Specter: If Bush Broke The Law With Warrantless Spying, Impeachment Is A Remedy
Specter: If Bush Broke The Law With Warrantless Spying, Impeachment Is A Remedy
Today on ABC’s This Week, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) — who plans to hold hearings on Bush’s warrantless domestic spying program — upped the ante. He said that if it is determined that Bush broke the law, both impeachment and criminal prosecution are legitimate remedies:
STEPHANOPOULOS: There was a lot of talk about that at the Alito hearings, and listening closely to you I certainly seem to take away that you believe the president does not have the right, does not have the inherent power under the Constitution to circumvent a constitutional law, and as far as you are concerned, the FISA law is constitutional, isn’t it?
SPECTER: Well, I started off by saying that he didn’t have the authority under the resolution authorizing the use of force. The president has to follow the Constitution. Where you have a law which is constitutional, like Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, there still may be collateral different powers in the president under wartime circumstances.
That’s a very knotty question that I’m not prepared to answer on a Sunday soundbite. But I do believe that it ought to be thoroughly examined. And when we were on the Patriot Act and found the disclosure of the surveillance, I immediately said the Judiciary Committee would hold hearings, and I talked to the attorney general, and we’re going to explore it in depth, George. You can count on that.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You know, if the president did break the law or circumvent the law, what’s the remedy?
SPECTER: Well, the remedy could be a variety of things. A president — and I’m not suggesting remotely that there’s any basis, but you’re asking, really, theory, what’s the remedy? Impeachment is a remedy. After impeachment, you could have a criminal prosecution, but the principal remedy, George, under our society is to pay a political price.
The non-partisan Congressional Research Service concluded “that the administration’s justification for the warrantless eavesdropping authorized by President Bush conflicts with existing law and hinges on weak legal arguments.”
UPDATE: Crooks and Liars has the video.
Sort Comments By: Top Rated | Date
So that’s what it takes to get this going… the polls showing that a majority (52%) favor it?
Well, I imagine we can now expect the reliability of the polls to soon go the way of Diebold…
January 15th, 2006 at 10:22 amLet’s use their own WMD against them…
Repeating the mantra:
Impeach! Impeach! Impeach!
January 15th, 2006 at 10:24 amImpeach! Impeach! Impeach!
Impeach! Impeach! Impeach!
Impeach! Impeach! Impeach!
Impeach! Impeach! Impeach!
No, filibuster. It needs to happen NOW.
Specter is not going to save you or Think Progress! This post does not count as “Anti-Alito”, TP~
I think it’s important to note that Think Progress has not used the word “Filibuster†since the hearings ended and have only done one post discussing Alito.
Let’s do the math:
~Bush spies on people illegally.
~Bush fancies himself more power than the constitution allows.
~A majority of people want Bush impeached if he illegally spied.
~Alito supports a president with more power than the constitution allows.
~And the CAP/Think Progress position is to not say anything about the Alito nomination??
There is something amiss here. It is starting to look like Dems and Progs have their hands in the domestic spying. Is this why Gore is the only one willing to speak out? Because he’s not in office?
January 15th, 2006 at 10:27 amGus:
At the conclusion of the Alito hearings, CAP came out with a formal statement in opposition to his nomination. Read it here.
January 15th, 2006 at 10:29 amJudd,
January 15th, 2006 at 10:37 amAnd the dominant theme of the CAP position was a contrast to O’Conner. Just about the weakest leg anyone could stand on. The “He’s not like her” position.
The CAP position waxes philosophic when right in front of them is a direct correlation between a corrupt prsident and a probable crony to support him.
A FILIBUSTER has to happen this week. Alito cannot be allowed on the Supreme court. He believes Bush’s powers are above all others and this is unAmerican and unconstitiutional. Like most of Bush’s appointments he lied to Congress during his present confirmation hearings as well as breaking promises made in a previous one.
At the same time the push for impeachment needs to continue and the wiretapping is just the latest reason for Bush’s removal.
The GAO found 199 domestic spying programs.
January 15th, 2006 at 10:42 amOnly 14 are related to counterterrorism.
That’s at least 185 more reasons to IMPEACH HIM NOW.
Well, I imagine we can now expect the reliability of the polls to soon go the way of Diebold…
Comment by unbelievable #1
unbelievable,
“SOON”?
Watching Bushiva’s fraudulent poll #s surely caused skepticism in polls a few years ago…
January 15th, 2006 at 10:43 amThis may be it, the straw that will break Bush’s back. The NY Times and Harry Reid, among others, sat on this story for over a year but now the Repubs (Specter, at least) will move on it. Pissing on the Constitution may trump corporate power — there’s some hope in our land.
January 15th, 2006 at 10:43 amIf only Specter could be trusted…
He’s a republiscum, that disqualifies him from having any credibility to avoid being partisan in this matter…
January 15th, 2006 at 10:45 am52 percent favor impeaching Bush - the highest clinton ever got was 36 percent:)
January 15th, 2006 at 10:47 amI agree with Big Papa. I don’t trust Specter altho I do like him but I was very disappointed with his questioning of bush’s protector Elito.
January 15th, 2006 at 11:01 amA vote for Alito is a vote for illegal spying on you~
January 15th, 2006 at 11:04 amThat should have been the theme of the hearings. Period. Kennedy went out of his way to call Alito’s presidential power philosophy “bizarre”, but noone has carried that theme. NOONE.
I have a question: Why are we letting the administration do these things? In other third world countries they’d all be hanging from meat hooks by now.
What gives?
January 15th, 2006 at 11:05 amThis isn’t really about “spying on Americans.” It is really about Bush, and his Zionist cabal murdering 3000 Americans on 9-11, and where this is headed - One World Government. That is why they did it and they are using Muslims as a cover because nobody likes their religion anyway.
Period. End of Story.
The Government officials that are not in on the One World Government b.s. will try to overthrow this guy, but it’s going to be difficult. We are in for some ugly times ahead.
http://www.geocities.com/pentalawn2000/
http://video.google.com/ videoplay?docid=-2023320890224991194&q=loose+change
http://911research.com/ wtc/ evidence/ videos/ docs/ discussion_in_firehouse.mpg
http://www.cryptogon.com/ docs/ Introducing%20the%20amazing%20Penta-Lawn%202000!%20(9-11).htm
9-11 = Bush = Murder 3000 of your OWN citizens = Death by LETHAL INJECTION. This is what he deserves, along with Wolfowitz, Perle, Rumsfeld and Bush I(behind the scenes).
It is time we have a “War on the Real Terrorist.”
January 15th, 2006 at 11:07 amI have commented on the situation in the states on this site and others, but no one seems to be listening, and pretty soon it is going to be too late.
I have said time and time again Bush is a Nazi, but no one listens. He, and his family, have been Nazi sympathizers for years.
Bushlandia intends to take over the government of the United States completely and totally in January 2007 with the backing of the Supreme Court and the voters.
If you all get up in arms soon, he can be stopped, but action has to be taken now.
Go to Atrios to see his plan, maybe not his exact plan, but one that will work for him. It has started already. He is speaking of action against Iran. The drums will be beaten louder and louder. Dems will come out against it. Bush will ask for congressional approval of taking action against Iran and any dem coming out against it will be swift boated.
Then the mid-term elections. IF bUSH GAINS HOUSE AND SENATE SEATS, it is all over. He will declare Martial Law and the democracy of America is gone, until such time as there is a revolution.
All this may sound silly to you, but the plan is in the works. Alioto will be approved by the reichwingnut senate who will vote against their own interests, but what they see in the future is POWER, which is all consuming to them. Little do they realize that following martial law comes the disbanding of congress and of the supreme court.
