Update [2006-3-13 16:55:35 by BooMan]: Here is a link to Russ’s docs.
Russ Feingold is about to speak as soon as the Cat Killer gets done acting like a jackass and calling Russ Feingold’s resolution to censure a political stunt and an interference in the war on terror.
Bill Frist attempted to preemptively to cut off debate on Russ’s resolution tonight. Sarbanes objected.
Frist is NOT happy, is he? Tough! I’m glad Sarbanes called him on trying to change the Senate schedule without ever talking to Harry Reid. Frist is such a jackass.
http://www.c-span.org/watch/cspan2_rm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS2
the president thinks he is above the law….
(w/ re war authorities)
Mr President that is ridiculous!
Congress did not give the pres blanket authority to wiretap amer citizens on american soil
He IS above thge law.
On the evidence.
Wea re here, now, aren’t we?
In a surveillance state?
A fixed elections state?
A war under false pretenses state?
A lying to the American people state? (On EVERY level. From national security to the contents of Rice Crispies.)
Looks like he’s above the law to me…
Now…given that…
What’re YOU gonna do about it?
AG
Thanks, BooMan for living blogging this. Russ is my Senator and I am so excited about this. I love that man!
I just tuned in… what is this roll call for?
The GOP has turned out all their tricks. They agreed to let Russ speak as part of ‘morning business’, now they have reneged and said it has to be counted against a bill being debated.
Harry Reid has intervened.
Frist tried to push through a unanimous consent motion to cut off debate without consulting Reid. Reid raced down to the floor and told him that it was inappropriate to try a stunt like that.
i’m watching it live.. from Romania. God I love the internet!
It’s on C-span 2’s video feed for anyone who can watch.
Pax
Impeachment
i’m live blogging in the wrong thread.
but I need to hop in the shower. Can someone else help live blog for 10 minutes?
Maybe Sen Russ can convey the message to others that it’s their RESPONSIBILITY to hold the administration accountable.
I keep waiting for Frist to interrupt by asking to borrow a pencil or something.
Just saw this on Yahoo news. Does anyone know anything about Ned Lamont?
Challenger
If this is old news I apologize.
No one questions the need to wiretap suspected terrorists. FISA needs to be followed and the pres hasn’t done that. The pres has broken the law and deliberately misled Congress and the American people.
it’s pretty simple, the President broke the law, but he also actively deceived congress and the people about it, he has fundamentally broken the trust of the American people.
Impeach
Illegal
Violated the law
Mislead congress and the American people
Violated the trust of the American people
The President Broke The Law!
Feingold is using Bush’s own words to show that Bush is, indeed, a liar. Go, Russ!
Someone needs to post the whole transcript in a few hour when it’s printed on the daily record. This is fantastic stuff.
Pax
Really! The choice for me is the net or cable and I choose the net. Plus, my sound card is dead, damn it!
Disinformation campaign
The President has a duty to play it straight with the American people but ignored it for political purposes. Surrogates engaged in a disinformation campaign that it was all legit. In State of Union he said without the program we couldn’t wiretap terrorists. This was untrue. You don’t need a warrent to wiretap overseas. <paraphrasing>
The administration says FISA takes too long but we know the emergency provision lets them come in later and justify… the red tape they complain about was put in place by themselves and they could remove it…
Ridiculous! members of Congress did not give blanket authority to wiretap American citizens on American soil! And everybody knows it… bogus theory…
pres is acting in direct violation of a criminal statute (w/ re exercise of ‘exec power’)
russ points out that bureaucratic hurdles were imposed by the executive branch, not congress or judiciary. they could remove obstacles instead of ignoring the law.
“FISA recognizes no inherent power of the president in this area”
“The president is acting in direct violation of a criminal statute.” tell it Russ! Quoting court precedents Bush has misrepresented …
no court has ever found presidential authority to bypass FISA
contrary to what pres told country in SOTU, no court has ever approved this type of activity.
