Senator Schumer just did an End Run around Feingold's Censure Resolution

:grr: Schumer just introduced a bill which essentially sends the question on Presidential authority on NSA secret wiretapping on American citizens (Domestic Spying) to the Supreme Court to decide on Constitutionality, resting on litigants who are not considered "Terra-ists" - but business people and academicians.

As he introduced this bill on the floor, he dissed Senator Feingold's Resolution to Censure as a "small minority" -(fucking bastard)implying Feingold is of on fringe - (read lunatic) ..

I really wish New Yorkers will oust this pro-war bastard, I guess his next run for office is 2008?

:grr::grr::grr::

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i guess the run up to the war in Iraq is when i started watching C-Span a lot - and listening to these floor speeches and committee hearings.

I take it, he's been a Senator for a long time (?) but never really heard of him (of course)until the past few years - I've never ever appreciated anything he's had to say about any issue, i've always felt that he belongs in the other party and shouldn't have a D beside his name.

Like DiFi, he's there forever i guess.

until he finally ousted D'Amato, for which we were grateful. Now, not so much.

Apparently a "stick to the status quo" kind of Congress member i betcha.. (?)

i can't stand him, he and his staffers are arrogant bastards.

He used to just rip inton NRA with abandon, I mean really go after them. The same style applied to internal Democratic politics, behind the scenes, got the Hackett withdrawal. So you never know;)

I wouldn't mind someone with a lot of kick ass and with a lot of fire power (we sure need that) but someone else to decide how and when it needs to be done.

But his anti-gun rants, along with some of his more recent votes on things like the Iraq War, have led me to believe that he really is a republican plant meant to kill off as many elected Dems and drive away as many Dem voters from the party as possible.


I met and worked with him when I worked in DC (he was still in the House then and served on the Judiciary, which was mostly where I was working). And he most definitely is an ass.

"Sen. Charles Schumer is secretly encouraging Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi to challenge Attorney General Eliot Spitzer for the Democratic nomination for governor, insiders have told The Post.
Schumer's backing of Suozzi results from a long-standing rivalry with, and a deep personal dislike for, the high-profile Spitzer, Democratic Party insiders say.

Party insiders also said Schumer, who has strong ties to many leading Wall Street bankers, has also objected to some of Spitzer's aggressive prosecution of investment-banking firms and insurance-industry executives."

http://www.mydd.com/story/2005/11/21/205139/78

And check out Schumers clubhouse pals!

http://www.defenddemocracy.org/biographies/biographies ....


Check out the second link!

And by the way, your discription of Schumer fits what i think of his staffers just talking to them on the telephone on a given issue.

Total Arrogant Asses.

serving as her stalking horse?

so that she can stay dry.

I tell you, when she is crammed down our throats in 2008, she will get my vote and then I go Green. Who again "advised" Kerry to concede? Were they on Bill's payroll at one time?

...but Clinton is up for re-election now. With Jonathan Tasini running against her in the Dem primary, I'll at least have the opportunity to vote against her.

Check out www.pdamerica.org! The progressive democrats of america in NY are backing Tasini big time and I'm really glad to have the alternative.

The cramming of Hillary down our throats has been planned for a while I am sure. I am still focusing on '06. Good post!

That's the Israeli party that is fighting to legalize pot.

someone needs to bake a bunch of brownies and send it out to all the bakeries - on both sides of the wall, then call a pow wow with Hamas et al.. and get an agreement to start growing pot - it will be a great cash crop and it will mellow everyone out long enough to think some things through, get the fingers of the Nuke buttons and start acting like caring human beings.

:hi:

Schumer really pissed me off along with Emannuel for stepping into local campaigns as they've been doing. He wasn't all that hard hitting with either Alito or Roberts, either.

But as far as it goes, I see this as STRENGTHENING Feingold. Politically, it puts the Cons on defense in another front...are they for or against upholding the three branches of Government and letting the SCOTUS decide whether the President acted unconstitutionally? Imagine SCOTUS coming back in six months with a decision that it was unconstitutional! BOOM! Censure and Impeachment for certain, not to mention defeat for any Cons that had Bush raising $$$$ and stumping for them over the summer/fall!

No doubt the Cons are going to vote this down along partisan lines, though. It gives some ammunition in the campaigns the Cons don't want to abide by or support the Constitution...they don't want to perform their oversight responsibilities AND they won't allow SCOTUS to perform their duties either!

JMHO...have to run out for a bit. Later!

on this - far and wide.

wonder what firedoglake is saying about this? i haven't wandered over there yet.. there must be some pretty choice words on this matter.. (i hope).