Can all of this be stopped in its tracks? No. But it can be shunted aside in the mid-terms. How? By voting these senators and congressmen out of office, putting in dems, and impeaching Bush. It is the only way.
But there still remains a danger. With the supreme coutt packed as it is, Bush can go to them and have the mid-terms elections declared null and void. What then?
Who knows.
January 15th, 2006 at 11:09 amCorrection,
January 15th, 2006 at 11:09 amFeingold made some technical statements. And TP posted about it. But there has been no knee-jerk urgency.
Well, at least Specter said the “I” word. But note he left the principle solution to the political process, a process which has been corrupted by the influence of the vast wealth of the priviledged few. So, in essence, his reply is, ‘if the wealthy want Bush to stay in power, He will stay in power.’
I have no doubt that if the democrats filibuster Alito, the Republicans will use the ‘nuclear option’ to end the filibuster and instill Alito on the Supreme Court, cementing their hold on individual liberties for generations to come.
The question remains, can we still trust the political process? Or are free and fair elections illusory? If the party in power remains in power after the 2006 elections, there will be no impeachment.
January 15th, 2006 at 11:10 amI Agree.
January 15th, 2006 at 11:10 amI think even more so than the ‘04 presidential race this will be a defining year on how Americans want to be led. I don’t think at this point other than politically astute and active participants the electorate is engaged in the seriousness of Presidential powers and the potential abuse of those powers.
The President has framed this as “We listened in on Terrorists, what’s wrong with that?” and to the non involved political citizen he can sell that on the “I’m mandated to keep you safe”
The citizenry gets the gov’t it elected, the loyal opposition has to prove it’s more worthy. I think they are, many on this list think they are….but until a majority sees it in a political active way…..we’ll have status quo.
rich
January 15th, 2006 at 11:12 amMaybe there is still hope that we can impeach this jerk. We can not trust Specter. He is a Republican.
January 15th, 2006 at 11:16 amGeorge S. continues to ask stupid questions.
“I certainly seem to take away that you believe the president does not have the right, does not have the inherent power under the Constitution to circumvent a constitutional law–”
Hello–how can the President by the Constitution have the power to subvert the Constitution? It’s phrased idiotically, but I expect no better from Georgy Boy. He’s just another pretty TV face with delusions of intellect.
January 15th, 2006 at 11:22 am#14
I would LOVE to see bushy hanging from a meathook. I would rejoice by dancing naked in the streets.
I have a picture of Mussolini and Company hanging from the gallows. I would be honored to have the same with bushco.
After all this prick has done to and against America, it would be a rather fitting punishment for the bastards criminal activity.
January 15th, 2006 at 11:31 ambush was shooting his mouth off recently that protestors and those that don’t agree with him will not break his will. This shows just how out of touch with the American people he really is. TRUE democracy and the TRUE American way will send this assclown down in history as the most corrupt president in American history.
It’s about time people are starting to wake up. IMPEACH HIM NOW!
DEMAND IT of your ELECTED leaders. Their political careers depend on it. LET THEM KNOW.
January 15th, 2006 at 11:38 am#16 Paul
January 15th, 2006 at 11:42 amWe are listening and we are agreeing, but we are stymied by the current state of republican controlled government and politics in America, as well as the republican/corporate controlled media in America. Democrats are demonstrating their protestations but the press barely acknowledges them. Democrats hold hearings, but the congress relegates them to basements and turns off the lights. There are very strong powers that have the ability to suppress the opposition. Too many Democratic representatives are more concerned about their political future than the nation’s future. It goes without saying that the last comment goes double for the Republicans.
Unfortunately many Americans are not paying sufficient attention. Others are frightened by world events and believe Bush’s simplistic, yet belligerent, policies. Others are listening to their preachers who endlessly rail against gays, women’s rights, while advocating “God’s” approval of Bush.
When Americans and their politicians finally realize what is happening under their very noses, it will be too late to effect change.
I suspect Briseadh is correct; our only real hope is that the wealthy elite will decide that the Busheviks have become dangerous to their interests and get rid of the Bush gang, as they did with the Nixon gang when they decided that Nixon had gotten too big for his britches.
January 15th, 2006 at 11:43 amHere is ANOTHER senator that is doing what he can to IMPEACH BUSH! Let’s help him too.
State Senator Jim Ferlo
3507 Butler St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
412-621-3006
fax 412-621-0373
senatorferlo@gmail.com
It seems like the pendulum of power is starting to swing back to REAL Americans. Even republicans are jumping on the bandwagon! (they LOVE to turn on their own)
January 15th, 2006 at 11:44 amAlito will NOT be filibustered. He will be seated on the Court. Bush is slowly and deliberately setting his knights and pawns in place. He must do so in order that he is not impeached, or tried for criminal acts.
January 15th, 2006 at 11:44 amAlthough predictable in its approach, there is good news, citizens:
http://www.democrats.com/bush-impeachment-poll-2
Just to weigh in, I don’t entirely trust ol’ Arlen on this one, simply because the GOP has him by the short ‘n’ curlies (look it up) and he will no doubt zig rightward at the last possible second, leaving the rest of us zagging to the left, screaming at him to not run off the field.
Bad football metaphor, sorry. Plainly put, just because somebody from the other team seems to want to play on our team, don’t count on him to make a touchdown for us. It’s probably just another clever GOP ploy to get the ball back. We hand him the ball, and he runs right over to the GOP bench and gives it to Bush.
Gotta admit IT’S POSSIBLE. Those of you in Specterland (PA)should “call” him on this. Please?
January 15th, 2006 at 11:47 amMake one phone call ASAP to an office of both of your U.S. senators to urge a filibuster of Alito. You don’t have to say why, just say the F word. Throw in the I word for good measure.
January 15th, 2006 at 11:47 am#22. Rules of Statutory construction. The reach of the law will be limited so as to be consistent with the Constitution. Remember, at one time it was Constitutional to lock up American citizens in detention camps because we were in a State of War. (WWII, Japanese-Americans)
If, indeed, a State of War gives the President unlimited power under the Constitution, then a law that restricts that power may well be constitutionally construed so as to only apply in peacetime. And, it is just as likely that a Supreme Court could strike any law as unconstitutional if that law restricts the “inherent power of the President as Commander-in-Chief.” So, under that scenario, how could you impeach a President for refusing to follow an unconstitutional law?
Do you not see where we are headed? Because Terrorism is not a country, nor a people, nor a religion, there is no enemy to defeat: the War on Terror will continue so long as man-unkind exists.
January 15th, 2006 at 11:47 amCheck out my movie about bushy’s recent visit to Chicago where he vomited his lies about OUR economy.
Let me know what you think.
Comments accepted at DOBLC@AIM.COM
January 15th, 2006 at 11:49 amWatching Bushiva’s fraudulent poll #s surely caused skepticism in polls a few years ago…
Comment by big papa — January 15, 2006 @ 10:43 am
Have you seen any of the studies on the unlikelihood of the 2004 exit poll being that wrong in Kerry’s favor? It was something like one chance in 16 million… It’s the poll with the most proven track record, and he ruined that too… The rest are just as fickle as the humans who administer and answer them… And it seems the only time this Administration notices them is when they are in their favor… Politics as usual…
January 15th, 2006 at 11:52 amIt’s hard to accept that so many Americans are so ignorant of the Constitution, ignorant of the necessity for checks and balances, and are willing to give one ignorant man carte blanche to disregard laws he finds “cumbersome.”
