Comments on: Two Big Administration Victories

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 19:09:35 +0000

Yes, and thank God it isn’t – the genius of the founding fathers was to realize that the leadership of the country should not be determined by one or two population centers at the expense of the vast, vast interior…

By: peter

peter — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 19:04:58 +0000

If the Senate was picked by proportional representation (e.g., California gets more Senate votes than Nebraska), there would be a shift to a Democratic majority there –

By: Hokie Explorer

Hokie Explorer — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 16:21:58 +0000

The problem is our electoral system is becoming outdated. Maybe its time to switch from SMD to proportional representation. I bet the makeup of the government would be drastically different.

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 16:07:46 +0000

The problem with your theory – and Greenwald’s – in my view is this: you and he paint the Republican Congress as shills for the White House – but that’s not the case. I have a theory that better fits the facts that I intend to expound on in a later post…

By: peter

peter — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 15:48:26 +0000

Well, of course you are correct, the voters elected Republicans and you get the government you deserve.

However, it would be nice if Congress was serious about its oversight responsibilities and had hearings to determine wheter “Bush misused intelligence to launch a war and violated existing law.” Abdicating this responsibility to avoid embarrassing the administration is the sign of a spineless and “do-nothing” Congress.

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 15:18:28 +0000

Yes, well, when I say a victory for Bush, the partisan sense is implied. Your take, while certainly one many reasonable people agree with, is predicated on the belief that, as you put it, “Bush misused intelligence to launch a war and violated existing law”. If a person disagrees with one or both of those assertions, then obviously a different interpretation results.

As to the single party control – blame the voters, not Bush or the GOP. Your beef is with the American people there…

By: peter

peter — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 15:05:12 +0000

The Senate’s apparent refusal to do anything substantive about the NSA issue is a victory for Bush only in the partisan sense. Pat Roberts earlier had refused to allow his committee to hold hearings on how the administration used pre-war intelligence, despite promises to do so. His refusal to allow hearings on the NSA issue is not a surprise.

One of the legislative proposals is to retroactively exculpate the administration for violating the FISA requirements. Sort of like robbing a bank, and then walking free when the legislature decides that robbing banks is OK after all.

More broadly, it shows the inevitable result of a single party controlling the White House and both houses of Congress, as the oversight role of Congress becomes a charade. The GOP Congress had no problem putting the nation’s business on hold to impeach Bill Clinton, but when George Bush is involved in far more serious matters — misusing intelligence to launch a war and violating existing law — everything is swept under the rug.

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 13:32:27 +0000

Thank you for that reasoned contribution to the debate here. I’ll take your opinion into consideration as I cast my overwhelmingly Republican ballot in November…

By: John Palcewski

John Palcewski — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:14:58 +0000

The obscene farce continues, unabated. Chief Fascist Republican swine Karl Rove faxes Congress with his orders of the day, and every gooper follows in precise formation, goose-stepping their way to the total destruction of the Constitution, and the now outdated concepts of judicial review and congressional oversight. An imperial presidency is now upon us.

And the reaction of the electorate?

Well, guess what. Cheney’s polls aren’t as bad as they were made out to be. It appears now that the drunken shooting spree in Texas has NOT seriously affected fat ass’s standing, nor diminished in any way his firm grip on the short hairs of congressmen. Oversee the secret spying? Forget it.

There should be outrage, but there isn’t, except in the liberal blogs and we all know what that means. Karl has permanently redefined the term, so now we have to scramble around and find a new label, like progressive. Well, all right. Fine. I’m now a progressive.

This lack of public outrage is a very bad sign. I fear for America. It is being destroyed step-by-step, and the solid fascist swine “base” remains locked at 40 percent or thereabouts.

I say again, and I’ll keep repeating it. Any American who votes in November for a Republican is a goddamned TRAITOR.

John Palcewski
http://forioscribe.livejournal.com

By: Stop The ACLU

Stop The ACLU — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 06:51:57 +0000

Intelligence Committee votes not to investigate NSA eavesdropping

Left leaning libertarians and leftwing nutcases are dissapointed. But nobody is suprised that The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee rejected a proposal to investigate the Bush administration’s NSA program.
Via Washington Post
“I believ…