Molly Ivins puts it well:
Is Feingold the new Bill Proxmire??
Apparently, Republican Colorado Senator Allard is accusing Feingold of treason for authoring the censure resolution. WTF???
Are you kidding? He and Biden are running like there’s no tomorrow.
That’s the context that explains this whole deal. Now, I agree that Feingold believes Bush should be censured for the NSA wirtetapping program. But that doesn’t negate the politcal angle of his action, especially when you consider it’s utter futility.
Maybe I’m living in a fantasy world, but if you break the law, you should be held accountable in SOME way. Whether you be the damned President of the United States in Wartime ™ or a homeless drifter on the street. But maybe I’m being too idealistic here.
I was happy to hear that Boxer’s on board. Also, I fully expect Feinstein to support the motion, given that she’s one of the members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and is one of 3 Democratic senators who will be ‘briefed’ in some way as part of Roberts’ compromise “investigation”. However, I’m hearing that not even Senator Kennedy is ready to back this yet.
It baffles me. The Presidents numbers have settled in comfortably in the mid-30s. The last poll I saw put the number of respondents who think the president definitely did not break the law at 23%.
This is the right thing to do, and it’s politically advantageous for Democrats to do it. What the hell do they need?
Letting the Republicans rename this program the “Terrorist Surveillance Program” and saying that Democrats don’t want to spy on Al Qaeda is too juvenile and moronic even for Red State voters, isn’t it?
You kidding? Nowadays if you’re the President of the United States in Wartime ™ someone even questioning you is treason!
So, is Colorado’s Allen facing a tough race this time around, or is he just giving Dubya a rimjob because it’s his turn?
-Joe
Well, there’s a couple of organizations/websites, not clear if Feingold himself is involved in them or not:
I can’t find any such news item in the The Denver Post or Google News.
Nor any major news outlet, nor CSPAN could you please give a link.
This is a ‘look at me’ move; and not a bad one. It forces other Democratic Presidental hopefuls to either ‘follow his lead’ or to ‘support the President’. The result of an offical censure is; well nothing. It is basically a ‘you did a bad job, we all think so’.
The down side is the potential backfire of this, he could look weak on national security.
Oh no, it is far worse than that.
The down side is that this resolution could split the Democratic Party right down the middle on a crucial national security issue, namely surveillance of terrorists and terror groups. And the Democrats badly need to boost their national security credentials if they want to build their party and govern well.
Feingold put his own ideals and ambitions ahead of his party. He introduced this motion without consulting any other senator, by all accounts. That doesn’t seem like someone I’d trust in the big chair, even if I agreed with his opinions.
Just to clarify, it’s not the surveillance of terrorists and terror groups that is the subject of the censure, we all want the President to do that. It’s the illegal surveillance of American citizens living in America that is the problem, no matter what Rove, et al keep telling you.
I would even disagree with this characterization. The question is, is the POTUS bound by US law? That’s what this censure is about. Don’t let the right-wingers manipulation of the MSM fool you.
Eh? Why not? Isn’t that exactly how a senator should behave?!
No.
To get legislation through, you have to build consensus and work well with others. Feingold does not do this.
He won’t even work with his own party on their legislative priorities, preferring instead to plug away at his own crusades. Other Democratic senators pointedly do not include Feingold in public events often, and Feingold does not seem bothered by this at all.
He carries the maverick label way too far, IMHO. If he were to run for president, he’d find the left behind him, but none of the institutional forces of the Democratic Party enthusiastic about his run.
He’d be out after about a month or two of polling. Mark my words.
Originally Posted by Duckster
Apparently, Republican Colorado Senator Allard is accusing Feingold of treason for authoring the censure resolution.
I can give you a first person account of it. I heard it on 850 KOA as I was leaving work. To paraphrase the Senator “…time and time again, Sen Feingold has come down on the side of the Terrorists.”
Apparently Sen. Allard is issuing a “clarifying” statement sometime soon.
I’ll post more as I find it…
That isn’t exactly the same as calling him a terrorist, or traitor; sounds like typical ‘the other side’ propganda (of which both sides use).
Bingo. This is either a politician cravenly pandering to the far-left base or else an ideologue popping off because he decided he wanted to feel righteous, counterproductivity be damned.
Sigh. The chances of me voting for Hillary continue to rise.
There are those of us who feel that the party-first lockstep parliament style discipline of the current legislative majority has not served the country well. There is no reason why coalitions should be permanent rather than mutable and ever changing with the issues.
How does Feingold’s action hold Bush accountable?
Is there anything “productive” you would suggest to bring accountability to the White House over the NSA surveillance? There will be no senate investigation apparently, and nothing else is being has been done.