January 15th, 2006 at 11:53 amFascism has taken root in America.
Fascism has taken root in America about 6 years ago when bushy was first sworn in. I can’t believe how much he screwed this country up in just a few short years.
You might say that I’m in shock and awe.
IMPEACH THIS MURDEROUS, TRAITOROUS BASTARD IMMEDIATELY!
January 15th, 2006 at 12:02 pm[…] SPECTER: Well, the remedy could be a variety of things. A president — and I’m not suggesting remotely that there’s any basis, but you’re asking, really, theory, what’s the remedy? Impeachment is a remedy. After impeachment, you could have a criminal prosecution, but the principal remedy, George, under our society is to pay a political price. Think Progress has more. […]
January 15th, 2006 at 12:03 pmSpector isn’t turning, or isn’t turning fast enough, any way:
A president — and I’m not suggesting remotely that there’s any basis, but you’re asking, really, theory, what’s the remedy?
mparker got it right:
The GAO found 199 domestic spying programs.
Only 14 are related to counterterrorism.
That’s at least 185 more reasons to IMPEACH HIM NOW,,,FILIBUSTER has to happen this week.
Criminals must not be allowed to pick their judges.
big papa got it right:
Watching Bushiva’s fraudulent poll #s surely caused skepticism in polls a few years ago…
And how about those exit polls that were so acurate up ’til 2000 that they were used as evidence in election fraud cases, but suddenly went twenty points south and called the election “wrong”?
“It’s not who votes, it’s who counts the votes.”
Gus got it right:
A vote for Alito is a vote for illegal spying on you~
And this guy is going to be around to torment two more generations. Is there a procedure for removing a Supreme (a legal one)? Say, take earlier position papers and decisions, contrast to comfirmation hearing denials, then contrast again to decisions once in the chair,(can a judge be removed for perjury?).
Bob the nihilist, I’m with ya in spirit, but…
In other third world countries they’d all be hanging from meat hooks by now
I’d much rather they stand trial and are sent (say the top fifty or sixty of them[I have a list]) to Guantanamo, where they can be the only ones we leave behind when we turn the keys over to Fidel.
ThruthSeeker, You can’t extract the truth from a corpse. If you ever hope to uncover the few degrees of separation between W, Kahane and Osama, you want them alive. Let’s try to get our country back into the society of civilized nations.
It is crucial that Impeachment, criminal charges, RICO and civil suits all be brought to bear on the Thugs. We can’t let this slide like Nixon. That bas+ard should never have been allowed to leave the White House on that helicopter, he should have been driven out by marshals with bullwhips. His ‘Bitter Enders’ including Cheney and Rummy, have been allowed to believe that Nixon was unjustly persecuted, rather than a criminal that resigned to dodge prosecution. That has fueled their jihad against everything to the left of Goldwater and this misAdministration is the result.
Bush must be made an example, not a martyr. If we are to be a nation of laws, if we are to ever be respected, as we were pre-9/11, we have to bring these thugs to justice.
Peace
January 15th, 2006 at 12:13 pmCV
Have you seen any of the studies on the unlikelihood of the 2004 exit poll being that wrong in Kerry’s favor?
Comment by unbelievable #33
unbelievable,
In fact it, (among other strange de ja vu-like happenings in the ‘04 election: like Blackwell in Ohio in the role of Katherine Harris in ‘00), is one of the main reasons I believe that the Dems “threw” the race in ‘04…
Look at all the sh*t we’re in…
Kerry and Dems (had he been elected) would almost certainly be blamed…
January 15th, 2006 at 12:18 pmMake one phone call ASAP to an office of both of your U.S. senators to urge a filibuster of Alito.
Comment by realist #30
realist,
The reason such a phone call would be in vain is because our own Democratic Senators aren’t a cohesive voting block….(Lieberman, and Biden)
The red state Dem traitors Pryor and Nelson have already signalled their unwillingness to support a filibuster…
Add to their ranks other gang of 14 republiscum Snowe, Graham, McCain and Shays…
A filibuster wouldn’t be more than added embarrassment…
Personally, I’d love to see the House and senate go nuclear so that we can hit the streets and settle the Civil War once and for all…
January 15th, 2006 at 12:26 pm[…] On today’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos.” […]
January 15th, 2006 at 12:28 pmDid I hear them say Nelson of Nebraska was leaning toward voting for Alito? What about the other two that always vote along with them. This not about parties This about our freedom rights.They will forget impeachment and the rest of things they are doing every day.I can`t belive he forgets that easy and not up on Bush and Gore .
January 15th, 2006 at 12:39 pmUh oh, looks like Jugg is censoring dissent again. Typical fascist.
January 15th, 2006 at 12:42 pmWhy won’t ThinkNegative tolerate any dissent?
January 15th, 2006 at 12:45 pmImpeachment alone doesn’t quite cover it. Taking down Bush and leaving Cheney is like cutting off a rattlesnakes rattles, or shooting a charging wild boar with a sling shot. The entire administration and its fascistic right wing operatives throughout government have been painted with the same slimey corrupt brush and they all must go. More to the point, however, is that if we don’t get to the bottom of the criminal acts of 9/11 and the obvious Bush regime complicity, and continue to unconsciously buy into the non-stop torrent of right wing totalitarian propoganda, then we have been reduced to nothing more than witting participants in our own demise. We would certainly deserve to be called traitors, not for questioning and challenging our corrupt rulers, but for NOT doing so.
If you review German history you find that the Nazis did not win a fair election. They came in 2nd, despite widespread election fraud. Because of the strong arm tactics of the Nazis, beatings, murders, disappearances, etc., Hindenberg, the German chancellor GAVE Hitler a vice- chancellorship out of fear of Nazi retaliation. Once in power, Hitler quickly consolodated his power. To scrap the German Constitution, Hitler staged the Reichstag fire and framed a known Communist, whose body was conveniently found at the site, festooned with Communist medallions and such, so there would be no mistaking whom to blame. The Reichstag had been empty, little used because the Congress had been disbanded. So,there was no motive for the Communists. The Nazis, however, stood to gain nothing short of total control of the country, which is exactly what they got.
Another well documented case of now familiar government tactics was “Operation Canned Meat”, which created a pretext for Germany to invade Poland. Germans killed Polish border guards, dragged their bodies to the German side, and claimed Poland invaded Germany.
The following quote by Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials demonstrates clearly that the US government has more in common with the Nazis than hatred of Communists:
“Naturally, the common people Don’t want war, but they can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders.Tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and endangering the country. It works the same in every country.”
January 15th, 2006 at 12:47 pmThere’s no basis for impeaching Bush, as Specter even said.
January 15th, 2006 at 12:48 pmI’ve discovered the symbol of the beast from revelations……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..It’s……………………………………………………………………………………………………..GOP!
January 15th, 2006 at 12:49 pmIn fact it, (among other strange de ja vu-like happenings in the ‘04 election: like Blackwell in Ohio in the role of Katherine Harris in ‘00), is one of the main reasons I believe that the Dems “threw†the race in ‘04…
Look at all the sh*t we’re in…
Kerry and Dems (had he been elected) would almost certainly be blamed…
Comment by big papa — January 15, 2006 @ 12:18 pm
There’s this sleeper movie with Gwyneth Paltrow called “Sliding Doors” where the movie splits its time between two simultaneous scenarios that hinge upon her making the after work train in one, and missing the train in the other. In ways, we have to wonder what that alternative reality would have been if either Al Gore or John Kerry had been President - or both. Sure it’s speculation, but I just don’t think we’d be in this Iraq mess if Bush hadn’t stolen the first election. As for the second election… well, yours is an interesting theory to consider knowing what we know now… And even more likely if the Democrats knew then what we know now…
January 15th, 2006 at 12:49 pm#44 Try that line over at Powerline or the other winger blogs - oh, that’s right they don’t allow comments! Fascists also?
