9/11 families decry McConnell obstructionism.
9/11 families decry McConnell obstructionism.
A group of family members of September 11 victims today called out Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for blocking legislation that would implement the 9/11 Commission recommendations. The bill has already passed the House and Senate; McConnell is refusing to let it move to be signed by the President. “It is long overdue for passage and as a consequence, American lives remain at risk,” they write.
Read their full letter below:
Dear 9/11 Families and Friends,
The bill implementing many of the remaining 9/11 Commissions recommendations is stalled because Senate Republicans have blocked an important ‘next step’. It is called a conference, where the House and Senate hammer out their differences on bills and is therefore a cornerstone of our democratic legislative process.
The bill in question, (S.4), is called Improving America’s Security Act. When enacted, it will improve security on the home front. It is long overdue for passage and as a consequence, American lives remain at risk.
Please voice your strong opposition to this partisan stall tactic. Call, email or fax Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office. Tell him to stop blocking the Conference on S.4. Tell him to let the bill move forward!
The contact information for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is (202) 224-2541 or McConnell@senate.gov or fax (202) 224-2499.
Thank you for your help.
Carol Ashley
Rosemary Dillard
Beverly Eckert
Mary Fetchet
Carie Lemack
Abe Scott
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
McKonnell is a hillbilly in the proud tradition of ignorant rednecks from Ky. You know, the state famous for its jelly.
July 9th, 2007 at 12:15 pm“good old boy” Mitch McConnell is at the bottom of this rancid heap of lies and distortions and his chicanery continues…not unobserved, however, by many. Watch out Mitch – next time ’round someone else will be sitting in your seat in Congress!
July 9th, 2007 at 12:17 pmKentucky’s favorite son (and their version of Larry the Cable Guy) must make the Blue Grass state SOOOO proud!
And they will blindly re-elect him too.
July 9th, 2007 at 12:18 pmOn the bright side – if the Republics keep using the filibuster at this rate, eventually they’re going to run out of phonebooks to read on the Senate floor.
In like 2038.
July 9th, 2007 at 12:40 pmMcConnell is a supreme example of ‘do what I say, not what I do’ politics.
If only his fervor for holding up legislation was surpassed by a ‘doing the right thing’ mentality…
Wait! I just used mentality in regard to McConnell; my bad.
July 9th, 2007 at 12:42 pmMcConnell is an ass. I am from KY and in the past ten years he has been ‘representing’ us, he hasn’t done squat. KY is still ranked abysmally low in just about every category; healthcare, obesity, education, you name it. All he is a a corporate shill. I am confident that he will not be re-elected.
July 9th, 2007 at 1:11 pmMcConnell is just about as good example as you can get of a crooked, do-nothing, bribe taking, class warrior of the southern GOP flavor.
Yep, the Lemming Republics are all for making us safer. The refuse to allow implementation of the 9-11 commission that will make us safer. And because of Bush’s invasion of Iraq and other policies, we are responsible for breeding more new terrorists every day. Yep, they want to keep us safe allright.
July 9th, 2007 at 1:36 pmFunny, when Democrats in the minority use a filibuster it is smart politics. When a Republican does it you call it obstruction. Oh that’s right, hypocrisy.
Anyway. You don’t want the 9/11 commission’s recommendations to be implemented. Only “some†of them. The first would be to “protect the borderâ€. You know, building that big wall to keep out illegal, um, I mean, future Democrat votes out.
Just like you only want to enforce certain parts of the constitution. You know, free speech for liberals but silence Republicans, conservatives and Christians. And just forget about that whole second amendment deal.
July 9th, 2007 at 1:44 pmA filibuster can stop something even if it’s been passed in the House & Senate? Isn’t there a way around this? What about publicizing it & trying to “shame” them (I know they probably don’t have any) but widely let the public know about this.
July 9th, 2007 at 1:49 pmHey, Happy Guy, the Dems were filibustering things like Supreme Court nominees they thought would be bad for America, McConnell is filibustering 9/11 Commission recommendations, from a bi-partisan committee, that are designed to improve our security and keep America safe.
