FEINGOLD-WILL INTRODUCE CENSURE MOTION ON BUSH TOMORROW!

[kpete]

Democratic senator will introduce censure motion on Bush
RAW STORY
Published: March 12, 2006

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), speaking on ABC's "This Week," declared that he will introduce censure against President George W. Bush over the President's warrantless wiretapping program.

"He's going to introduce a censure motion tomorrow," Feingold spokesman Trevor Miller told RAW STORY Sunday.

Asked by George Stephanopoulos why he wasn't proposing impeachment, Feingold said he wanted to do "what's best for the country."



Feingold says Congress needs to stand up to the President, and declared that martial law wasn't declared on Sept. 11, 2001.

Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduced a censure motion against President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney earlier this year. The move received scant attention at the time.

http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Democratic_senator_will_introduce_censure_motion_0312.html

[Quakerfriend]

1. Thank you, Russ Feingold!

Coming from him it's a bit stronger. Now let's see some others get behind it!!

[liveoaktx]

36. VIDEO compilation of Feingold and Frist about the censure

Selected and edited

[proud patriot]

44. Thanks from those of us who slept in today

:hi:

[kevinbgoode]

65. My god. . .Frist is a worm

I hope they run him for President. . .he'll end up with the lowest vote percentage in history.

[Coexist]

77. ...and great photo from Huffington Post!

BUSH CENSURE

[SpiralHawk]

2. It's about time the Republican culture of corruption and its AWOL

koMMander were held accountable.

[Trevelyan]

75. OMG - This sounds like a joke - Gotta be a joke...Right???

http://www.canofun.com/blog/default.asp=

== (Tom Burka) -Senate to Legalize Watergate Break-in'
(3/13/2006 12:54:37 AM)-- heh

The Senate will vote next week to pass a bill that will retroactively declare the Watergate break-in to be legal.

"If President Nixon felt that spying on the Democratic National Committee headquarters was necessary, that's good enough for me," said Sen. Pat Roberts (R.-Kan.), who elaborated, "It's time for us to stop second-guessing our leaders."

The bill is the first of a number of laws that aims to ensure that the President can do no wrong. Other laws contemplated by the Senate specifically authorize the trading of arms for hostages, manipulating intelligence to make the case for war, misleading the American people, and the use of the word "strategery."

[babylonsister]

3. Holy mackeral! Someone needs to-I'm impressed! nt

[formercia]

4. Good, let's see who votes against it. n/t

[Cobalt Violet]

5. Good. Put the pukes on record. n/t

[Coexist]

6. It is being discussed on This Week with George Steph

Feingold is on now 10:01 EST.

"they are using shifting legal justifications." Feingold

"they are trying to say the President has the inherent authority to override the law."

He is kicking some butt.

[derby378]

7. Russ for President

2008, baby!!

:applause: :toast:
:woohoo:

[warrior1]

8. Amen brother

Go for it..

[madrchsod]

9. i take it he`s running for president

i`ll vote for him

[calmblueocean]

10. Impeachment is what's best for the country.

Bush still has nearly 3 years left in office! Is there now any doubt of his administration's incompetence? Is there any doubt he's going to do more to hurt our country in the next 3 years than help it?

Here's an idea: If he doesn't think he can impeach Bush, what about impeaching Cheney? Cheney's approval numbers are lower than spit. The entire country loathes him. He was a primary architect of this war, and he has shown nothing but contempt for the rule of law. Impeaching Cheney would do more to send a message than mere censure. It would also have the advantage of making sure that, should something bad happen to Bush in the next 3 years, there will be no President Cheney.

I think Cheney is definitely impeachable, and I'd like to see a real movement started to do so. What do y'all think?

[MiniMe]

13. Not unless we get Cheney too n/t

[calmblueocean]

14. heh, read my post :) (n/t)

[Patchuli]

24. I heard that Cheney is going to retire

right after the Congressional elections. Maybe we'll get rid of both of them!

Go Russ!!!!! :patriot:

[Swamp Rat]

48. Where did you hear that Cheney is going to retire after the

Congressional elections? I'd like to read more about it.

Geaux Russ! :patriot:

[Patchuli]

60. Hmmm...give me a bit, I'll remember

It may even have been from a link from DU...

[Maat]

62. It's an idea that has been shopped around the rightwing websites.

It's almost as if they are preparing the sheeple for it.

I will try to find a link.

On edit:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49023 .

[Swamp Rat]

66. Thanks n/t

[Maat]

81. Take care, Swamp Rat (n/t)!

[Patchuli]

67. Cheney retirement links

http://www.themoderatevoice.com/posts/1141114674.shtml and then we have this ultra rightwingy nutcase blog discussing it http://www.blogsforbush.com/mt/archives/006596.html

These weren't originally where I heard it but apparently it's becoming a hot topic!