January 15th, 2006 at 12:50 pm- STOP HITLER! -
Here are marching orders from Lyn(don LaRouche), from discussions with members of the NEC and NC on Friday. Do not, DO NOT buy into any of the media propaganda bullshit that the Alito nomination to the Supreme Court is a done deal. {We} are going to determine the outcome of this battle, and we really only launched our mobilization 72 hours ago, at Lyn’s historic webcast, and with the first saturation deployments in Washington with the Children
of Satan IV pamphlet. So this fight has just begun. On Friday afternoon, Sen. Leahy (D-VT) put a one-week hold on the Senate Judiciary Committee vote on the Alito nomination, which means that the vote will not take place — as Cheney hoped — before the Senate Democrats caucus on Jan. 18. Lyn reiterated: We have to do it. We have to stop the Alito nomination. This is tantamount to stopping Hitler.
So we are on a war-footing on the Alito fight. Friday afternoon, we scrapped the original schedule for the East Coast cadre school, to free up the LYM to conduct saturation
deployments Saturday during the day in Washington. The cadre
school will begin late Saturday afternoon, and will run through Sunday, with Lyn addressing the East Coast and Pacific northwest cadre schools on Sunday late morning. As Lyn said, we will crank out the literature to saturate the country with the truth about the Alito nomination. We will go full throttle, because our activity is what is going to save the United States from a new Hitler. If we don’t win this fight, there is not going to be any place to hide.
If Alito gets in, Lyn warned, the Synarchist bankers who
pull dumb-thug Cheney’s strings, will make a direct move for
dictatorship. We are in a period which parallels the period in German history from the Feb. 26, 1933 Reichstag fire through the Summer of 1934. This was the period in which the Hitler dictatorship was consolidated and the first mass-killings of German citizens began. That is what we are facing. The Synarchist oligarchy wants to overturn the present rules of the game. People don’t want to face this. They want to feel safe, but such safety doesn’t exist.
The reason that our mobilization is key, is that, frankly,
the Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee blinked this
week. They came back from vacation in what Lyn described as a “parliamentary mindset.” They lost some of the edge that they had throughout much of 2005, and they subconsciously (or consciously) said to themselves, “What if they win and we made them angry?”
There are, of course, leading Democrats who want to fight, and who looked to Lyn’s webcast of Jan. 11 for the marching orders. And Lyn didn’t let anyone down. So now, our job is to create the political climate, over the next days ahead, such that no sane Democrat can avoid facing the cold, hard reality that the Alito fight is the fight to stop Hitler in America.
There is plenty of ammunition to nail Alito. He lied and
evaded every pertinent question during his two days of testimony. Whenever he was asked about the “unitary executive” or the Federalist Society, he lied or dodged. “Unitary executive” is the same principle that was used to install Hitler as dictator. This is the kind of blunt language that has to be used. Only if he is jammed by this reality will he and the Cheneyacs crack. the simple truth is: We cannot allow the United States Supreme Court
to coalesce around this “Fuerherprinzip’ principle of law. That is the winning strategy. Carl Schmitt certified mass murder with his “legal” pronouncements, and Samuel Alito dodged and avoided admitting that he is an adherent to the same legal code.
This is a situation where the truth, and nothing but the
January 15th, 2006 at 12:51 pmtruth, will work. Palace eunuch politics, as Lyn said on Friday, won’t work. You can lose the game that way.
Spector is all talk. He will say that Bushie conducted the wiretaps legally. He knows his job is on the line. Don’t trust him.
Support those that are demanding impeachment now. We have a state Senator on our side…
http://www.pittsburghimpeachbush.org/
Watch the movie Primal America, hear and see what real American’s want. The Chicago Tribune reported that protesters in Chicago barely noticed Bushies motorcade passing by…See and hear real Americans for yourself…Rated (R)..pass it around.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QOOM326H
January 15th, 2006 at 12:56 pmdano, I’ve never had a comment deleted by a right-of-center blog.
January 15th, 2006 at 12:57 pmYes, please support impeachment of the president for defending America from al Qaeda. It will drive Bush’s poll numbers through the roof! LOL
January 15th, 2006 at 12:58 pmKennedy sent out an email asking for links to blogs that were talking about Alito…I sent him thinkprogress.org
January 15th, 2006 at 12:58 pmSen. Specter is playing games, but IF he agrees that Bush should be impeached, then it will be the first time ever that I agree with Arlen!
This is probably a diversion, since Specter went to Iraq and interfered in the Saddam trial, and caused the Chief judge to tender his resignation!
Saddam is a thug, but he deserves a fair trial, not one manipulated by Specter who has ties to our CIA!
January 15th, 2006 at 1:01 pmThere’s no basis for impeaching Bush, as Specter even said.
Comment by NoCensorship
Back in 1970, Rep. Gerald R. Ford defined impeachable offenses as “whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.” Remember Gerald Ford? One of his first official acts upon becoming President was to pardon Richard Nixon.
As long as a majority in the House of Representiatives supports Him, Bush will not be impeached, no matter what He did, no matter what the public outcry.
January 15th, 2006 at 1:06 pmPeople, try to focus your
justified anger into action
that will bear dividends:
Work to Reestablish the right
to vote. That right has been
taken away by the ReThuglicon-owned
electronic vote-stealing machine
manufacturers. Presidents Gore
and Kerry have that fact to thank for
their not taking office after
having the majority vote for them.
The Solution? Paper Ballots, Hand Counted.
Repeat after me:
Paper Ballots, Hand Counted
Paper Ballots, Hand Counted
Paper Ballots, Hand Counted
Paper Ballots, Hand Counted.
Now, get cracking
January 15th, 2006 at 1:09 pmThere is a lot of ifs in this statement. Specter is saying that if Bush broke the law then the remedy would be an impeachment hearing. Reality bits back. Arlen Specter, I am sure will find that Bush did nothing wrong. Congress will quitly drop the whole thing as usual. Until the democrats can win a majority in congress and in the senate, or Bush pulls such a huge boner that it cannot be ignored. There is little chance of Bush being impeached.
January 15th, 2006 at 1:14 pmDid people in the Dark Ages know they were in the Dark Ages? No. They lived their lives under the oppression of the Kings and Princes and Warlords of their time. Only by looking back to before the Renaissance did man-unkind realize that period now known as the Dark Ages.
Do we not see that even now, we have re-entered a new, and even more terrible Dark Ages? The imbalance of wealth is the same, and the weapons of war are exponentially more destructive.
There will be sages, men and women of great insight and courage, to lead the way. Will we listen?
January 15th, 2006 at 1:21 pmbut the principle remedy, George,under our society is to pay a political price.
Really? That’s the way to make a lame duck politician pay? Because if I was spying illegally on thousands of my neighbors, I’d go to prison.
January 15th, 2006 at 1:25 pmBecause you are a right wing turd idiot.
January 15th, 2006 at 1:25 pmI was disappointed to see that the primary thrust of Specter’s argument is that while impeachment and criminal prosecution /could/ be remedies, his feeling is that political backlash is ordinarily sufficient. This argument is outrageously hypocritical and does not survive any amount of scrutiny. “Under our society,” we have never argued that public humiliation is sufficient punishment for criminal violations. Rather, our society is based on the argument that application of the law is the same for all, especially the preznit.