It is one thing to make a legal argument that has no support in the law, it is much worse for a pres to misrepresent what other pres’s and court’s have done, in order to mislead the amer people.
admin’s attempts to find support for what it’s done would be laughable if it weren’t so serious
pres’s arguments in SOTU were baseless
obviously misled people and congress
“informing” gang of 8 argument does not constitute congressional oversight, does not even meet requirements of Nat security act
The current proposal for 7-member oversight committee does not COMPLY with the law
still not complying with law, re: informing congress, etc.
harman – sees no reason why the admin can’t accomplish goals within law as it is written
more troubling than the pres’s claims are the authorization he claims for them
“he cannot hide from what he has created – a constitutional crisis.”
relies on the credibility of the office itself to justify his arguments,
hides behind flawed legal arguments and the office of the president
b he cannot hide behind what he has created
a constitutional crisis !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
pres has violated the law
and congress must respond
when pres thinks he can break the law w/o consequence, congress must hold him accountable
not just for the future, but for what has already happened
for a pres who has violated the law and continues to violate law
holy fuckamoly, he’s getting me hot.
If we don’t do anything about it it’s a victory for the terrorists
Pre-empting the “aid and comfort to the terrorists” claim. I like it.
the pres wrongdoing deserves a response; not just a response to prevent future wrongdoing, but that addresses wrongs already done – accountability
what says a bad message is to not hold the prez accountable – the wrong message to send is that we are so meek in response to terrorist threat that we will let the prez over run our laws – that is a victory for the terrorists, not censuring shrubya
if we are so meek as to refuse to stand up when the pres has violated the law, then the terrorists have won
(Feingold has said “pres has violated the law” i don’t know how many times.)
No one, not even the pres is above the law.
just asked that russ remain on the floor.
get. your. popcorn.
asking Feingold to stay on the floor . . .
Spector complaining he wants to debate but Feingold has left the floor
specter just called russ’s efforts “excessive”
!@#$%&
That the facts in the resolution do not support censure.
Now there’s a big surprise . . .
OK, so here comes Specter with the “starkravinglunatic” argument (i.e. Feingold is “over the top,” “extreme” yadiyadiyada)
Has Specter actually said anything yet?? Completely incoherent.
O . M . G . can this man BE any more dull?
/end Chandler moment
is specter honestly supporting this “the second amendment lets georgie do what he wants” bullshit?
durf! article II of the const. specter got me so mad, i couldn’t think straight.
but i was right – that’s exactly what he’s doing. legislation doesn’t trump constitution, etc.
Yeah, he’s really saying that.
Now he’s changing the subject around to why Feingold left the floor. I don’t have the Constitution in front of me, but five will get you ten he’s misrepresenting Article II.
my main question regarding all this article II/commander in chief crap is:
wtf does domestic surveillance have to do with military command? beyond the fact that we are not at war with u.s. citizens, NSA is an exectuive branch, agency, yah? i.e. civilian, not military?
Absolutely nothing.
Unless you make the absurd claim that the entire US is a war zone, or subject to an active insurrection.
Well, if they aren’t careful maybe it will be in active insurrection. Maybe that’s what we want.
That’s not so absurd.
The entire U.S. Is a war zone.
BushCo against the American people.
Precisely.
And THAT’S why what is being done has the support of 7/8s of Congress. More.
It’s all PermaGov, all the time.
AG
Unfortunately, the NSA is under the auspices of the DoD. While I think they have their own budget and are not held accountable to SECDEF (their oversight is Congressional and the Preznit himself), they are still considered “military” and thus under the C-in-C’s purview.
That being said, you still have a Constitutional crisis, because Article II also says the President’s responsibility is “to makes sure the laws are faithfully executed”. But any Act of Congress to fund such a program, if it contravenes an individual’s Fourth Amendment rights is unconstitutional. Thus, the president would be remiss in his duty if he were to prevent the Judiciary branch from determining the constitutionality of these programs. Or in preventing the Congress from using their oversight powers and demanding a full investigation.
And furthermore, any EO’s or military orders to this effect of enabling this program may themselves be unconstitutional and ARE subject to judicial review. Hiding the details of the program prevents both the Judiciary and the Congress from exercising their constitutionally-mandated powers of judicial review and budgetary oversight, respectively. And by aiding and abetting such practices, the President is engaging in obstruction of justice and contempt of congress. As such, he is not living up to his constitutionally-mandated role of making sure the laws are faithfully executed, and thus should be impeached.
There must be a “secret appointemnt” putting Specter on as a DoJ advocate . . .
& seriously, in Padilla, a US Att’y asserted the USofA soil itself to be a part of the battleground now
constitution trumps statutes, therefore shrubya can do no wrong.
wtf is your brain damage, arlen? if that’s the way you feel about it, just fuckin’ put a crown on the bastard’s head already.