[Swamp Rat]

68. Thanks!!!

[Imagevision]

51. Impeachment for Bush and Feingold elected in 2008!!

[BlooInBloo]

11. Way to go Conyers!

[progressoid]

12. Wanna take bets on how fast that gets shot down?

[The Witch]

15. I wondered what he was hinting at during that online chat

Damn it, I turned on the television at 9:30-something and missed it!!!! Caught the tail end of it -- with George Will saying "If this is the face the Democrats want to put on their party.."

Won't he be surprised with the groundswell of support from the grassroots, then. Get out in your communities, folks, and make it happen.

[ewagner]

16. What Feingold knows

Let me preface this by saying that I think Russ's resolution to Censure is a good thing...actually I'm more in favor of an impeachment trial in the Senate after the house passes articles, but I'll take what I can gert

But...Feingold is no fool. He has enough experience to know:

1. He is unlikely to get even a single co-sponsor for the resolution.
2. Unless Frist thinks he can embarrass Feingold by having him as the SOLE VOTE IN FAVOR of the resolution, he will NEVER ALLOW this resolution to come to the floor.

Unfortunately I think Russ is just building up his "street cred" with the true base of the Democratic party by doing this. I don't think he has any realistic hope of seeing this resolution passed.

Understand this: I don't blame Russ for introducing the bill because it's the right thing to do. I wish he would be more candid about the fact that he's doing it as more of a symbolic gesture than anything else.

flame away

[jane_pippin]

18. I see it the other way around.

I think Russ takes his responsibility as a Senator seriously and you know he's not the kind of guy to just showboat for the sake of political aspirations and political aspirations only. I think given how Russ operates--deliberative, reasoned, cautious--it's safe to say that he really thinks that this is the right thing to do and whether he's tilting at windmills or not, it's the principle that counts.

I think the "street cred" is a nice bonus and one he's keenly aware of. You're right, he's no fool. Even if he's the only vote in the Senate, he still will have accomplished holding his fellow Senators accountable--Senators looking to distance themselves from Bush in '06 or Senators looking to run as "reforming Dems" in '08, and the resolution not making it to a vote still sends the message to an increasingly dissatisfied public that "Look, I tried to hold the President accountable but the Republican led Senate couldn't be bothered to uphold their oaths of office."

The bottom line is it's the right thing to do and I think for Russ that's the primary reason for moving forward with it. Any public support for it or for holding the administration accountable in general serve as evidence that he's making the right decision. I don't necessarily think he needs to be more candid about it being a symbolic gesture because I don't think he sees it only as that. On some level, sure I suppose it is just symbolic, but when what it symbolizes is so important it becomes something more than simply a political gesture. Just like with the Patriot Act vote, he has to do what he has to do, and he won't stop doing it just because everyone else is too afraid to stand up.

I'm not trying to flame you--I think your points are valid. If it was anybody other than Russ I'd probably be agreeing with you 100%.

Anyway, nitpicking aside, here's to our Russ. :toast:

[ewagner]

19. I've been thinking about it some more

first, I agree that it is the RIGHT thing to do....

Second, this may be a very good "stunt" to keep the subject of illegal wiretaps in the public eye and also to give Democrats another hammer to beat Republicans with in the November elections. That is

IF THE REST OF THE SENATE DEMOCRATS RALLY BEHIND HIM....

What about Howard Dean?

Will Howard jump in and support Russ also?

He'd better......we need coordinated leadership in order to make this an issue.

[jane_pippin]

29. And that's the big question. Will they? I hope so. Would I bet on it? Nope

I agree, we absolutely need to be united on this and if others won't stand behind Russ that's a disgrace. I'm with you on this. The only place I disagree with you is on Russ' primary reason for doing this now, and I don't disagree with you entirely either.

Speaking of the reception this might get from others, Levin just said on Wolf's show that he'd rather wait until the investigation into wiretapping is over before he moves into that territory. The other guest, Warner called it political grandstanding that weakens our president. So there's that. Yippee.

[gizmo1979]

37. Dean has nothing to lose.

He can back the censure without fearing the backlash.

[radio4progressives]

25. In Full and Complete Agreement with jane_pippin...

Russ is simply following righteous principles along the logical path. I think he is absolutely the most courageous Senator in Washington, and he made a righteous decision by bringing this decision to the Media.

It's made Radio News headlines, don't know how it will play out in print media.. will it be tucked away on page 18 of the NYT? or will it be Front page/Above the fold? and how will the headlines be worded?

