They are arguing that court action has never been necessary before.
Then again, when Congress has passed contempt citations before, the Department of Justice has not refused to enforce them.
Category: Congress
Chutszpah
Karl Rove, in response to Congressional questions regarding the Siegelman political prosecution, has refused to testify, but now is magnanimously agreed to submit answers in writing without any swearing in.
Seriously, if Karl Rove is not under indictment by January 1 2010, I’m calling the next president of the United States a secret Bush Toadie.
Texas Senate: Cornyn 47% Noriega 43%
Note that any time an incumbent is below 50% it means trouble, and John “Box Turtle” Cornyn is below 50%…in Texas, according to Rasmussen Reports™.
Rick Noriega has been added to my Act Blue page. Cornyn is a bad bad man.
My Apologies, There is a Schadenfreude Shortage, and I Haven’t Mentioned This
I really should be writing about the travails of New York Republican congressman Vito Fossella, following his arrest for drunk driving while on the way to his mistress, with whom he had fathered a child.
The sane* Republicans in New York, are calling for his resignation, but congressman Peter King, showing that he’s firmly in the nutzo category, is blasting them for, “Putting a knife in the back of a good guy who’s made a mistake.”
Actually, it’s at least two mistakes…heh.
It gets better, because it appears that not only is Vito not resigning, it looks like he has decided to stay in the race for reelection.
*Well, relatively sane…they are Republithugs.
Republicans Vote Against Mother’s Day
This is not the Onion, it’s the Washington Post, though, truth be told, the Onion probably does a better job of reporting.
McConnell Holds Out For All or Nothing FEC Vote
This is interesting. McConnell is still wants the FEC nominations voted on all at once, as opposed to individually, which effectively kills the new nominations by Bush.
Anyone have a clue as to what the heck is going on here? Why is Mitch McConnell dissing the White House and putting McCain in a bind over this?
As long as there are no new nominees, then David Mason stays head of the FEC, and he has been harshing on McCain something fierce, so there are two reasons that I he’s doing this, he hates McCain, or that van Spakovsky has some sort of hold on him.
Deal Between Bush and Senate May Be Close on FEC
It’s being presented as a grand compromise, with separate votes allowed so that Hans von Spakovsky would be voted but, as Josh Marshall so ably notes, it’s really another f&%# you from Bush and His Evil Minions™ to the Senate.
The problem right now is that the FEC does not have a quorum, so it can make rulings, which means, among other things, McCain’s bungee jumping into and out of the public financing system cannot be approved by the board.
Additionally, one of the remaining members of the board, FEC chairman David Mason has been very vocal about McCain’s law breaking on the matter, which is an embarrassment.
Bush has renominated von Spakovsky, but is now saying that they can take a separate vote on the nominees, which Spakovsky, would lose, but he is now also submitting a replacement for Mason too, with the idea that once he is removed, McCain gets what he wants on a party line vote.
Murtha Proposes Giving Army $20B to Cancel FCS
John Murtha, chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, has proposed an additional $20 billion to develop FCS* technologies, while canceling the program.
Basically, he’s looking at canceling the most ambitious aspects of the program, and the $20 billion would be used to redirect the program towards nearer term technology.
When I worked on the FCS‡, it was an article of faith that the systems, at least the manned systems, would never be fielded in large numbers, but that the underlying technology would be a part of an upgrade to legacy systems, and it looks like Murtha is of the same mind.
There is a lot to admire in the way of technology, the article mentions the use of robots to investigate IEDs and advanced communications systems, for example, and the initial release of this technology could benefit the troops now, as opposed to the full up system, which may not benefit the troops ever.
*Full disclosure, I worked on the Future Recovery and Maintenance Vehicle, FRMV, “wrecker” variant of the FCS-MGV† from 2003-2006 at United Defense (later BAE Systems after the Carlyle Group sold me to buy Dunkin Donuts.
†Future Combat Systems-Manned Ground Vehicle. These are the ones that are the tanks and APCs. As opposed to the various unnmanned vehicles, networking technologies, etc. that form the full FCS along with the MGVs.
‡Yes, I have worked everywhere. Maybe I can’t hold down a job, but more likely this has been my role as “technical hit man”, where you are parachuted in to take care of a specific need.
Senate Bill Drops C-17s, Funds F-22s (Sort Of)
The Senate Armed Services Committee has passed a Defense Authorization bill which funds 20 additional F-22s, but does not fund additional C-17s. (more details at link)
Half way there. We don’t need either, though the F-22 funding also includes $497M for shutting down the F-22 line too.