Oh well.
January 15th, 2006 at 1:29 pmI found a lot of talk about impeachment at True Majority.
Google or Yahoo it…TP won’t let me post the link.
January 15th, 2006 at 1:32 pmLooking to Specter for some kind of insight is fruitless. He always slightly insinuates something, but in the end, votes to uphold the Republican status quo. Let us never forget that this is the man who gave us Clarence Thomas.
January 15th, 2006 at 1:34 pmThis is ineresting from True Majority:
http://www.truemajority.org/bensbbs/
January 15th, 2006 at 1:36 pm[…] >> Arlen Specter even says that breaking the law is an impeachable offense. It’s sad that someone has to even say such an obvious thing. […]
January 15th, 2006 at 1:46 pm“Impeachment Is A Remedy”…
Top Republican Arlen Specter says impeachment is the right remedy if President Bush broke the law for his possibly illegal domestic spy program……
January 15th, 2006 at 1:53 pm#14 : “Why are we letting the administration do these things?”
Many factors at play - were identified and exploited by The Regime. Beyond Mass Media Control and Smear/Thuggism against Honset PLAYERS in our Politic Class… There is… THE BRIBING of THE NATION…
Forbidden by the Constitution… yet Now, Elevated and Morphed to a 20th Century Magnitude & Style, as possible, by existing technology and Social Science Studies..
Joe Six Pack: Busy as a Bee… Building Houses… all the tradesmen and teams… HAPPY with FAUX Real Estate Money pumping through their Veins and lives.. BRIBES. Same holds for purchasers of Homes… Buy/Sell Wealth. BRIBES
Investors, Bankers, CPA, Corporate Types… Low Interest rates and high speculative ventures… from Real Estate to foreign oil and Trade… White Collar Insiders and Korpratcrats… BRIBED by WINDFALL CAPITAL GAINS and SPECULATIVE WEALTH… “What Golden Eggs… has Such, this Cooked Goose!” BRIBES
Corporations: Airline Bailouts; Drug Company legislation, Govt Contracts, Allowances for Liability Exemptions; MCI gets IRAQ contract; Supreme Court Drops Arthur Anderson; Enron and Players- NO REPAY of $9billion; Defense Contractor Bonanza; No Child Left Behind Fund Promises; 911 Cash Giveaway to Victims; Highway Bill; unknown plunderings by Contract and sweet-heart deals to cronies; Terrorism Dollars EVERYWHERE… Suspension of prosecution in multiple corporate and tax cases. BRIBES
No Taxation/All Representaion: Multiple TAX CRIMES against the Republic. FEED the Top.. as If one were taking the last $$$ before Closing down the Republic…??? plus just Give Money away and people are quiet, quiet and happy… BRIBES
Overal Monetary/ Fiscal: Overall, an Economic Warfare Styled Program was released on the USA. Every facet of Fiscal and Monetary policy and apparatus has been distorted, abused, perverted, inverted, to FLOOD the US Economy with cash and the impressions of cash and wealth. BRIBES.
Financial Instituions and Media Institutions ARE MORE than COMPLICIT… they ARE EXPLICIT CONspirators. Defrauding, Looting, Coomercial Criminal Activity… and by Virtue of War Doctrine of Weaponry– Guilty of Treason… in that ECONOMIC and MEDIA Campaigns are regualr weapons of WAR, always used by our Nation when Conducting war elsewhere. Now.. these same weapons of war and relted campaigns have been EMPLOYED AGINST the CITIZENRY and US Nation. TREASON and BRIBES.
Largely too, a PSYOP Objective was Used and Achieved… Specifically, KILL THE CITIZENRY WITH KINDNESS… flood them with money… In the Pursuit of Wealth and HAPPINESS (note: the perversion of Declaration of Independence) they Enrolled the populace… in Silence and Contentment. When busy, or achieving, or sleazily taking all they can…they hide their guilt and silence their conscience and mouth.
Thus the Tyrant wins by the Wickedness of His Own Design. “tho this be Madness… yet there be Method to it.”
Add in the CLEAR exemption of a Military Draft…and you have a SIGNIFICANT stratum of their game plan outklined for Silencing the Public… while Looting them and performing OUTRAGEOUS UNCONSTITUTIONAL Dirty Deeds.
RESTORE THE USA!!
January 15th, 2006 at 1:56 pmIMPEACH THE TRAITOROUS NEFARIOUS NECONS
January 15th, 2006 at 2:06 pmcounting on a presidential election on 2008? don’t.imagine a world where bushco, who, after being handed the presidency by an already too-far leaning supreme court and after stealing another election, after a convenient new attack on our country and with yet another dangerous partial justice on their “side,” uses their unilateral powers to cancelthe election, thus leaving bush in place for longer to damage our country some more. does anyone not remember how they seized the last opportunity to start pondering about cancelling and election? and even if this scene doesn’t come to pass, what are we going to do about preventing yet another of their PNAC/NWO ilk from ascending to the office? Alito is yet another sock puppet in their pockets.
Bribes
A Bribe by Any Other Name is Still a Bribe… Is it not, Rosebud?
If a Tree Falls in the Woods and No One Hears It… Did it really fall? Are there really any trees?
He with eyes and ears doth see and hear them…
Are They Not Bribes, Fellow Citizen? Does Plato Conduct Every Dialogue? Are They Not Bribes?
[And. Paper Ballots! Hand Count! Only! Right on Patriot #57]
January 15th, 2006 at 2:10 pmSure it’s speculation, but I just don’t think we’d be in this Iraq mess if Bush hadn’t stolen the first election
Comment by unbelievable #48
No doubt…
January 15th, 2006 at 2:11 pmPaul in Mexico-or anyone else who is interested. Go to this site
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/ artman/ publish/ article_7986.shtml
Notice in particular the paragraphs which state:
“President George W. Bush has signed executive orders giving him sole authority to impose martial law, suspend habeas corpus and ignore the Posse Comitatus Act that prohibits deployment of U.S. troops on American streets. This would give him absolute dictatorial power over the government with no checks and balances.”
“The authority to declare what is or is not a national emergency rests entirely with Bush who does not have to either consult or seek the approval of Congress for permission to assume absolute control over the government of the United States.”
January 15th, 2006 at 2:23 pm[…] That’s impeachment. Today on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulus Senator Specter had the following to say: STEPHANOPOULOS: There was a lot of talk about that at the Alito hearings, and listening closely to you I certainly seem to take away that you believe the president does not have the right, does not have the inherent power under the Constitution to circumvent a constitutional law, and as far as you are concerned, the FISA law is constitutional, isn’t it? […]
January 15th, 2006 at 2:33 pmImpeach him? A consummation devoutly to be wished for. But now with Judge Alito on the court our president may become our dictator and we will then march gaily off to Iran singing his praises and bearing his colors.
January 15th, 2006 at 2:38 pmSeriously, I hope it is not too late; as I fear that one more year of this nut president and we wont have a country any more.
Impeach!
Sen. Specter is playing games, but IF he agrees that Bush should be impeached, then it will be the first time ever that I agree with Arlen!
This is probably a diversion, since Specter went to Iraq and interfered in the Saddam trial, and caused the Chief judge to tender his resignation!
Saddam is a thug, but he deserves a fair trial, not one manipulated by Specter who has ties to our CIA!
Comment by Jay Randal
Really? Please provide link.
There’s no basis for impeaching Bush, as Specter even said.
