Hold Bush accountable, senator says

[mdmc]

Washington (compiled from wire services). 3-20-2006

A top Senate Democrat said yesterday that President Bush should be held responsible if he violated the law in authorizing the domestic spy program. But Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said it is too early to tell if either censure of impeachment of Bush would be appropriate.
"I can't rule anything out until the investigation is complete. I don't want to prejudge it," said Durbin. "But if this pResident {capital R is my addition} or any president violates the law, he has to be held accountable."
Durbin's colleague, Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., last week introduced censure legislation, saying Bush violated the law in not fully informing Congress or getting approval from a secretive court to conduct the eavesdropping program. A censure resolution, if adopted, would amount to Congress scolding the president.

Times Herald Record 3-20-2006 page 23.

[spartan61]

1. I saw this interview of Durbin with Chris Wallace.

I know, I know, what was I doing watching Faux News, but I watched the rerun of this interview because MSNBC had Headliners and Legends and CNN had their Cnn Presents thingy on. Chris Wallace was doing his very best at trying to put words into Durbin's mouth and Durbin called him on it. Durbin did a good job and Wallace was a horse's ass.

[wordpix2]

2. Members of the Judiciary Comm. to decide on Feingold censure resolution

Arlen Specter
CHAIRMAN, PENNSYLVANIA

Orrin G. Hatch
UTAH

Patrick J. Leahy
RANKING DEMOCRATIC MEMBER, VERMONT

Charles E. Grassley
IOWA
Edward M. Kennedy
MASSACHUSETTS

Jon Kyl
ARIZONA

Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
DELAWARE

Mike DeWine
OHIO

Herbert Kohl
WISCONSIN

Jeff Sessions
ALABAMA

Dianne Feinstein
CALIFORNIA

Lindsey Graham
SOUTH CAROLINA R

Russell D. Feingold
WISCONSIN

John Cornyn
TEXAS

Charles E. Schumer
NEW YORK

Sam Brownback
KANSAS

Richard J. Durbin
ILLINOIS

Tom Coburn
OKLAHOMA

[mdmc]

3. Is there still a wiretap investigation still going on? I didn't think

that there was any investigation going on.

[wordpix2]

4. Judiciary Comm is where the censure resolution went after Feingold present

ed it---and there it sits. don't know what will happen but I imagine the issues are gone over with a fine tooth comb

[mdmc]

5. who would make the decision to investigate?

With Clenus, Ken Starr was in charge. Who is in charge of looking into w.'s indiscretions?

[fooj]

6. I called his office and his people are damn right rude.

Durbin needs to do something about his staff...or maybe he already has.:mad:

Peace.

[madokie]

14. A while back I sent an email to Reid and the reply was he was too busy

with his own constituents and if I have anything to say email my own Senator. wtf is with that, I thought he was my minority leader too. Please don't make me go look but I'm sure it is still in my inbox.


edit

[mdmc]

15. awful

[berni_mccoy]

7. Until WHAT Investigation is complete?! You mean... the repukes in Congres

are actually allowing one? The last I heard they ARE NOT investigating.

[mdmc]

11. that is also my assumption. I am not sure how this guy expects

"to get to the bottom of this." Who is looking into wiretap violations?

[autorank]

8. Durbin, I gave you $$$'s in your 1st Campaign. I love your politics but..

...lets loosen up here a little, think inside or outside the box...

It's time to impeach *, just in time to save the planet.

Dick, it's a no brainer. Stop with the Senate "nice guy" crap

and get your Chicago attitude working. KICK SOME ASS.

this message endorsed by me, autorank. thank you.

[DFW]

9. Waiting for...

a Republican-led Judiciary committee to investigate crimes committed by the Bush White House will be like waiting for
Dick Cheney to call for an investigation of the excesses of Halliburton.

There is about as much hope in that as there is in waiting for Godot.

[mdmc]

12. How does Durbin think "he will get to the bottom of this"?

It makes no sense.

[PATRICK]

10. Bush rules by catch-22

which mainly is the failure of Congress to get accountability from the WH in its daily job. Therefore the secrecy veil itself IS the issue to censure which protects all others. Some of the debate nearly gets to what Byrd and others have been storming about since day one, namely making Congress itself not a thing to censure by virtue of failing to defend its mission and rights.

Then an individual scandal comes up behind that stonewall and all you can do is piss on it and get criticized for bad form. The Dems need to cut loose from the GOP majority failure or THEY ARE PART OF IT as well. What earthly need was there for any opposition party(note to Dems: this is not a coalition government...is it?) to also betray the nation for the sake of the other party's criminal, fraudulent and unconstitutional power??????

The Dems are acting very very much in their practice like the minority member of a ruling coalition, but they are not treated like that in turn at all. End the mental disconnect and get out of the self-muddied waters.

No accountability or access to proper Congressional oversight, no benefit of the doubt on any scandal, no benefit of the doubt on the argument itself, war or no war.

[mdmc]

13. It does seem like this is a coalition government. One party.

I agree that the secrecy that w operates in is worthy of censure.

Thank you for your post.