The idea is to leave both options open to the next president.
Hopefully, the next president will have the guts to kill the white elephant that is the F-22.
Democrat Cazayoux Wins in LA-6
The Associated Press: Democrat Cazayoux wins congressional seat in Louisiana
First Dem to take the seat in 30 years.
House Financial Services Committee Passes Mortgage Bill
It’s better than the Senate version, but still favors the lenders and homebuilders too much.
Thankfully, they were able to prevent the Republicans from adding amendments to make it even worse.
Senate Intelligence Committee Moves to Ban Torture by CIA Contractors
That’s the effect anyway, the actual bill would prohibit contractors from participating in CIA interrogations.
The bill would also require the CIA to follow Pentagon rules and to disclose all detainees to the Red Cross.
Needless to say, Bush will veto.
NH Senate: Jeanne Shaheen Over Senator John Sununu by 8
Telco Immunity Update
Well, first it appears that Bush and His Evil Minions™ are coordinating with the Telcos to lobby, and are trying to move heaven and earth to make it so.
I can only conclude that in addition to evidence of illegal wiretaps, that the telcos have information of something much worse, my guess would be that there was specific spying done on political opponents.
If they mutter terrorism to a jury, it is unlikely that a jury would convict them, or that a judge would give them anything more than a slap on the wrist, but if, and there are indications of this, that there is evidence of spying on their opponents, it becomes a whole new ballgame.
If it is discovered that Bush, Cheney, and Rove were spying on Democrats communications, we just might see that impeachment that is “not on the table”, or serious prosecutions starting in 2009.
There have always been rumors that they wiretapped Kerry’s senior adviser for national security affairs, James Rubin, by surveilling his wife CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour for “national security reasons”, and using the inevitable of intercepts of him for political purposes.
My guess is that these activities were far broader and deeper than just one reporter or one candidate.
The Democrats victory in 2006 may very well have been helped along by the NY Times finally breaking the story on the wiretapping, and the telcos getting skittish enough to stop asking “how high” when Bush asked them to jump.
It may all be moot however, as Steny Hoyer and Jay Rockefeller appear to be doing their level best to create full immunity for the phone companies, which would prevent the real story from coming out. Ever.
I’m simply not clear on why Hoyer and Rockefeller are so gung ho about this, unless, of course they were in some way criminally complicit with the program.
What is interesting is that, for now at least, the Vichy Blue Dog Democrats have been remarkably uninterested in getting immunity passed.
As I’ve said before, I think that they headed home after it did not pass the house, and instead of the storm of criticism they expected, they got high fives from the voters, which gave them some backbone.
And the Morons Win the Pennant
It looks like Congress, knuckling under to knuckle heads, will continue to fund the fraud that is abstinence only education.
The reputable studies all show no effect on teen sex or pregnancy, and there are indications that it may increase the incidence of STDs, but the anti-sex right won’t let facts get in their way on their jihad against common sense.
The problem is that there is no political upside to being honest with our children.
House Financial Services Committee Passes Housing Bill Out of Committee
Barney Frank’s bill is better than the Senate version, but I think that any bill that does not allow for restructuring of mortgages through bankruptcy is a lose.
Senator Domenici Admonished by Ethics Committee
Means very little, basically they just sent him a stern letter over his attempt to politically pressure US Attorney David Iglesias.
Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory, the Democrats on Healthcare
The battle on reasonable access to healthcare for all has not even been joined, and Congressional Democrats are already walking away from success.
Jeebus, these guys need a spinal transplant.
Things Looking Good for Zack Space
He won election in Ohio’s 18th district after Bob Ney withdrew following corruption allegations, and now CQ has upgraded the district from “Leans Democratic” to “Democrat Favored”.
Space has $1 million in the bank, as versus $36k for his Republican opponent.
I’m really beginning to think that 2008 will be worse than 2006 for the ‘Fants.
A lot of this is because the people who vote for power will now vote Democratic.
Then again, we know how my predictive powers work.
Telco Immunity Update
First, it appears that Steny Hoyer is working a capitulation compromise on a FISA update, but interestingly enough, the Vichy Blue Dog Dems are not in the least bit interested in talking to Republicans about immunity.
What the Vichy Blue Dog Democrats realize, and what the Quisling Hoyer does not, is that their constituents have their back.
When the Vichy Blue Dog Dems went home, they were not inundated by angry phone calls, they were given high fives for standing up to the least popular president ever.
Not one step back.