So far only two Senators have signed on as cosponsors to the censure resolution.

yes he was correct, no thanks to HIM and CLINTON et al..

Schumer and Clinton are worried about Feingold's popularity as suggested in the post above.. these bastards are running scared and they're throwing their weight around - i hope the fuck it backfires on them, loud and clear.

to push for investigation of NSA spying and to access more documents.

I think opposition to Feingold is exaggerated by the media and some Dem senators are falling for the spin, too.

READ PEOPLE - Key senators are USING the debate of censure in committee to ACCESS the NSA documents they want for an investigation.

Those senators pushing for investigation are NOT going to say they decided on censure BEFORE they get those documents. That would defeat their purpose and intent.

as of yesterday, only two signers (Harkins and Boxer) that I was aware of... when did Durbin, Kerry and Kennedy sign on?

the spying and to access NSA documents.

Senators don't have to co-sponsor censure NOW to use censure opportunity to access documents and be supportive of censure after investigation.

So - what exactly is your point? Your reply sounded as if you had not comprehended a word in my post.

Were you just intent on smearing those senators who are working on the investigation of spying that Feingold said he wanted? Are there actions not enough for you when they're just as Feingold wished?

Did you condemn Feingold for not leading the Alito filibuster? Was his support any less in your eyes when he merely QUIETLY supported filibuster?

Your post is just so curious to me it begs these questions.

I was seeking Clarification on the point of support, how could they use Censure to push through investigation ? Are you referring to Arlen's dog and pony show that was conducted yesterday, by the Senate Judiciary committee? Did you hear Specter's remarks after it was over, and also Biden's? That was an attempt not only to disregard Feingold's Censure resolution, but it was an attempt to make it appear as "extremist" - and then to give cover by suggesting (as Biden and Schumer keeps suggesting) that they "don't know" what the President has done, and therefore can't determine whether or not he's broken law and violated the Constitution!

Unless you're talking about something that's real, i call that a dog and pony show, and a smoke and mirrors operation. if i missed something of real significance, I'm more than happy to publicly stand corrected and to make that announcement! I'm not too proud to be proven wrong.

And on this, i really want to be wrong.

all submitted demands for NSA documents - they are part of the committee - they have al spoken positively about censure but said they need more investigation and seized the opportunity to access the documents they wanted.

So, the moment that censure went into committee, the best move was for senators who support censure to shift gears and get behind further INVESTIGATION - just as Feingold said he wanted on the Ed Schultz show.

if they can't be supportive of Feingold's resolution, that the at the minimum they should shut the fuck up, and allow the "investigations" to 'run it's course', not to dismiss the validity of Feingold's resolution as if it were some sort of brainchild of a lunatic!

I also feel that Feingold should STFU every time he sells censure as an alternative to impeachment, because THAT pre-judges impeachment. I tend to be consistent that way.

and is exactly why he did what he felt compelled to do in advance of this charade, conducted by both parties.

Alito filibuster proved that a number of them WILL stand up. Especially since a number of them were already speaking out about the NSA spying.

on this... those two need a good spanking, imo. ;)

...very informative debate, thanks.

Boxer and Harkin are the only current cosponsors.

get the investigation they wanted and to ACCESS the NSA documents they wanted.

They have all said they will decide on censure AFTER investigation - Feingold said on Ed Schultz that is what he wanted - and Durbin and Kennedy said it on their Sunday appearances.

After censure went into committee it allowed for the call for investigation - so simple - so necessary - why are people not getting that?

.

but we need more hearings on that. It was also very suspicious that Sen. Feingold was called to the White House yesterday at exactly the time this committee hearing was being held to fill That Friggin Idiot in on the good Senator's recent trip to Iraq. (That meeting could have been held any time. I think it was very suspicious that Sen. Feingold got called out of that specific hearing.)

I also think that Sen. Feingold wants more, nore less discussion on the NSA wiretapping situation and on why it is and was an illegal action.

What the hell is Sen. Schumer doing? I also thought this was an end run around the Feingold resolution. ????? The Dems, at the least, should draw that discussion out, not abbreviate it. Sigh!

hearing, I thought he and McCain was still in Iraq.

I'm telling ya, the games these bastards play... :grr:

Sen. Feingold unchallenged. What the hell is up with Specter and his cowboy antics on Feingold? He all but accused him of running away from a debate.

Transcript Part 1 Senate Judiciary Comm 3/28/06

FEINGOLD: Mr. Chairman, could I just have 30 seconds? I just need to explain why I have to leave at this point, if I could. I would appreciate it, Mr. Chairman. I just want 30 seconds.