Why do you suppose he would do that?
Liberals want to silence Republicans, conservatives, and Christians? What a pathetic load of nonsense. Here’s a hint: it was the ACLU that came to Rush Limbaugh’s defense regarding his right to privacy for his medical records. You know, the same right to privacy that so-called conservatives have been attacking for the last 35 years.
July 9th, 2007 at 2:04 pmRubyglare: yes, the vote to have a conference committee, and the vote on which members to send to the conference, can both be filibustered. If you want Harry Reid to hold them accountable, the Campaign for America’s Future has a petition on their web site ourfuture.org. It’s about midway down on the left hand side. The petition is to ask Reid to keep bringing the issues up for a vote in order to draw attention to the fact that they are blocking it.
July 9th, 2007 at 2:10 pm>Funny, when Democrats in the minority use a filibuster it is smart politics.
let me correct you.. “when democracts in the minority use a filibuster,[ they do so sparingly, and] its called smart politics”
> When a Republican does it [against almost every single bill the dems try to bring to a vote ]you call it obstruction.
> Oh that’s right, hypocrisy.
Oh, thats right……your unable to understand that your opponents USE of a tactic does not equte to your grotesque and unceasing abuse of that same tactic.
> free speech for liberals but silence Republicans, conservatives and
> Christians.
no ones trying to silence you. they are merely trying to keep your deluded fairytales from being funded by government money, or from being rammed down the throats of others….. the government cannot legally fund, promote, discourage, or distrimimnate against anyone or any grounp on the basis of their religion or lack thereof. Granted, it happens in practice, but its a violation of the constitution.
Go back to washing floors at McDonalds, if your debating skills are any indication of the quality of your mental world, I’d say youve got a long life of mopping ahead of you..
July 9th, 2007 at 2:33 pmThis man and this administration do not want to implement any measures that would make our country more secure.On the contrary.Look at the Dubai port deal,the lack of security at our ports,the open borders to our north and south and on and on.Why is this you may ask.Well i have a theory,if there is more security then the chances of getting attacked are reduced,less security makes an attack easier.The only thing that might save the shrub in the WH is another attack.Stonewall the policies that make us safer and open us to an attack then declare martial law after the attack and Voila!EL PRESIDENTE BUSH FOR LIFE!
July 9th, 2007 at 3:13 pmGolly, it’s almost as if the Government doesn’t really believe the 911 Commission was necessary…almost as if they didn’t want to investigate it at all, until they were forced to by the survivors of the victims…
If there was a REAL threat from terrorism, our government would (probably) be doing something about it…so it speaks volumes to be funnelling sooooo many billions into “defense” (read offense), and “Homeland Security” (read Fatherland Security), when the money is just being used to line the pockets of the corporations who control both parties, while NOTHING is being done to “protect the Fatherland”. And yet, surprise, surprise…even being left completely vulnerable from another “attack”, we’ve still not been “attacked” again.
Face it folks, you have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than getting killed in a terrorist attack…one is real and one is a fabrication by corporate-run governments.
If the threat fit the fear – we’d all be terrified of getting struck by lightning. Personally, I think my chances of winning the lottery are better than being attacked by those scary “Islamofascists”, and I don’t buy lottery tickets. It is MUCH more likely I’d be killed in an attack perpetrated by our own government. History shows that it is the rule of leaders and governments to lie a poplulation into war by using fear, false-flag operations and threats of violence…to not do so would be the exception.
July 9th, 2007 at 5:16 pmSen. McConnell must let this bill get through to the conference committees. We must implement the 9-11 Commission recommendations if we want to be safe. This has been delayed long enough. The Improving America’s Security Act must be allowed to move forward. The president must sign this bill. If he doesn’t Congress must try to override his veto. This is a bi-partisan bill that will prevent future attacks from taking place. McConnell should not politicize America’s safety.
