Feingold Draws Little Support for Censure

[DFLer4edu]

WASHINGTON - Democrats distanced themselves Monday from Wisconsin Sen. Russell Feingold's effort to censure President Bush over domestic spying, preventing a floor vote that could alienate swing voters.

A day of tough, election-year talk between Feingold and Vice President Dick Cheney ended with Senate leaders sending the matter to the Judiciary Committee.

"I look forward to a full hearing, debate and vote in committee on this important matter," Feingold said in a statement late Monday. "If the Committee fails to consider the resolution expeditiously, I will ask that there be a vote in the full Senate."

Republicans dared Democrats to vote for the proposal.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060314/ap_on_go_co/feingold_censure;_ylt=AvQ2lz7V7VND_5B1CmXAfR6yFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

[Trevelyan]

1. DU this poll!! Feingold's call for censure

The daily poll at C-Span's capitalnews.org is about Feingold's call for censure. Don't forget to vote!

http://capitalnews.org/ or www.capitalnews.org

Sen. Feingold's call to censure Pres. Bush over warrantless wiretaps?

Good Idea 84%

Bad Idea 16%

Total Votes: 2548

[DFLer4edu]

4. Repair your link

Link doesn't work, I just typed in www.capitalnews.org and it worked.

[ladjf]

9. 84% say it's a good idea. That looks like supoort to me.

[EST]

17. 85/15....2729

[FtWayneBlue]

44. done

Good Idea


84%


Bad Idea


16%

Total Votes: 3547

[rodeodance]

45. Good Idea 84% Total Votes: 3552

Sen. Feingold's call to censure Pres. Bush over warrantless wiretaps?
Good Idea 84%
Bad Idea
16%

Total Votes: 3552

http://capitalnews.org/

[meganmonkey]

2. I wonder if anyone will step up

or if this is really it. Because if this is it, there goes any hope ever for a successful impeachment.

Rule of law? Who needs it :shrug:

:puke:

[stillcool]

6. this one article has been posted...

like three times...It names Lieberman as being opposed...but does not cite one other democrat who has stated a position....only that Harry Reid hasn't read Russ's bill yet. Making assumptions based on the non-facts provided in the linked article is not logical.

[wordpix2]

21. OK, that's it Joementurm, I am this close to voting for Ned Lamont even

though Ned has no experience.

:spank:

[ihelpu2see]

43. Dont care, I can not support Hoementum! I guess Ned it is!! eom

[spotbird]

3. I dare Democrats to vote for the proposal

Feingold had better avoid small planes and take alternative routes.

[wordpix2]

22. We must MAKE these spineless Dem senators VOTE FOR CENSURE

Send em your cards, letters, emails, phone calls, stop em in the the streets---We Want Censure NOW!

[Jack Rabbit]

5. I dare any Republican to vote against it

!!

[leQ]

7. cheney says boo and democrats get scared. what wimps. no WONDER we're

in the position we're in. how many times have there been openings for democrats to stand up and say enough is enough, and all they did was bow to the republican mafia. i'm sick of it.

[wordpix2]

23. Dead Eye Dick runs us $8.2 trillion in the hole & Dem senators are scared?

WTF? He's the man behind the curtain, Toto, that's all.

[rodeodance]

71. well, there was Cheney laughing at Russ--sickening.

[Trevelyan]

8. Lookit what the MSM and the Dems are doing to Feingold...

Please email and support him. Russ risked his career and more on this brave stand, just after his solitary stand on Alito, filibuster and the"Patriot" act.

Firedoglake posters said Reid was taking a tally of for and against censure calls and that for censure was running very, very high but "Give em Hell Harry" is still sitting on the fence.

C-Span linkes to this:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-feingold-censure,1,3709571.story?coll

Feingold Draws Little Support for Censure

WASHINGTON -- Democrats distanced themselves Monday from Wisconsin Sen. Russell Feingold's effort to censure President Bush over domestic spying, preventing a floor vote that could alienate swing voters...