SPECTER: Go ahead.

FEINGOLD: Mr. Chairman, I was on the bipartisan delegation that went to Iraq this weekend, and the president has asked that we come to the White House now to brief him on that.

FEINGOLD: Obviously, I regard this hearing as extremely important. And I am keeping an open mind on the chairman's legislative idea.

I just want to comment, after having listened to Judge Kornblum -- and I will have to read the transcript with regard to others -- I don't think anyone could reasonably take what the judge has said to suggest that there is legal authority for what the president is doing now.

SPECTER: Senator Feingold, if you want to explain your departure, we understand that...

FEINGOLD: I just wanted to put that in the record.

SPECTER: ... but we do want to proceed in an orderly way here. And everybody's waiting to have a turn to comment.


*******************


Part 2

Specter: And I wanted to add a panel here today, Senator Biden, because this issue bears on the censure motion. And I asked Senator Feingold to be prepared to have a panel today, and he demurred. He was in Iraq. We had a long hearing yesterday on immigration, and he was in town to vote, but he wasn't in town for the Judiciary Committee meeting.

And I've scheduled a hearing for Friday, and he wants it postponed. And I've got a letter out as soon as I get back to my office. I've been engaged in this since 8:30 this morning. I'm going to say no. And I'm going to put that on the calendar for Thursday, if he doesn't want a hearing.

Next week, we're going to be on the immigration bill. When we come back after the Easter recess, we have many hearings on the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act. And the orderly processing of the Judiciary Committee is something the chairman has to determine. I know you'd agree with that, Senator Biden, because you were the chairman, and you ran a good committee. And you were the chairman from 1987 to 1995. The '94 election changed that.

BIDEN: I'm so happy you're the chairman now, and not me.

(LAUGHTER)

SPECTER: Well, I'm happy, too.

(LAUGHTER)

But I want to deal with the censure motion. We had -- Senator Feingold went to the Senate floor and got unanimous consent for 25 minutes to speak on it. And I knew he was going to be there, so I got 25 minutes. And after he berated the president for 25 minutes, I wanted to have a discussion with him about it.

And he left the chamber after I asked him to stay. Sent Mike O'Neill, my general counsel, after him. I thought that after 25 minutes of berating the president, there ought to be some discussion about it. And I know that's not reasonable, but that's what I thought.

So I took my 25 minutes ex parte. But there will be a day when we'll be in the same room discussing the matter. But I think today's hearing advances the ball. How much advances the ball, nobody can tell. But the ball is being advanced. The ball is moving forward. And I appreciate your testimony today -- the endorsement by Mr. Kris and qualified endorsement by Mr. Halperin, and thank you for coming, Senator Biden.

And that concludes our hearing.

END
**************************

What the hell is up with this?

I swear these people, i'd really like to talk to them in person. i really would.

so Spectre could whinge on as if Russ hadn't bothered to show up ?

until i just saw the previous post, I thought Russ was still in Iraq.

either way, it was freaking cheap shot by Specter and he needs to be slapped down hard for it.

I knew about it but didn't know exactly what was said. You probably can't see me now but I am sitting here shaking my head. Specter's puffy little pride.

I wonder what went through Feingold's mind when he was called to the white house. He SO needed to be at that hearing. His questions are so good. It was during earlier hearings he caught my attention. I'd be doing things around the house as the debate was on TV. Sometimes I'd hear such excellent questions I'd wonder who was asking them and each time it was Feingold.

With no spin or show boating he asks clear, direct questions that get to the point of the issue.

i can't remember which hearing it was, but the first time i did hear him speak it was like a breath of FRESH AIR...

I thought omfg, a Democrat with no marbles in his mouth! Intelligent, bright, cogent, clear and quite direct. Blew me the hell away.

ever since then i've been a fan - and then other events followed which made me a huge fan.

rid of.

I can scarcely believe this! Well, Senator Feingold: No good deed goes unpunished!

I cannot believe this. I'm speechless.

TC

Find some tape of a phone conversation between a couple of grandma's sharing an apple pie receipe, roll the old ladies in front of a camera, and show the American people the faces of those that are being spied on. Right now it isn't hitting home to the public, and therefore calls for impeachment are mostly falling on deaf ears.

Get the tapes (fabricate them if you have to), and put it in front of people over and over. Show them that it isn't just people making phone calls back to the middle east, but rather you neighbor or perhaps even your phone calls that are being spied on.

Bush would be in jail in a matter of hours.

do skits around this.. it's easy to do - and it would WORK.

about Waco.

