GOP WALKS OUT As Dems Refuse to Pass Surveillance Bill
(Updated)
DEMS REFUSE TO PASS SURVEILLANCE ACT- TO KEEP AMERICA SAFE!
Here's the video of the House Republicans standing (and walking out) for America:
Rep. Eric Cantor has more at his blog.
Republican Representatives walked out of US House today after Democrats refused to vote on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act bill.
Instead, Democrats continued to play politics by charging former White House members with failing to testify in front of a House committee.
FOX News reported:
The House voted to issue contempt citations for two presidential confidants on an almost completely party-line vote pushed by Democrats.President Bush held a special press conference this morning to push Democrats to think of protecting America and quit playing politics.
The vote was 232-32, with one vote of "present."
The citations charge former White House counsel Harriet Miers with failing to testify and accuse her and White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten of refusing Congress' demands for documents related to the 2006-2007 firings of a number of U.S. attorneys, which Democrats believe might have been done for political reasons.
Few Republicans were in the chamber after House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, led a walk-out off the House floor in protest of the vote.
Boehner and other Republicans said they believed the House should instead be voting on a terror surveillance bill to renew a law that is set to expire Friday.
UPDATE: Representative Kay Granger (R-TX) released this on the turmoil in the House today:
Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-Fort Worth) today released the following statement after the House leadership refused to bring up the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) up for a renewal vote.MORE... Michelle Malkin has more on the debacle in the House.
“This is a disappointing day for the House of Representatives. The refusal of the House Democratic Leaders to allow a vote to permanently extend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that the Senate passed earlier this week is unacceptable. This is a straight-forward bill that closes an important loophole and enables our intelligence analysts to identify and track down terrorists.
“We should pass the Senate bill now, and give our intelligence community the tools it needs to protect Americans before the bill expires this weekend and before Congress recesses. There is no reason to keep delaying this.”
UPDATE: John Hinderaker charges Democrats with falling flat on national security.
posted by Gateway Pundit at 2/14/2008 11:47:00 AM
21 Comments:
The real / further protest here was over Democrat's attempt to cede authority of contempt citations from the congress to the courts - it's being misreported in the press as though the house voted on contempt citations but, rather, they voted on changing the rules such that there will now / never be no further debate(s).
I have nothing but contempt for this congress.
Well the dim-witted demoRATS are the party of the Seditious & Sleazy
Thank you, Democrats, for having the courage to stand up against tyranny, oppression, and fascism from the right. Finally, some Americans with the courage to fight for America and what it means.
Kind of a coward yourself, aren't you anonymouse? Courage? Fight for what America means? Go back to your own country until you really understand what America is really about.
Go back to my own country?
How stupidly presumptious of you! I was born and raised right here in this country. Just b/c I disagree with the current fascist regime doesn't mean I don't love this country. I do, which is why I'm disgusted by what's happening now. And I'm so proud of the Democrats for trying to take action to restore our principles.
So what does America really mean? See I thought America stood for those principles and doctrines in the Constitution.
You remember that document, right? It has something called the 4th Amendment. It says something about no warrantles searches and seizures.
That's what America stands for. Not the bullshi** that's going on now. It takes more courage to identify and try to correct what's wrong with this country than to blindly follow the other sheep.
Then go back to the books. Read a little bit about being at war. If you don't think we're in a war for our way of life, you have a short memory. Oh yeah, that fits real well with the Democrat's view of life. Sept.11,2001 was not a movie or a book of fiction, it was real life and death, and caused by the laziness of the Democrats, under the leadership of Bill Clinton. He had many warnings and opportunities to do what was right, but no, a blow job was more important than this country. That's the facts of your courageous party.
Hahahaha, Robert. I have an internal bet when I read these types of message boards to see when someone mentions 9/11.
You did pretty good: two posts! That may be the best I've seen.
I love how 9/11 is an excuse for everything. You know, just b/c 9/11happened doesn't mean we no longer have the Constitution. I mean, if the fascists in charge want to override the Constitution, then that's what they should do.
As it stands, they're not following the Constitution at all.
Last I checked, THE CONSTITUTION IS STILL THE SUPREME LAW OF THIS COUNTRY!!!
Or has that changed?
Go ahead, laugh sweetheart. You know I'm right.