[pstans]

17. Way to go Russ!

Bu$h has admitted that he broke the law because the law wasn't good. If the law wasn't good then he should have had the Senate change the law. He broke the law, end of story. The Senate committee decided to not investigate it, so Feingold is taking this measure.


www.russforpresident.com

[BuyingThyme]

20. Which "program" are you talking about, Russ?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=446700

[Loge23]

21. Let's get a count

This will likely go nowhere, but it is important to get a head count.
Let's see who stands up for freedom now.
Any fascist enabler who does not stand against the illegal actions of this administration should be dismissed from any future consideration of support.
Just like the traitors who voted to extend the Unpatriot Act, let's get a list of these freedom-destroyers and run with it.

[kpete]

22. Full Transcript

Full transcript:

STEPHANOPOULOS: Tomorrow in the Senate you’ll introduce a resolution to censure George W. Bush. Let me show it to our viewers. It says, “Resolved: that the United States Senate does hereby censure George W. Bush, President of the United States, and does condemn his unlawful authorization of wiretaps of Americans.” That is a big step. Why are you taking it now?

FEINGOLD: It’s an unusual step. It’s a big step, but what the President did by consciously and intentionally violating the constitutional laws of this country with this illegal wiretapping has to be answered. There can be debate about whether the law should be changed. There can be debate about how best to fight terrorism. We all believe that there should be wiretapping in appropriate cases. But the idea that the President can just make up a law in violation of his oath of office has to be answered.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But as you know, the President says he was acting on his inherent authority under the Constitution, and even your resolution acknowledges that no federal court has ruled that a president does not have that authority as Commander in Chief, so aren’t you jumping the gun?

FEINGOLD: Not at all. You know, we’ve had a chance here for three months to look at whether there’s any legal basis for this, and they’re using shifting legal justifications. First they try to argue that somehow, under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, they can do this. It’s pretty clear that they can’t. Then there’s the argument that somehow the military authorization for Afghanistan allowed this. This has basically been laughed out of the room in the Congress. So the last resort is to somehow say that the President has inherent authority to ignore the law of the United States of America, and that has the consequence that the President could even order the assassination of American citizens if that’s the law. So there is no sort of independent inherent authority that allows the president to override the laws passed by the Congress of the United States.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So if you’re so convinced that the President has broken the law, why not file an article of impeachment?

FEINGOLD: Well, you know, that’s an option we could look at, if somebody thought that was a really good idea. There are other options out there. In fact, this conduct is right in the strike zone — even though the Founding Fathers didn’t have strike zones, they didn’t have baseball — but it is right in the strike zone of the concept of high crimes and misdemeanors. We have to consider, is it best for the country to start impeachment proceedings? Is it best for the country to consider removing the President? We’re not mandated to impeach a president who has broken the law, but I think we are required to do our job, to live up to our oath of office, and say, wait a minute, there has to be — at least as a first step — some accountability. Proper accountability is a censuring of the President, to say, “Mr. President, acknowledge you broke the law, return to the law, return to our system of government.” That’s what I think we should do.

video and Frist's response available at:
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/03/12/feingold-censure/

[radio4progressives]

26. Wonderful, that was Fast!

:applause:

[NVMojo]

23. And not a freaking day too late with the stupid bastard trying to

make it a crime for reporters to write about him if he eavesdrops!! Damn, go Feingold!

[kpete]

27. THE RESOLUTION - PDF

http://feingold.senate.gov/censureresolution.pdf

[adnelson60087]

28. We have come a long way...

to even get the word Impeachment mentioned and discussed on the Sunday Morning Talking Heads Shows. I don't think Dems need to stress impeachment right now. It is understood that when Dems take the House back, and Conyers heading the Judicial committee, it will be a quick procedural motion to put the impeachment fight front and center, not just on Bush, but on Cheney as well. This morning, when Feingold spoke about what's best for the nation and getting Repubs on the record as opposing chastisement of Bush, this will just be the opening salvo. I don't think there's any way Conyers won't push for Impeachment on DSM, Wiretapping, etc.

[napi21]

30. Sorry folks, but this is nothing more than a good sound bite.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/background/impeach/censure.htm

Each House may . . . punish its members for disorderly behavior. . .

--U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 2

What is "Censure?"

Although ill-defined, censure is a process of Congressional reprimand--the political equivalent of a strongly-worded letter. In 1834, a Whig Senate "censured" Democratic President Andrew Jackson in retaliation for his withholding documents. Three years later, a Democratic Senate "expunged" the censure from the record. However, that act of censure had no basis in either the Constitution or the Rules of the House and Senate. This remains true today. Ordinarily, Congressional disapproval of the President is relayed either through its legislative power including the veto override power or through impeachment.

