regimes’ excesses.
February 29, 2008 5:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
All:
I just dropped this note (below) to my representative. I'd urge as many as possible to send something similar to their reps... maybe with enough resistance, there will be an explosion of growth of cajones in the house... we can only hope.
Representative Lynch,
I understand that congress is potentially going hand the telecommunication companies immunity from prosecution from laws that they have broken in the past,with regard to warrantless wiretapping. As we all know, there is a perfectly serviceable law, FISA. This law even has a provision to retroactively obtain a warrant for surveillance that is deemed to be too important to not immediately, so breaking the law was not necessary. This is just another instance of how the current administration is eroding civil liberties, and if you allowing this, you can, rightfully, be held to be complicit in this erosion.
I urge you to do everything in your power to stop the immunity for telecoms, including lobbying your Democratic colleagues in the House.
March 3, 2008 10:13 AM | Reply | Permalink