"Some Democrats in Congress have decided the president is the enemy," Vice President Dick Cheney told a Republican audience in Feingold's home state....

Asked at a news conference whether he would vote for the censure resolution, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada declined to endorse it and said he hadn't read it. :spank: :argh: :wtf:

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. ..:rant:

Across the Capitol, reaction was similar. Feingold's censure resolution drew empathy but no outright support from Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi...

[Trevelyan]

14. Call or email Reid and tell him to step down in favor of Russ, leadership

Today, Russ Feingold Is the Leader of the Democratic Party
by Matt Stoller, Mon Mar 13, 2006 at 03:35:48 PM EST

Russ Feingold made me proud today. Standing up for the integrity of the American system is what leadership means, and that's what we as Democrats are. At least for today, Russ Feingold is the leader of the Democratic Party. And just for today, want to see who isn't a leader of the party? A hint, the name rhymes with Bella Lugosi...
http://mydd.com/story/2006/3/13/135511/053#8

GOOD NEWS. SENATORS PHONE LINES ARE BUSY PLEASE EMAIL THEM
SUPPORT FINEGOLD'S CENSURE RESOLUTION TELL THEM THEY HAVE
NOTHING TO LOSE AND EVERYTHING TO GAIN BY UNITING. THANKS.
WE DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE WHEN WE TELL OUR REPS WHAT WE WANT

[wordpix2]

30. Good idea-Russ for Senate leader! He will have to be successful at censure

first, IMO, & that means

WE HAVE TO DEMAND OUR SENATORS TO CENSURE THE 'WAR-IS-EASY' INCOMPETENT MORON pRESIDENT. CALL, WRITE, EMAIL, LET YOUR SENATORS KNOW WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO!

We have America's attention, now let's use it to send the sheeple and spineless senators another message!
:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :dem:

[Canuck55]

39. If he was ballsy enough to ride out...

being the one to vote against the Patriot Act in a 98-1 vote then this shouldn't impact him much.

And fucking hell, go balls to the wall to get Lamont in there, Lieberman becomes more sickening each day. A resolution to censure the president for going around legal methods, and fucko says "Yeah, it was illegal, but..."

You are never going to be President, Joe. Just give it up.

[fed-up]

10. Good Idea 84% Total Votes: 2611

Sen. Feingold's call to censure Pres. Bush over warrantless wiretaps?

Good Idea

84%

Bad Idea

16%


Total Votes: 2611

[VegasWolf]

11. Hang on Feingold, we'll boot out all the DINOs and find real support for

you !!!!!!!!

[henslee]

12. "Feiny" has been ahead of the curve before.... Everyone else will catch

up.

[wordpix2]

25. Feingold did NOT vote to support *'s war & he's the only true leader who

was RIGHT about the case for war all along.

FEINGOLD-MURTHA for presidents!

[durtee librul]

13. I think we should all EMAIL Harry Houdini

and Nancy no nuts and tell them to enjoy their posts while they can because its obvious they only have THEIR interests at heart and not the countrys. Voting day is coming and sooner or later they will have to run again for their cushy jobs......and guess what, we can then tell them we outsourced them to someone else who gave a damn....that is if it's not too late by then.

Gutless wonders, all of them. They folded like a TX lawyer with a face full of birdshot when Cheney spoke......unreal.

[wordpix2]

35. yell at them, why don't you? You're taking it lying down like THEY are

[PassingFair]

82. Welcome to DU, durtee!

I'm must live right down the road from you!

I'm working to get progressives in at all levels.

[Vidar]

15. Bush keeps fucking up. Feingold & Conyers keep on attacking.

But the rest of our corporatist democrats can't be bothered to save the country.

[VegasWolf]

16. Yes! and too bad we don't have more Democrats in congress than

these two!!!!!!!!

[VegasWolf]

18. Skinner, Is there anyway we can put together a bunch of signatures and

a statement of support from the group of us here at DU? I'll proudly put my name down! Thanks!