Presumably, censure of the President would take the form of a resolution adopted by both the House and Senate and then publicly announced. Legally, the resolution would have no effect. Censure derives from the formal condemnation by either the House or the Senate in rebuke of a Member of their own body. After a majority vote, the Member is publicly denounced, but still retains the position of Representative or Senator. However, the House removes the offending Member from any leadership positions in committees or sub-committees
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

It made for good Sn AM TV, but that's about all.

[stray cat]

31. Its about waking up the American people - soundbites are good

Anything that draws attention to criminal conduct by Bush or any politician is a good thing. Americans need to get outraged before they can get anything accomplished.

[file83]

35. I think Americans are already awake - now they need to GET OUT OF BED!

Time to do SOMETHING about it - Impeachment is the only ACTIONABLE course we can take. Censure is just another way of hitting the SNOOZE button. No more of this laziness!

[earth mom]

40. Agree-Impeachment is the answer.

Anything else is just a swat on the hand. :(

[Bloody John Flynt]

56. Impeachment

I agree, impeachment IS the answer. We impeach a president for lying about a sexual indescretion and yet we let this ass do even worse. Common congress wake up!!!

[stray cat]

45. We don't even have the votes for censure let alone impeachment

even if we could get other dems to go along. the dems won't even vote for impeachment and if they did it would have no effect because they don't have the numbers.

[dennis00]

32. BJs

It took only one bj to almost bring Clinton down. Bush has had two. BJ from Katrina and Brewster-Jennings. He ,at least, deserves a censure.:evilgrin:

[JerseygirlCT]

33. I think I might be in love. nt

[Independent_Liberal]

34. Thank you Russ!

You're a true patriot! Help us restore our democracy!

:)

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

38. This Oughta Make For Some Good CSPAN Watchin!

Gotta love Russ. He's the best possible Senator to be leading this charge, and I hope this gets the ball rolling in even some small way.

[European Socialist]

39. Way to go Russ--should have been done two months ago--but I'll take it.

[yy4me]

41. Will this guy PLEASE run for President, he's one of the few

DEM'S with courage to open his mouth and DO something! I'm tired of the same-old-same-old. We need action. Now as for the House, where are you guys? We need action on the "I" word!

[me b zola]

42. He's always ahead of the other Senators on doing the right thing

Definetly an independant thinker & not afraid to be the lone voice on a serious subject, Feingold has consistantly followed his conscience. This morning Obama essentially backed Feingold's exit policy from Iraq. I remember when Russ was the only Senator willing to set a date for our GI's to leave Iraq.

Feingold's thoughtful approach to fullfilling his duties should serve as an example for other Senate Dems to follow.

Senator Feingold :patriot:

[Fiendish Thingy]

43. Shouldn't we be contacting our Senators to support this?

I'm assuming we won't get a number assigned for the Senate Resolution until tomorrow, but if our Senators were flooded with calls to support this, it couldn't hurt.
I think this could be a good first step- censure doesn't preclude impeachment, and this may provide some impetus to Conyers' resolutions in the house.

[Nutmegger]

46. K & R!!!!

This is awesome!!!

:kick:and:thumbsup:!!!

[LuCifer]

52. K&R for SURE!

Attention fellow Senate Democrats: IF wuss out on this and don't back Senator Feingold, then hang your heads in SHAME! So in other words, LIEberman and Zell Swiller, COME ON DOWN! You're the next contestants on DINOS R US!

[kpete]

47. Contact For Feingold

http://feingold.senate.gov/contact.html

[Swamp Rat]

49. Excellent! This means repukes will be on record supporting Bushler

in 2006. We'll slap 'em upside the head with it next November! :D

[Imagevision]

50. Russel, you have my vote, now just win the nomination...!

Feingold, one of the very few out there with intelligence and common logic!

[LuckyLib]

53. Thank you, Feingold. Now let's see if anyone other than

Conyers stands up with you.

[Joey Liberal]

54. We've got to take back the Congress!

I'd love to see that bastard Bush get impeached or censured.

[democrank]

55. Good.

If we can`t stop Bush (thanks to the rubber stamp Republicans) we can at least let him know we have the courage to take a stand. I`m proud of Russ Feingold.