Comment by NoCensorship
Actually, there is a nationaly televised speach by W, not only admitting to past criminal activity, bragging on it and promising to continue. A far worse crime than the Watergate break in. There is also a pattern of criminal activity that runs through Bush&Co that puts the Giotti’s to shame. Perfect RICO material encompassing the leadership of the GOPigs and several Captains of Industry, all of K Street and will probably rope in several of the bigger pseudo clergy. It will take a herd of P. Fitzgeralds to track it all down, but the Pigs WILL GO DOWN.
January 15th, 2006 at 2:52 pmHow sad that ‘tar & feathering are no longer an option, (sigh)
January 15th, 2006 at 3:07 pmTalk, talk, talk. Republican know how to talk one way, yet vote another.
Spector is a Republican. He talked trash about Alito, but then support Alito with his vote.
Even if the House does impeach Bush, Spector will never support removal from office with his Senate vote.
January 15th, 2006 at 3:18 pmThere are 76 comments on this post and NOBODY has said anything about the rabidly anti-Semitic comments vomited out by so-called “Truth Seeker”? Truth Skewer is more like it.
Progressives are not just supposed to eschew racism, bigotry and hate speech, we are supposed to fight against it. If someone made a comment that was viciously anti-Black or anti-Latino or anti-Moslem, most everyone here would be — correctly — shouting him down. But if it’s an anti-Semitic comment, well……that seems to be a different story.
This will NOT help us take back America.
January 15th, 2006 at 3:18 pm‘buster Alito,
January 15th, 2006 at 3:21 pmbust up K street,
and could somebody PLEASE give
Bush a blowjob, so we can impeach the
SOB…?
Really? Please provide link.
Comment by CV — January 15, 2006 @ 2:52 pm
I am not sure what part of Jay Randal’s comment you are referring to, but Specter definitely did interfere in Saddam’s trial in a blatant disrespect for Iraq’s much touted sovereignty:
“I have been disappointed the way the court has permitted Saddam to dominate the proceedings, and I respect Iraqi sovereignty and I respect judicial independence, but it’s also a fair comment to evaluate what is going on,” Specter said, before a meeting with the trial judges.
Specter Urges Discipline in Hussein Trial
Specter said those words in Baghdad, inside Hussein’s courtroom at the end of December, 2005. He objected to almost everything in Husseins’ trial, from the way the proceedings are conducted, to the way evidence is presented. What would public reaction be in the US, if a Senator showed such contempt for a court proceeding?
The judges in Hussein’s trial would be foolish to treat Specter’s words lightly. After all, he is an official from the country whose troops occupy Iraq.
A few days later, rumours surfaced that the presiding judge had asked to resign. This news was confirmed today:
[Presiding Judge Rizgar Mohammed] Amin submitted his resignation after becoming fed up with criticism that he had let the Saddam proceedings spin out of control, a court official told AP on Saturday.
“One of the reasons behind his resignation is the statements by officials, including the justice minister, criticizing him for his performance in the court. We do not yet know the results of the meetings between our delegation and Rizgar,” the judge on the panel told AP on Sunday.
Tribunal Confirms Saddam Judge Wants Out
Not to say that Specter is the sole cause of Judge Amin’s resignation, but he was one of the critics of Amin’s performance in the court.
January 15th, 2006 at 3:27 pmThat quote reads a lot better than it did in person. I saw Specter make the statement and it was pretty clear to me that he’d go down on Bush sooner than he’d support impeachment.
The most significant thing Specter said was that in return for breaking the law Bush should definitely pay a “poliitical price” as opposed to a tangible one. Imagine that. . .
January 15th, 2006 at 3:33 pmNOBODY has said anything about the rabidly anti-Semitic comments vomited out by so-called “Truth Seekerâ€
January 15th, 2006 at 3:41 pmImpeach the Traitors
engaging the misguided can be a distraction from the subject at hand. Meanwhile, criticism of extremist Zionism, a la Mier Kahane (or even Bibi) is NOT ipso facto Anti-Semitism any more than oposing the GOPigs is racism because they are mostly all white.
In forea discussion, the Anti-semitism card is a bully tool. stop it.
Truth Seeker may have the wrong suspects, but there is a growing belief that 9/11 was an inside job, that we don’t know half of what happened that day or leading up to it. Regardless, it’s way off topic ’til there’s hard evidence.
Thanx Gregor Samsa
January 15th, 2006 at 3:43 pm“Progressives are not just supposed to eschew racism, bigotry and hate speech..”
ROFL
The party of Jim Crow, the party of Bull Connor, the party of Al Sharpton, Ted Kennedy, and Robert Byrd does what?
ROFLMAO Good one!
January 15th, 2006 at 3:52 pmAnd you, “NoCensorship”? Are you so Enlightened as to lead the way? You take glee at throwing stones, but what Peace do you offer? There is the desolate peace of the battlefield, where none are left standing.
And there is the sublime peace of Enlightenment.
By your writing, you have made your choice known. I have chosen a different path. Have you the wisdom to follow?
January 15th, 2006 at 4:01 pm“Progressives are not just supposed to eschew racism, bigotry and hate speech..†NoCensorship
January 15th, 2006 at 4:04 pmAre you confused? “Democrat” does not equal “Progressive” and Vice Versa
Democrats have carried popular progressive programs forward when it suits them and that is less all the time. The GOPigs, on the other hand, don’t even bother to fake it, representing the interests of rich, white suburban patriarchs and the companies they own.
Yeah, projecting a Specter reply “we’ll consider Impeachment when the dems take control.” Don’t hold your breath that this will happen any time soon, as much as I’d like to see it.
January 15th, 2006 at 4:08 pmCV, if anything the “progressive” wing of the Demcoratic party is more bigoted and hate-mongering than the rest.
January 15th, 2006 at 4:15 pmAll wishful thinking. Forget about it, no filibuster. ReThuglican’s are in total control. Look what happened with the first SCOTUS placement, and the second SCOTUS non-placement. ReThuglican-led Government investigations are a joke. What results came from the investigations of Plamegate, 9/11, second part of the justification for Iraq, torture scandals, ‘00 & ‘04 election, Cheney energy policy, U.N. spying, and on, and on, and on? Nada, nothing, zip, zilch.
These criminals manipulate the media, the money, electronic voting machines and Secretary of State positions. They have been successful at court stacking, gerrymandering, caging protestors in free speech zones, electronic spying, nearly eliminating the Separation of Church & State, violating the Constitution, spying on Americans, destroying the environment, eliminating Civil Liberties…..the list is endless.
Not enough Americans actually care about any of this. The destruction of our education system has facilitated their takeover. Most of the voting public care more about American Idol results, Oprah Winfrey and having enough money to buy a Big Mac. People are looking for creature comforts.
The worst is yet to come. There will be another convenient domestic terrorist attack before the ‘06 elections. Throw the new Iran WMD “mushroom cloud” threat into the mix and the resulting clamp-downs will result in a complete Fascist takeover.
What’s that saying? Something to do with having to hit rock bottom before changes can be made? Let the Revolution begin.
January 15th, 2006 at 4:19 pmif anything the “progressive†wing of the Demcoratic party is more bigoted and hate-mongering than the rest
January 15th, 2006 at 4:32 pm???????????????????????????
Where you get the hate-mongering thing from? I hear a lot of people on the left very angry at the results of policies these guys have promulgated,actions they’ve taken, we’ve seen these guys in action, some for decades now and they have proven themselves to be heinous. Warning the hypnotised public that they are being fleeced by a gang of thugs that have illegally siezed the government, shredded the Constitution and are pillaging the world for their profit is a public service announcement.