Right about what, exactly?
Do we still have the Constitution as the supreme law of the land?
Yes.
Simple question. Simple answer.
Are you saying I'm wrong? Does the President no longer have to abide by the provisions of the Constitution?
Because if that's what you're saying, then that would be an impeachable offense. The president is sworn to uphold the Constitution and faithfully execute the laws of the land. Yet here, by the POTUS overstepping FISA completely, he is clearly violating both the Constitution and FISA.
The POTUS does not have the right to pick and choose which laws he wants to enforce and which he wants to ignore. Unless, of course, the Constitution no longer applies.
So tell me again: what the hell are you right about???
++
Analmouth @ 8:00 PM..
9/11 as an "excuse" for everything, indeed.. i take it you've never lost a loved one to terrorism..
Timeline: Al-Qaeda
Terrorism Worldwide
Al Qaeda's New Front
watch online
BIN LADEN'S FATWA (1996)
excerpt:
[The following text is a fatwa, or declaration of war, by Osama bin Laden first published in Al Quds Al Arabi, a London-based newspaper, in August, 1996. The fatwa is entitled "Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places."]
AL QAEDA'S FATWA (1998)
excerpt:
[ The following text is the second fatwa originally published on February 23, 1998, to declare a holy war, or jihad, against the West and Israel.
It is signed by Osama bin Laden, head of al Qaeda; Ayman al-Zawahiri, head of Jihad Group in Egypt, and several other Islamic terrorist groups.]
==
++
Anon @ 8:28 PM..
[Simple question. Simple answer.
Are you saying I'm wrong? Does the President no longer have to abide by the provisions of the Constitution?]
just because you keep repeating it doesn't make it ..so.. enough of your crap.. show us the "proof" you have that Bush doesn't abide by the Constitution that Nazi Pelosi & her Dhimmi riech squad don't have or STFU with your ridiculous assertions..
==
++
to whom it may concern:
It’s Legal
excerpt:
[And then the Court of Review did one more thing, something that has repercussions in today's surveillance controversy. Not only could the FISA Court not tell the president how do to his work, the Court of Review said, but the president also had the "inherent authority" under the Constitution to conduct needed surveillance without obtaining any warrant — from the FISA Court or anyone else. Referring to an earlier case, known as Truong, which dealt with surveillance before FISA was passed, the Court of Review wrote: "The Truong court, as did all the other courts to have decided the issue, held that the President did have inherent authority to conduct warrantless searches to obtain foreign intelligence information. . . . We take for granted that the President does have that authority and, assuming that is so, FISA could not encroach on the President's constitutional power."
It was a clear and sweeping statement of executive authority. And what was most likely not known to the Court of Review at the time was that the administration had, in 2002, started a program in which it did exactly what the Court of Review said it had the power to do: order the surveillance of some international communications without a warrant.]
[Today, the opinion stands as a bedrock statement of presidential power. And ironically, it came from a case that was not about whether the president had overstepped his bounds, but about whether the courts had overstepped their bounds. The Court of Review ruled strongly in favor of the president, and the Supreme Court declined to reconsider that decision. Reading the opinion, it's no wonder that George W. Bush has so strongly defended the surveillance program. If the FISA Court of Review is right, he has the Constitution on his side.]
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
Sixth Circuit Stays
Appeals Court Tosses Anti-NSA Spying Suit
excerpt:
[A federal appeals court threw out a ruling that the government's warrant-free spy program was unconstitutional Friday, finding that the ACLU's plaintiffs had no standing to bring suit against the National Security Agency program since they couldn't prove they were spied upon.]
i've not only posted the documents from the court, but have read them (which isn't easy to do btw)..
==
++
["There is no reason to keep delaying this.”]
oh yes there is..
Nazi Pelosi & her Dhimmi Reich Squad want US to surrender!!
==
Anonymous said...
"Hahahaha, Robert. I have an internal bet when I read these types of message boards to see when someone mentions 9/11."
And?
If we had this kind of surveillance pre-911, perhaps the worst attack on US soil could have been averted. They spent years planning 9/11. They made calls to their operatives in the United States. They wired money. They planned the worst attack on American soil.
You have no constitutional right to talk to known al qaeda operatives.