[DemGirl7]

57. Sweet!!!

Sen. Feingold is a true hero, its about time,someone in the Senate stands up to * & Co.:applause: :patriot: :yourock: :thumbsup:

[Trevelyan]

76. K&R Let the world know about this and email Feingold...It can't be easy

taking a stand against the bush/cheney cabal, as witness the cowardly DINOs ALL BUT 2 Feingold and Leahy voting for the Patriot Act without Feingold's amendments to protect our civil liberties. The Dems keeping their powder dry and letting Roberts on the Supreme Court then wimping out on Alito filibuster and giving Bush a pass on the NSA Illegal DOMESTIC Wiretapping. What will the other Dems stand up against??? The detention ie Concentration Camps on the mainland USA???


Thank you Russ for your courage against Bushler. We appreciate your courage in standing alone on the Patriot Act and now Censure (but I hope Boxer and Byrd and Kennedy and Leahy, at least stand with you). You got my vote for President.
:loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya:

:dem: :kick: :dem: :kick: :dem: :kick: :dem: :kick: :dem: :kick:
:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:
:patriot:

[tinfoilinfor2005]

58. But, but...Frist says Feingold has his nerve doing this while dubya

is fighting a war and terrists and bin laden.

Our brave little soldier. And not a mark on him. :puke:

[Hippo_Tron]

69. Is this the same dubya that let Bin Laden get away?

Yea, that's what I thought.

[UrbScotty]

59. My love for him (is that the right word?) grows each day. (nt)

[jazzjunkysue]

61. I sure makes a yummy headline, don't it?! Gotta start somewhere.

It helps us in November if the red states hear about this now. Some morons just don't get it until you beat them over the head. This is going to make national network news, and some people don't know anything until they hear it on Network, so, I say this is good.

When your pension is threatened, and medicare doesn't work, when you prescriptions are more than your social security check and your grandchild is fighting in a stupid war, dontcha start waking up at some point?

This will help push some doubters over the line.

This is good, just for the press time it will create.

[Maat]

63. Whoa ... look what is getting some attention already!

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/3/12/120437.shtml?s=lh ;

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/3/12/133111.shtml?s=lh .

Looks like he's gotten under somebody's skin!

[lilly_j]

64. Conyers

"Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduced a censure motion against President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney earlier this year. The move received scant attention at the time"

That is because he introduced it after the illegal wiretapping came out but it was about Iraq, not illegal wiretapping. And because it was censure, not impeachment.

If someone came out in the House of Representatives right now and introduced articles of impeachment over illegal wiretapping, I think they would get a very positive response!

[0007]

70. This will drive the freepers absolutely nuts.

[B Calm]

71. The republicans are trying to distance themselves from Bush

We seen that with the Ports deal. but we'll see how serious they truly are, ha ha...

[HysteryDiagnosis]

72. Coming up on CNN in a few..... 'bout damn time. n/t

[foreverdem]

73. I hope this is screamed from the rooftops

I sure hope that EVERYONE will know about this, and that it's not squashed in the press like it was when Conyers introducted it. Hopefully Feingold's motion will get the attention that it should. Whether it makes a difference or not, maybe it will get the Dems mobilized.

[Trevelyan]

74. Go Feingold!!! I went to his site to email thanks and some of the materia

he has on the history of CENSURE came up but when I tried to access Feigold's "Release and Fact Sheet on Censure" got this message:

"Sorry, there is no www.senate.gov web page matching your request. The address may have been typed incorrectly, the page may no longer exist, or the file may have been moved to a new location during our recent redesign.
Your request will be automatically redirected to the www.senate.gov Home page after 10 seconds.

If this problem persists, please contact the Office of the Secretary Webmaster at [e-mail]."

I let Sen. Feingold know I couldn't access it. I wonder if his Release and Fact Sheet is getting so many clicks or if somebody doesn't want to know how many people are interested in Feingold's courageous actions. What happened to Boxer (I know what happened to Hilary) and Byrd sent me a thank you for signing his petition against NSA? Where are the Dems???? Do we need to get rid of all of them except for Feingold???

[Virginia Dare]

78. My hackles are up about this...

how long before the chimptator accuses the Democrats of an attempted coup and/or treasonous acts and starts throwing them in jail? I really do think this is a real possibility.

[VP505]

79. Frist says

"Iran is watching", now there's a really good reason not to censure Bu$h. :wtf:

[Teena]

80. What about Florida?

Wasn't martial law declared in Florida on September 7, just 4 days prior to 9/11? I sure hope no one can use that as an argument against Feingold's contention that martial law was not imposed because of 9/11.
Actually, it might work in Feingold's favor because then he would have the opportunity to ask, "What was Jeb Bush expecting to happen in the next few days? Why would Jeb feel the need to declare martial law just because his brother was coming to the state of Florida to read to small children?"