[wordpix2]

19. Dem senators don't know what to do ---let's TELL THEM: SUPPORT IT

Can we at long last push our spineless jellyfish senators to support a censure of *? The corporate CEO of the incompetent BushCo that engages in lying to the American people and CONGRESS about the reasons to go to war and the pResident * who illgally spies on Americans without a warrant?

This is OK, senators? No censure for any of this?

I don't think so. :dem::dem::dem:

[fearthem]

33. Democrats acting like . . .

bunch of ostriches, i.e., heads in the sand! Who are they listening to? I hope it's not Carvel!

[wordpix2]

36. they should listen to US, WE pay their salaries

[Ken Burch]

81. That's CARVILLE...

unless you meant the guy who sells ice cream cakes on the East Coast.

[Pastiche423]

20. Capital News poll...

Good Idea 85%


Bad Idea 15%



Total Votes: 2816

[wordpix2]

27. Love the graphic! LOL, DU, come see this pic of Cheney Fudd!

[Pastiche423]

37. Thank you!

Photo manipulation is a great way to vent.

[rodeodance]

70. te he

[A Simple Game]

24. It's plain to see that this will go nowhere. But that's ok. Feingold

has moved the bar a little further to the left, the next times the bar moves, it will move a little further each time.

It will take time, but painfully that seems to be the only thing we have.

Let's hope for some speed in the process.

[fearnobush]

26. Problem is Dem Senators are letting the fascist have there spin dominate

the news cycle. Dem Senators need to get there head out of their asses and scream to the American people that Bush can and will wireTap your ass any time he wants with no warrant, no due process. If you have one to many unregistered guns, He'll wiretap your ass. If your registered a Dem or an Indy, He'll wiretap your ass. How can we prove that he isn't........... WE CAN'T, YOU CAN'T. Is that what you the American people with so called unalienable rights want?

COME ON DEM SENATORS... FRAME THE GODDAMN DEBATE FOR ONCE!!! Fuckers.

Please feel free to add the many ways Bush will WIRE TAP your ass to the fascist floor?

[wordpix2]

28. good rant, DU must 'scream to the American people' & Congress to CENSURE

[hellbound-liberal]

29. Anybody have a link to an e-mail blaster for this? If not, go to

www.senate.gov and e-mail your Senators. I'm doing it right now!

[wordpix2]

31. that's www.senate.gov, folks, FLOOD them so they'll know what NO was like

[Wheres The Beef]

32. yes or no vote

NBC news Brian Williams is reporting that the repubs are calling for an immediate yes or no vote. Trying to get out front like the Murtha resolution. They don't run and hide!

[wordpix2]

34. my email to Lieberman

Sen. Lieberman,
Please back up Sen. Feingold in his censure of the lying, NSA-snooping pResident Bush. Sen. Feingold was right from the beginning in voting "NO" to allowing the selected pResident to go to war in Iraq. The lying BushCo. cherry-picked certain pre-war intel and made up other "evidence" to convince Congress and the public to go to war. Please, you must censure this lying SOB who got us into war on false pretenses and is now illegally snooping on peace and probably environmental groups, not to mention putting us $8.2 trillion in the hole. McCain is taking up the Bush mantle and if Dems don't grow a spine and show they can win a fight, McCain will win the White House. Perhaps you want that, and that's why I'm seriously considering voting for Ned Lamont instead of you.

Back up Russ and CENSURE BUSH. Thank you.

Sincerely,

[rodeodance]

59. good luck

[Moody Bluz]

38. As usual...

our spineless leaders will fold, just like the failed to support Murtha, just like they failed us on the Alito filibuster. That is why I refuse to get on the impeachment bandwagon, because these spinless wimps are the ones that we have to depend on to carry it through and they won't.

We have a bunch Democrats in DC that are nothing more than horseholders for the majority and I see little in them to inspire me.