First to mention 9/11? Was that meant to be some kind of insult? Are you that young that you do not remember? Or were you just so far removed that you don't care? Those who do not remember and more importantly, do not learn from it's grim toll, are bound to repeat.
In case you didn't know, let me be the first to tell you, al qaeda declared war on America in 1996. They killed thousands before we joined the fight in 2001. Congress' first responsibility to the American people is to keep us safe and their playing politics with national security is a disgrace.
"Kind of a coward yourself, aren't you anonymouse?"...
Good one robert!
Tell me robert, what sort of coward would do the following? Profile Not Available
The Blogger Profile you requested cannot be displayed. Many Blogger users have not yet elected to publicly share their Profile
Hey bg, regarding this comment by you: "Nazi Pelosi & her Dhimmi Reich Squad want US to surrender!!" (a comment I agree with") you may want to look at this picture on Right Wing News...:-)
Hey TaSS, your comment: "If we had this kind of surveillance pre-911, perhaps the worst attack on US soil could have been averted. They spent years planning 9/11. They made calls to their operatives in the United States. They wired money. They planned the worst attack on American soil."...
Hmmm, wasn't the original attack '93 attack on the WTC always treated as criminal investigation instead of an act of war?
++
where is the MSM & talking heads?? oh wait, outrage is reserved for Bush & Reps.. traitors & terrorists get a pass.. not to mention a boost, gah!!
Obama, Hillary, Dems Take FISA Trial Lawyer Cash
excerpt:
[Court records and campaign contribution data reveal that 66 trial lawyers representing plaintiffs in lawsuits against these phone companies donated at least $1.5 million to 44 different current Democratic senators and Democratic causes.
All of the trial lawyers combined only contributed $4,250 to Republicans in comparison. Those contributions were made to: Sen. John Cornyn (Tex.), Rep. Tom Davis (Va.), Sen. Lindsay Graham (S.C.), Sen. Mel Martinez, and Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.).]
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Good one robert!
Well thank you juandos!
Hm, I wonder how those donations from the same lawyers stack up against the current crop of Dem House members fighting for their lawsuit bribe..um... I mean against tyrany and villany.
Hello, folks. Stopped by here for the first time. Seems like there are a few intelligent folks here, which is good. My criticism of the discourse is that I see too many ad hominem attacks -- attacking the poster rather than his ideas. Once the insults start flying, rage follows, and there is no middle ground, and no chance or willingness to compromise. Or learn.
People,
I am a Marine, but I write this as an American citizen (not my occupation) about this matter.
I must say that America as a whole has too quickly forgotten the horrors of 9/11. I must agree with Robert...had we (America), or more specifically....had our past president Slick Willy done something after our numerous warning signs of the threat of Osama bin Laden, we might have avoided this disaster entirely....
Now our congressmen are asked to pass a bill that will help protect America. Yes it is a wiretapping issue...an issue that many accusatory fingers point out to be "unconstitutional." But I beg to differ:
Constitution: "[1]We the People of the United States [end 1], in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, [2]insure domestic Tranquility [end 2], [3]provide for the common defense [end 3], [4]promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity [end 4], do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Ok...so I might be quoting an obviously well known portion of the Constitution, but bear with me...I have my points:
[1] This is OUR Constitution...not that of our enemies.
[2] DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY=peace within our domain.
[3] Provide for the common defense...do I really have to elaborate
[4] to provide for the well-being of our citizens and to secure and ensure freedom for ourselves and our future generations.
I elaborate all this to say: these are our ENEMIES that we want to be able to monitor...yes, some may be within our own ranks as so-called citizens, but if they ARE citizens of our country that help the cause of the enemies, then they are STILL our ENEMIES; they should be tried for treason and/or conspiracy.
If they are outsiders who have been welcomed into OUR land, or have found their way into OUR land by illegal entry, then we have every right AND responsibility to keep tabs on them in order to "insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity". To vote otherwise, or to refuse to act on legislation that would provide such means to provide this safety, should be considered an utmost disregard for the Constitution, and an indirect cause of these treasonous acts.
If you study any history and/or government, you must realize that freedom is not free. In order to provide order and stability for the people, we must give up certain "rights". That is how freedom is obtained....it's not necessarily freedom from the government...it is freedom from those who seek to destroy our way of life.
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