We don’t call them “girly men”, they are criminals. the Party that harbors them is being destroyed by them too, BTW.
(diving way off topic)
Sorry, I should just ignore trolls.
Sorry, I should just ignore trolls.
Comment by CV — January 15, 2006 @ 4:32 pm
It’s about as easy as ignoring dog poop on your shoe - you just want it gone… :)
January 15th, 2006 at 4:38 pm[…] The Chairman of Senate Judiciary – Arlen Specter – who won his 2004 race with the help of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, has chosen to betray labor and support Alito, but he ups the ante on ABC’s This Week on Bush’s wiretapping: STEPHANOPOULOS: There was a lot of talk about that at the Alito hearings, and listening closely to you I certainly seem to take away that you believe the president does not have the right, does not have the inherent power under the Constitution to circumvent a constitutional law, and as far as you are concerned, the FISA law is constitutional, isn’t it? […]
January 15th, 2006 at 4:42 pmI saw that Spectre interview. It was pretty obvious from his tone and demeanor that he knows that it’s highly unlikely that Bush will be ever be impeached. Right now, Spectre is paying political lipservice in the lead up to the ‘06 elections.
I’m still waiting for the promised “phase II” of the 911 Commission.
#84
Gregor, thanks for the link. I’m a news junky, but this one slipped through the cracks on me.
#92 CV, pay not attention to NoCensorship… aka w.w.a.l.l.a.c.e. — he has never added anything of value to a discussion, which is a shame, because he posts here so much, one would think that he’d at least develop some debating skills.
January 15th, 2006 at 4:51 pmThe following comment made by Paul of Mexico is worth reading.
Number 16:
I have commented on the situation in the states on this site and others, but no one seems to be listening, and pretty soon it is going to be too late.
I have said time and time again Bush is a Nazi, but no one listens. He, and his family, have been Nazi sympathizers for years.
Bushlandia intends to take over the government of the United States completely and totally in January 2007 with the backing of the Supreme Court and the voters.
If you all get up in arms soon, he can be stopped, but action has to be taken now.
Go to Atrios to see his plan, maybe not his exact plan, but one that will work for him. It has started already. He is speaking of action against Iran. The drums will be beaten louder and louder. Dems will come out against it. Bush will ask for congressional approval of taking action against Iran and any dem coming out against it will be swift boated.
Then the mid-term elections. IF bUSH GAINS HOUSE AND SENATE SEATS, it is all over. He will declare Martial Law and the democracy of America is gone, until such time as there is a revolution.
All this may sound silly to you, but the plan is in the works. Alioto will be approved by the reichwingnut senate who will vote against their own interests, but what they see in the future is POWER, which is all consuming to them. Little do they realize that following martial law comes the disbanding of congress and of the supreme court.
Can all of this be stopped in its tracks? No. But it can be shunted aside in the mid-terms. How? By voting these senators and congressmen out of office, putting in dems, and impeaching Bush. It is the only way.
But there still remains a danger. With the supreme coutt packed as it is, Bush can go to them and have the mid-terms elections declared null and void. What then?
Who knows.
Comment by Paul in Mexico — January 15, 2006 @ 11:09 am
This is what is going to happen in the near future.
January 15th, 2006 at 5:26 pmBeware.
If Laura Bush is going to say that Americans should expect to be spied on if they have suspected ties with terrorists, then how about applying conservatism to conservatives and do the following?
Permit 24-7 govt intrusion ONLY into the following kinds of people.
Fox News employees and fans - They are partially owned by a Saudi sheik who also funds Al Qaeda. And bill O’reilly has asked Al Qaeda to blow up San Francisco.
WABC Radio - Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and all their fans.
Followers of James Dobson, pat Robertson, and every other right win jesus freak.
Wouldn’t that be justice?????? (I point this out to show how absurd conservatives are.)
January 15th, 2006 at 5:38 pmHURRY UP with IMPEACHMENT proceedings … because the BUSH regime has better ideas .. and that is invade the country of IRAN sooner than later and especially impeachment proceedings are initiated …
January 15th, 2006 at 5:52 pmG W is very well protected by those who do not necessarly believe but want a piece of the pie …
Arlen Specter, I am not sure who you are working for. Is it the people or the agendas of the president which is detestable in the sight of G-d and man.
The war of Bush is not a war on terrorism, it is the war to control the world.
It is said, that “Charity begins at home,” and likewise, the terrorism started at home with a perfect example of 9/11, wiretapping, traffic in and out of our computer and sending copies to others of our materials, whatsoever.
I thought this country respects individual privacy, I was wrong and I think it is a shameful act and a sin to eavesdrop on innocent citizens.
If you do not stop this nonsense, soon they will invade you.
Did we ever have this problem for 200 some years? Why now?
January 15th, 2006 at 5:52 pmthe extreme right wing of the republican party seems more like a cult than a political party. they all seem to spout the same slogans in the same tone.they use the flag as a cheap prop and spit on the constitution.they seem incapable of putting the power trip on hold to save our country. they would be responsible for our nation’s ruin.
January 15th, 2006 at 5:53 pm#97
Comments like yours are what happens when you refuse to handle information objectively. Your intolerant worldviews are the result of reading the glorious pooled ignorance posted here–you’re not even aware of your own absurdity.
January 15th, 2006 at 6:04 pmSTEPHANOPOULOS: You know, if the president did break the law or circumvent the law, what’s the remedy?
SPECTER: Impeachment is a remedy. After impeachment, you could have a criminal prosecution, but the principal remedy, George, under our society is to pay a political price.
So the question is if he broke the law. Who better to ask than a panel of 14 Constitutional Scholars?
See: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18650
Read this letter to Congress and watch them evicerate Bush, ending with the sentence; “But it is also beyond dispute that, in such a democracy, the President cannot simply violate criminal laws behind closed doors because he deems them obsolete or impracticable.”
January 15th, 2006 at 6:06 pmThe question is whether the President violated 50 U.S.C. 1802. The precedent on this statute is clear. As long as the information is being gathered for a legitimate, intelligence gathering purpose, and not as an end-around for a criminal prosecution, wiretapping of regular telephones under the FISA is legitimate. To assume that the President constitutionally has the power to suspend the Writ of habeas corpus, but not to intercept international phone calls from suspected terrorists is the kind of absurdity that only the modern left could embrace.
January 15th, 2006 at 6:21 pmMichael, he is not King George. Read the Article in post 102. If you think that you are a more qualified interpreter of Constitutional Law than the scholars that wrote that eloquent legal report, by all means show them to be wrong. Otherwise admit that you would prefer a king to a representative democracy. It’s really that simple.
January 15th, 2006 at 6:28 pmAccording to FISA’s own records, it’s received nearly 19,000 requests for wiretaps or search warrants since 1979, rejected just five of them. It also operates in secret, so security shouldn’t be a concern, and it can be applied retroactively. This is what seems to make a lot less common sense. If the FISA procedure has rejected only 0.03% of all requests, operates entirely in secret, and can be applied up to 72 hours AFTER the eavesdropping has occured, the average non-politically partisan American says, “What’s the deal?” BUT not so with the Democrats who’s only concern is with how the manipulation of this information might adversely affect George W. Bush. I hate to be the wet blanket on your little impeachment party here–but it’s never going to happen.
January 15th, 2006 at 6:32 pmAlso, he is the one who did the end around FISA. He did not seek the FISA Court warrents for the wiretapping he simply excluded them from the process. Now, you make not like, antiwar Shaker groups, but do you really think that they are working in conjucture with Al-Qaeda?