Inherent authority of under art. 2 not resolved.
Claiming that Bush may have inherent authority as CinC to wiretap w/o warrants.
though about demanding all members of the intelligence committee be briefed – admits that was an illegal thing. but now is trying to justify it.
i’m going to kill him.
i do not seriously have any intention of harming senator specter. i don’t even live on the east coast. as you were.
kthanks
Here are the two parts I’m interested in right now:
Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation:–“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Doesn’t violating the Fourth Amendment guarantees against unlawful search and seizure violate that oath?
And, of course, Section 4 in its entirety:
The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
Specter — “I don’t know what the [wiretap] program is”
Because Abu Gaonsalez wouldn’t tell him.
Spector is trying to have it both ways. First he says it’s authorized in the Constitution and then he says he doesn’t know what the program is so can’t judge its legality.
Actually he said the question is whether or not it is authorized by the constitution and the Judiciary committee (i.e. HIM) has not decided that yet.
thank you Mary he was blathering so much I didn’t catch on
Durbin made sure he had to repeat it in plain English because it WAS hard to follow what he was saying. Intentionally hard IMO
he understands gonzo’s reasons for not telling them about the program.
well, that’s just ducky, arlen. now what, you moron?
I’m thinking there are probably lots of Repugs that are ready to give Specter a good one for being so incoherent and qualifying in his response. He doesn’t sound ANY of the notes that Frist was getting into prior to Russ.
Frist:
We’re at war
President is protecting us
Must support the president
Now Arlen – that’s how you talk like a Republican.
He has to be giving the WH heartburn right now.
Quoting the Declaration of Independence on abrogating the rights of Americans.
Go back and read the Declaration of Independence and see how many of the actions attributed to King George III of England can be applied to King George I of the USA. You’ll be surprised. Or not.
Specter: (paraphrased) the President is guilty but he didn’t act in bad faith so it’s all cool.
“In all of the comments of the Senator from Wisconsin, I have not heard him accuse the President of acting in bad faith.”
What part of lying to the American people does he not understand?
And again wanting to debate Senator Feingold.
Did Senator Spector believe that the authorization of force on September 18, 2001 authorized the wiretapping of Americans in contravention of FISA?
Senator Spector said “no”
heh
Durbin just boxed Specter’s ass right into a corner
asks specter: constitutional argument goes back to aumf – did specter believe he was giving pres wiretap authority w/o court oder by voting for that act?
specter: no
frist thinks program is constitutional and legal – do you agree?
specter: i don’t know; i don’t know what the program does. i would like proof that people spied upon are al qaeda.
but we oughtn’t castigate pres as a criminal w/o those answers.
durbin referred to dewine’s proposal to change the law – is that not an admission that what is going on now is illegal?
specter: i don’t think dewine is informed about the program. i think he is searching for a way out in good faith. doesn’t think dewine’s proposal is appropriate.
says we’re flying blind on a rocket cycle right now, but no matte what, the proposals so far do not amount to judicial review.
What the hell is Reid doing???!!!
A eulogy for Senator Inouye’s wife. It seems like a proper sort of thing to do, as long as it’s not being politicized.
Here we go. Sessions that scumbag: Sen. Inouye had a right to expect that this country would back his service but instead we get this resolution. Surveilling the enemy in a time of war is a clear need in wartime.
Harry Reid has taken time to announce that Senator Inouye’s wife has just passed away.
what an ass … that couldn’t wait? Wouldn’t it be more respectful to NOT use her as a ploy to cut off debate.
Fuck Reid. He’s despicable.
Sen Reid is doing a bit of a eulogy.
I wonder if Frist is going to want to count this time against debate on the appropriations bill. </snark>
at opposite ends of my house. So I’ve just arrived in this thread after hearing Senator Russ Feingold speak for me. What a thrilling sensation! I got goosebumps and my heartbeat fluttered.
Then Spector started dithering and at the words “over the top” I clicked off my TV. I can’t bear to watch these liars and Bushco ass-kissers violate their Oaths of Office. Just the razzing from Frist before Feingold was even allowed to speak got my blood boiling. No, I’m not going to let these traitors spoil my moment. I’m going to luxuriate in the sensation — someone spoke for me and you, for the American people in defense of our Constitution, someone spoke the truth!