July 9th, 2007 at 6:31 pmJust like you only want to enforce certain parts of the constitution. You know, free speech for liberals but silence Republicans, conservatives and Christians.
Comment by Crappy Guy
You trolls are always complaining about how liberals are trying to take away your free speech rights. Yet you post here freely, don’t you, Crappy Guy? Various liberal/progressive posters here have been banned at redstate for contrarian comments much milder than yours. And, BTW, as much as you neo-CONs like to think you own the church, there are Christians who are liberals/progressives.
July 9th, 2007 at 6:31 pmFirst to those who call foul on Kentuckians, I somewhat object to that as the foulest repugs are from either CA, TX, or TN. Also to say the Democrats when they wer filibustering, recieved anything like a free pass, HA. Remember the threatened Nuclear Option? That led to the “Gang Of 11″?
July 9th, 2007 at 11:30 pmComment by Matthew — July 9, 2007 @ 3:13 pm
————
I think that’s why Bush didn’t send flood Iraq with more troops in the beginning, at the suggestion of Gen. Shinseki. Suppose he had, and the “war” in Iraq really did last only 6 months (a year at most). He couldn’t keep us in Afghanistan through the 2004 elections, one of the factors that I think played into the decision to go into Iraq. Besides Shinseki, as we have recently learned there were other advisors telling Bush that many Iraqis would reject our presence and would fight us. They told Bush that what we are now seeing in Iraq would happen. But I think Bush wanted a long, drawn-out affair.
July 10th, 2007 at 1:32 amComment by Paul G — July 9, 2007 @ 11:30 pm
———————-
Yeah, we’ve got Rep. David Davis from our district. He voted against these implementations in the House on the grounds that they would give too much control to the U.N. regarding our security, and we didn’t need to have the U.N.’s permission to protect ourselves. Funny that I had to write the reporter for our local news rag who published an interview with Rep. Davis to get this info. The article was about Davis’ voting record on the bills in Pelosi’s first 100 hours. The reporter left out the info about Davis’ vote on this particluar bill because “there wasn’t enough room in the paper to include this info.” I’ve been planning for months to contact Davis’ office to ask specifically what portion of the bill would give “too much control” to the U.N. I hope to do that soon.
July 10th, 2007 at 1:37 amCan we finally dispense with the BS mythos that Republicans are better for national security???
‘Gaping hole’ in nation’s preparedness, congressional report says – http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19666375/
July 10th, 2007 at 8:38 amHomeland Security had 138 vacancies among its top 575 positions, with the greatest voids reported in its policy, legal and intelligence sections, as well as in immigration agencies, FEMA and the Coast Guard.
Oh…and repugs…your tired old nonsensical “well, we haven’t been attacked again” is ridiculous…. Try telling that to the ‘troops you support’…..who are attacked on an hourly basis…why don’t you go fight in their place…they’d like to come home…put your a$$ where your mouth is…
July 10th, 2007 at 8:42 amhey all,
ease up the the Kentucky bashing a little bit. Don’t forget…we (finally) dumped Anne Northup and put in John Yarmuth.
Anyway, calling Mitch the ditch “a hillbilly in the proud tradition of ignorant rednecks from Ky.” is a blatant and unwarranted insult!! (to all the rest of us ignorant rednecks from Ky.)!
Ky Bill
July 10th, 2007 at 10:22 am9/11 Families for a Secure America opposes the latest so-called “9/11 Implementation Bill” because it is a sham. Like previous “9/11 bills” this one lacks any border security provisions. Worse still, it expands the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) under which visitors to the USA can enter our country without even the necessity of applying for a visa.
Richard Reid, the “Shoe Bomber” was eligible to enter the US because he was a British subject. This bill will expand the list of exempt countries which is currently at 26.
The VWP should be eliminated entirely.
Peter Gadiel
July 10th, 2007 at 3:48 pmPres. 9/11 FSA
Father of James Gadiel, age 23
WTC North Tower, 103rd floor