Polls don't matter, cards and letters don't matter, * and Cheney say "Boo!" and they scurry off and cower, trembling in a corner. We need to rid ourselves of the lot of them and support principled progressives in November.

[HuffleClaw]

40. cowards

i've heard some REPUBLICANS speak more truth to power than many democrats of late.

[Kurovski]

41. I guess it's true, what they say about Democrats not being

tough on crime. :shrug:

[FlemingsGhost]

42. The Democratic Party is a joke.

Anyone thinking the DLC calvary is going to save the day, is a fool.


We are on our own, and it's going to take a revolution.

[rodeodance]

46. Scarbourgh is talking of this now.

[rodeodance]

47. Cheney was in Milwaukee at the time and dissed it --"outragous"

[rodeodance]

48. showing clip--Cheney is smirking from the podium "the Junior Senator

from Wisconsin"

[rodeodance]

49. audiance was laughing along with Cheney--must have been one of those

hand picked audiances.

[htuttle]

50. Cheney wasn't in Milwaukee -- he was up in Green Bay or DePere

He was speaking at a fundraising rally for John Gard.

So yes, it was hand-picked (and paid for) audience.

[rodeodance]

62. umm..

[rodeodance]

65. no surpport whatsoever.

.."A formal censure by Congress is an appropriate and responsible first step to assure the public that when the president thinks he can violate the law without consequences, Congress has the will to hold him accountable," Feingold said.

Even as he spoke, Democratic leaders held off the immediate vote that Majority Leader Bill Frist requested. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said he didn't know if there ever would be one. Durbin said that Feingold had sought to use the censure resolution "as a catalyst" for thorough hearings and investigations.

The referral averted a debate and a vote that Democrats privately worried would alienate voters who could decide close elections.

Throughout the day, Feingold's fellow Democrats said they understood his frustration but they held back overt support for the resolution.

[buddysmellgood]

79. That is excellent. I hope Cheney says Gard is a personal friend. Maybe

he'll go hunting with him.

[rodeodance]

52. Carl Bernstein says that this is serious--a serious investigation is is

order.

[IndianaGreen]

57. The DLC wants us to keep our powder dry for the Second Coming

although the DLC is known to go to war... against liberals!

[VegasWolf]

76. Right! The DLCers want us to be "politically expedient"! Principles not

required!

:puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke:

[JerseygirlCT]

51. We need a serious backbone installation in Congress

Think we could get some sort of group discount?

[rodeodance]

55. Nora O'Donnall is making this into a political issue. damm her!

[rodeodance]

56. Joe S. he thinks the WH loves to go after this security issue.

[Rene]

53. All the Congress critters need a kick in the butt. Let's get on

with the calls and emails. Let them know we want Feingold supported - Loud and Clear.

[rodeodance]

58. I am with you on that. I can't take the fact that Cheney was up there

having a laugh--in Milwaukee as Russ Feingold was delivering the speech!

[IndianaGreen]

54. Weenie Dems also distanced themselves from John Murtha

I won't be voting for any of the weenie Dems if they run for President!

[rodeodance]

60. 1-888-355-3588 Litght em up

[rodeodance]

61. I wonder where this is going? No real support in the Senate. I did not

expect such a response from the Dems!

....Cheney said Monday, "The outrageous proposition that we ought to protect our enemies' ability to communicate as it plots against America poses a key test of our Democratic leaders."

"The American people already made their decision," Cheney added. "They agree with the president."

[IndianaGreen]

64. This is where this is headed: DICTATORSHIP!

By letting Bush get away with this, Republicans and Democrats are complicit in the death of the American Republic and in its replacement by a dictatorship.

One could say that the late, great United States of America died a bipartisan death!

[rodeodance]

66. Reuters: W.House dismisses Democrat's call for Bush censure

this was posted earlier.

http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=pol...

W.House dismisses Democrat's call for Bush censure


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Monday dismissed as politically motivated a Democratic senator's attempt to censure President George W. Bush for ordering domestic eavesdropping on U.S. citizens without a warrant.

Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that he intends to push for a resolution in the U.S. Congress that would censure the president for what he considers an unlawful wiretapping program authorized by the White House after the September 11 attacks.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Feingold's move "has more to do with 2008 politics than anything else."

...

"I think it does raise the question, how do you fight and win the war on terrorism?" McClellan said. "And if Democrats want to argue that we shouldn't be listening to al Qaeda communications, it's their right and we welcome the debate. We are a nation at war."

[rodeodance]

67. VIDEO - CNN's Soledad O'Brien spars with Feingold on Censure

and Soledad had fun with him also before Russ did his speach.



http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002540.htm

VIDEO - CNN's Soledad O'Brien spars with Feingold on Censure

[kentuck]

63. I would have dared them to vote against the censure...

After what this asshole has done and his arrogant disregard for the law. :mad:

[rodeodance]

68. k and nominate

[Name removed]

69. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[rodeodance]

73. No investigation needed Intel Comm--on spying. by Pat Roberts.

posted earlier on DU


Mon Mar-13-06 05:52 AM
Original message
Op/Ed by Pat Roberts (R, co-Chair Sen Intel Comm) re Surveillance


No investigation needed
By Pat Roberts

Through a criminal leak of highly classified information, the public, and our enemy, learned that President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to intercept international communications of people believed to be linked to al-Qaeda. Many in Congress and the media rushed to judgment, decrying the program as illegal and unconstitutional, demanding congressional investigations.

As chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I - along with Vice Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. - have been briefed on the details of this program since 2003. I believe this terrorist surveillance capability is legal and constitutional.

The courts have long recognized that the president has the authority under the Constitution to conduct "warrantless" surveillance for the purposes of collecting foreign intelligence.

While Congress enacted the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to establish procedures for foreign intelligence surveillance, this law did not, indeed cannot, extinguish the president's constitutional powers. FISA provides one way for him to conduct foreign intelligence surveillance, but not the only way.
...
It's the constitutional duty of the executive branch to make the tough decisions necessary to win wars. That's not the case for the legislative branch, which has the luxury of criticizing actions with the benefit of hindsight. When it comes to national security, we should fight the enemy, not each other.

More: http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20060310/cm_usatoday/n...

[cascadiance]

72. I just sent Russ a donation of $20.08! You all should too!

Tell 'em we got his back with the bucks!

[demgrrrll]

74. Nancy Pelosi did not really distance herself and if all they can come

up with is Joe Lieberman and some parsed quote from Durbin then I think this is just more smoke from the propaganda machine. I think we all get fooled from time to time with articles like this one. The title of the article does not really match the contents of the article. I mean, really, would anyone expect Joe to censure Bush? Clinton sure..but Bush?.

[chicofaraby]

75. The question is simple

Do you support censure or do you support secret warrantless spying on American citizens?



Why couldn't the Senate Democrats find the guts to do the right thing?

More importantly, since the Democrats can't seem to find their spines, why would I give a crap if they get elected?

[rodeodance]

80. simple question but hand-wrenching 'answer"

....The question is simple

[Danieljay]

77. I'm literally sick and tired of spineless Democrats...God I wish there was

another option. Republican fascists and spineless Democrats are all starting to look the same to me. Totally worthless.

[tom_paine]

78. So sick and tired of these gutless toadies

Did Wellstone's assassination deliver the appropriate emssage to them?

Did the Right-Wing Anthrax Assassin do the same ("Mission Accomplished, Mr. Rove")?

Are the checks and balances so dead in this country that all the Democrats are data mined so thoroughly that the Busheviks know of every real misdeed, no matter how small, and only a handful like Feingold are clean enough to still resist?

The reasons why don't matter anymore. What matters is the Dream of G. Gordon Liddy has been realized. The Democrats are the embodiment of spineless cowardice. They are the German Social Democrats to Bush's Kinder and Gentler Hitler.

And Free America is truly just a memory now.