May the Archangel Michael bless and protect Russ Feingold and keep him safe.
Maybe it’s just my imagination that Cafferty was disgusted with the spin. Paraphrase of an exchange few minutes ago, after an hour of anti-Feingold spinning by Wolf:
Blitzer: Here’s Jack Cafferty, someone who’s always in The Situation Room.
Cafferty: Likea prisoner …
I know that strategically it probably would not be a good idea, but part of me would like to see these weak-knees have to vote NOW on that resolution.
voting on a judgeship in the Court of International Trade. Sounds about as exciting as doing your dishes.
Wake me up if anything more interesting happens anytime soon.
Thanks for filling me in folks… too bad I had to be at work and couldn’t watch. Anyone have any idea when CSPAN2 will rerun this today? I’m on dialup at home so can’t watch the video they post on their site.
Maybe I should just turn on CSPAN and let it run for several hours and hope I don’t go to sleep first?!
Any rerun info would be greatly appreciated.
Text is up HERE…sorry if this is a repeat.
Peace
Well folks, don’t get your panties in a bunch over this. As much as I love and admire Feingold for doing this and calling a spade a spade the headlines already are saying no one is backing him on either side. just another day and letting the Cabal do whatever the hell they want. Yep, put the crown on George now because that is what we have got. Read this1
Feingold’s resolution not getting any backing
Yup.
Feingold’s resolution not getting any backing.
Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., said he had not read it either and wasn’t inclined simply to scold the president.
“I’d prefer to see us solve the problem,” Lieberman told reporters.
Across the Capitol, reaction was similar. Feingold’s censure resolution drew empathy but no outright support from Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi “understands Sen. Feingold’s frustration that the facts about the NSA domestic surveillance program have not been disclosed appropriately to Congress,” her office said in a statement. “Both the House and the Senate must fully investigate the program and assign responsibility for any laws that may have been broken.”
And Hillary?
Silent as the grave.
Like I said:
Pelosi, Reid, Clinton, Bayh, Warner, Edwards, Small k kerry and the rest head for the hills.
The real left applauds Feingold.
Nothing happens in Congress on this matter.
Just as it always was.
I got yer DemocRatic party.
Right HERE!!!
Whadda buncha maroons!!!
Cowards, too.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. But nothing lost, either.
The Democratic motto for today.
Hell…for this DECADE.
Russ…go talk to Howard.
Start another party before it’s too late.
They are not going to back you, these DemocRats.
What if an “At long last, have you no shame’ moment occurred and no one in a position of power even READ it? Or made believe that They didn’t hear it?
Senator Joe for pres. (No…not Biden. Not Lieberman. McCarthy.)
Joe McCarthy for President in 2008.
What the hell…may as well go for the real thing.
At long, LONG last…there is no shame.
Mighty Casey done struck out; we are knee deep in Mudville, and the Big Muddy is swirling up around our knees already.
Who ya gonna call?
FEMA?
Reid?
“Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada declined to endorse it and said he hadn’t read it.”
Don’t be absurd.
Too LATE for politics as usual.
Time for ACTION.
Russ is the real thing.
That’s what SCARES ’em.
Dean and Feingold in ’08.
The New Party candidates.
FUCK these motherfuckers!!!
“Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada declined to endorse it and said he hadn’t read it.”
Right.
Sweet JESUS!!!
Senator XYZ (D) of Misconsin said that he had never even HEARD of Joseph Welch and that if he had he wouldn’t admit it. No comment.
“Joe WHO!!!????
“Russ??? Sounds familiar…”
We are in trouble here.
What if a tree falls in the Senate and no one admits to hearing it?
Russ Feingold.
“Russ WHO!!!???”
Non-person.
“Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada declined to endorse it and said he hadn’t read it.”
Nice.
Las Vegas.
It’s what’s for dinner.
What was it that Paul Hackett said after Reid, Schumer et al middled-of-the-roaded him right off the Ohio political scene last month?
Oh yeah. Here it is:
Yup.
Get a life,
Get a PARTY.
“Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada declined to endorse it and said he hadn’t read it.”
C’mon…
AG
Now posted as a diary.
“Russ WHO!!!???’ says Mr. Reid.
Terrible, this shit.
Terrible.
AG
WTF.
Lieberman sure came through for us. He has misgivings.
Joe, this is one heap of shit.