January 15th, 2006 at 6:32 pmBush Authorized Illegal Wiretap Before 9/11…
As I’ve stated before , it appears as if the NSA technology that enables wiretapping is not so selective that it can prevent Americans from being caught up in the dragnet . That requires human intervention . Now if it’s true that Bush authorized keep…
January 15th, 2006 at 6:33 pmYou do a pretty good job of confusing the issues but the only person that your confusing is yourself. You are right, FISA does not turn down many legitimate requests for surveillance. So why did Bush seek to circumvent FISA? Could it be because he was utitlizing the NSA for illegitimate, partisan and illegal reasons?
You must be a pretty quick reader. It took me about an hour to carefully read the open letter to Congress by 14 constitutional scholars. Or do you simply already know everything?
I again suggest that you read http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18650
January 15th, 2006 at 6:37 pmCV, pay no attention to M. Duchamp — he has never added anything of value to a discussion, which is a shame, because he posts here so much, one would think that he’d at least develop some debating skills.
January 15th, 2006 at 6:46 pmThe confusion belongs to you my friend. If 14 partisan scholars scouring the constitution, speaking in legaleze, in search of some way to make these bogus charges stick satisfies you–then you are indeed confused. You guys ought to give up trying to hang Bush–he’s too smart for you.
January 15th, 2006 at 6:47 pmA box of rocks is too smart for these libloons. LOL
January 15th, 2006 at 6:48 pmYou guys ought to give up trying to hang Bush–he’s too smart for you.
Comment by Michael #110
Nope Miscreant,
He’s too smart for YOU!
We tried to keep the sombich out of office six years ago…
Dumb a*sholes like you keep him in power…
Which btw is why we’d rather see all you Bushite inbreds deported or …worse
January 15th, 2006 at 6:53 pmIf Bush is to smart for me than I’m never opening a bag of peanuts again. I hope your wrong. But I knew that you would play the partisan card.
William Sessions appointed to Head FBI by Bush Senior, fired by Clinton
Beth Nolan, former legal council to King George himself.
William Van Alstyne, served under Lyndon Johnson and twice voted as one of the 10 most qualified persons in the country to be Supreme Court Justice.
Yeah, your right. I should start looking to Hannity and Limbaugh for my information, which is where I suspect you are getting yours……
January 15th, 2006 at 6:53 pmThey can’t be trusted to handle information fairly and accurately–it’s always manipulated to serve their agenda.
January 15th, 2006 at 6:53 pmWho’s assuming that the President constitutionally has the power to suspend the Writ of habeas corpus? Michael?
January 15th, 2006 at 6:55 pmThese guys are out of bounds all over the place. People have been trying to raise these issues all along, with very little traction among the easily distracted. But in this issue the broad section of the public agree, (even the John Birch Society!) we don’t like snoops. And, we have a confession!
Book ‘em Dano!
They can’t be trusted to handle information fairly and accurately–it’s always manipulated to serve their agenda.
The lady doth protest too much, methinks. …
January 15th, 2006 at 6:56 pmBush will ask for congressional approval of taking action against Iran and any dem coming out against it will be swift boated.
Comment by Paul in Mexico
Paul,
If those sh*t-for-brains Democrats who fell for that crap the first time are dumb enough to do it again nothing less than armed revolt should be the Progressive patriotic response…
January 15th, 2006 at 6:59 pm#112
Still sputtering and foaming at the mouth bigpapa? You really need to increase your vocabulary–I’m suprised that you can even spell inbred, but I seriously doubt you know what it means. By the way you write, I can’t help but imagine that you’re some big fat guy in bib overalls, no shirt, missing teeth, and a bottle of moonshine. I’m sure you’re proud of graduating from the 6th grade though.
January 15th, 2006 at 7:00 pm#116
O, but she’ll keep her word.
January 15th, 2006 at 7:04 pm#16 Paul
We are listening and we are agreeing, but we are stymied by the current state of republican controlled government and politics in America, as well as the republican/corporate controlled media in America.
Comment by Marie #25
Marie and Paul,
As patriots who love our country (pre-Bush), believe in the Constitution’s ideals and the “promise of America” we must hold out hope that the truth will prevail over the criminal Bushite junta and their inbred worshippers, and that our political process will uphold that truth…
Revolution or violent confrontation should always be the very last option, for once unleashed the “dogs of war” must be brutal and decisive…
January 15th, 2006 at 7:06 pmOf course impeachment is a remedy. It’s what you do to presidents who break the law. This is nothing new.
January 15th, 2006 at 7:09 pmIn a suprising twist, Michael, so wisely stated:
The “deal”, Michael, is Bush sidestepped FISA and authorized wiretaps without the oversight of the FISA courts. This is what is at the heart of the matter. In your post, you seem to understand the flexibility and importance of FISA yet you don’t don’t understand that President Bush has circumvented FISA.
If anyone is seeing (or not seeing) this through partisan spectacles, it is you.
January 15th, 2006 at 7:15 pmThey can’t be trusted to handle information fairly and accurately–it’s always manipulated to serve their agenda.
Comment by Michael #114
Miscreant,
Spoken like a veteran propagandist…
How much does the criminal Bushite junta pay you to carry their bile?
Pleeeaaase tell me you’re smart enough to be on their payroll!
*********************************************************
By the way you write, I can’t help but imagine that you’re some big fat guy in bib overalls, no shirt, missing teeth, and a bottle of moonshine. I’m sure you’re proud of graduating from the 6th grade though.
Comment by Michael #118
Hey Miscreant!
Wow, you mus’ be one o’ them there clairvoyant bon veevonts!
Th’ overalls wuz a gift from yer wiife, and yer sister liikes me bare chested…
…I ‘thawt’ I saw you sittin’ in th’ auditorium at my gradiashun’, didja’ git a good picher u’ me?
January 15th, 2006 at 7:18 pmThe “dealâ€, Michael, is Bush sidestepped FISA and authorized wiretaps without the oversight of the FISA courts.
Comment by M. Duchamp #122
M. Duchamp,
Save your “serious” arguments for a “serious” opponent…
Like IRI and the other inbred Bushite scum who troll this forum Miscreant is just funnin’ with us…
He (they) know they have no salient, defensible positions and are merely attempting to be the impossible…wisea*ses
January 15th, 2006 at 7:25 pmFox’s contribution the the IranScare effort this week was “Iran Situation Similar to Iraq In 2002 & 2003″!
January 15th, 2006 at 7:26 pmNo WMDs, No Allies, No Money, No Army?
I think NOT.
Michael, go home, tired of your spew
Notice the screaming. If the President has done nothing wrong, he should not protest the scrutiny in the public forum.
His only goal: To avoid the needed examination.
He may create a shield to reality, but not to the law.
January 15th, 2006 at 7:31 pmIt’s really simple. Did the President have the authroity to conduct wiretaps or didn’t he? On December 19, Alberto gonzales explained that they did not seek to ammend FISA to give them autority to conduct these types of wiretaps beacause; “We have had discussions with Congress in the past—certain members of Congress — as to whether or not FISA could be amended to allow us to adequately deal with this kind of threat, and we were advised that that would be difficult, if not impossible.”
Now the administration is saying that the AUMF (Authorization of Use of Military Force) implicitly allows the above referenced behavior. So what the administration is saying is that it had the authorization to begin with but it did not go to Congress for fear that Congress would not give them the authorization.?????
In Republican circles this passes for an intelligent line of reasoning.
January 15th, 2006 at 7:57 pm