He is a total dick.

too busy working, rehearsing, performing and doing radio.. ;)

By examining the program's use on non-terrorists, it will determine that the program without use of proper warrants against non-terrorists is UNCONSTITUTIONAL and ILLEGAL (or I dare the Supremes to say otherwise). Their argument that it is only used on terrorists will be rendered moot.

And the Republican majority in Congress have no say in this determination.

Having determined that this program is illegal and unconstitutional, then comes impeachment.

Screw censure if we can impeach the bastard.

This is actually quite smart.

sorry to be dense... but what exactly d'ya mean,? :hi:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060214/NEWS01/602140360

Hackett: Dems sabotaged him
Schumer cut off campaign funds, Iraq War vet says
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

National Democratic leaders squashed Paul Hackett’s Senate campaign by telling top fundraisers to stop sending him money, the Iraq War veteran said today.

Hackett accused Sen. Charles Schumer, chairman of the Democratic Senate campaign committee, of turning from ally to enemy.

“My donor base and host base on both coasts was contacted by elected officials and asked to stop giving,” Hackett said. “The original promise to me from Schumer was that I would have no financial concerns. It went from that to Senator Schumer actually working against my ability to raise money.”
ADVERTISEMENT

Saying he felt betrayed by his own party, the 43-year-old Indian Hill attorney dropped out of the Senate race and declared his short political career over.

I'd forgotten about Schumer being involved in sabotaging Hackett's campaign. Makes me wonder what Schumer did before coming to Congress.. like the dude is a professional saboteur... or he has an outfit working for him. something..

"The reigns" of power. I'd like all Democrats to direct 100% of their energies to impeaching Bush.

People need to check out what's happening to the globe. Gore wrote a great book, "Earth in the Balance" and was dismissed as an a bit batty on the environment. Guess what the 3' rise in sealevel previously predicted by honest scientists has been revised recently to a 20' and nobody is challenging that estimate. But it get's worse, there are many in the geophysical community, not a majority but honest, well regarded scientists, who take a more dire position. It's chilling. Bush and Bushism (insane, unrestrained destruction of the planet) are a threat to our survival.

Bush must go!!! Everyone must focuson getting rid of him. He's a direct threat to "every thing we hold sacred" including our continued existence.

http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/26545
"In contrast to Bushite flat-Earthers and shills for the oil industry, their skepticism has been founded on fears that the IPCC models fail to adequately allow for catastrophic nonlinearities like the Younger Dryas. Where other researchers model the late 21st-century climate that our children will live with upon the precedents of the Altithermal (the hottest phase of the current Holocene period, 8000 years ago) or the Eemian (the previous, even warmer interglacial episode, 120,000 years ago), growing numbers of geophysicists toy with the possibilities of runaway warming returning the earth to the torrid chaos of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM: 55 million years ago) when the extreme and rapid heating of the oceans led to massive extinctions.

Dramatic new evidence has emerged recently that we may be headed, if not back to the dread, almost inconceivable PETM, then to a much harder landing than envisioned by the IPCC.

As I flew toward Louisiana and the carnage of Katrina three weeks ago, I found myself reading the August 23rd issue of EOS, the newsletter of the American Geophysical Union. I was pole-axed by an article entitled "Arctic System on Trajectory to New, Seasonally Ice-Free State," co-authored by 21 scientists from almost as many universities and research institutes. Even two days later, walking among the ruins of the Lower Ninth Ward, I found myself worrying more about the EOS article than the disaster surrounding me."

WOW! It's a real possibility. Terrific. IMPEACH BUSH NOW!!!

Whatever happened to governement OF the people (for ALL the people), BY the people (that means an informed and concerned electorate), and FOR the people (which means the people we elect should govern FOR US, not the corporations, not the special interests, but the citizen-electorate)????

As usual, autorank, you nailed it!

TC

"Sen. Charles Schumer is secretly encouraging Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi to challenge Attorney General Eliot Spitzer for the Democratic nomination for governor, insiders have told The Post.
Schumer's backing of Suozzi results from a long-standing rivalry with, and a deep personal dislike for, the high-profile Spitzer, Democratic Party insiders say.

Party insiders also said Schumer, who has strong ties to many leading Wall Street bankers, has also objected to some of Spitzer's aggressive prosecution of investment-banking firms and insurance-industry executives."

http://www.mydd.com/story/2005/11/21/205139/78

And check out Schumers clubhouse pals!

http://www.defenddemocracy.org/biographies/biographies.htm

Neo Liberals are Neo Cons Lite. same ole same ole. both are fascists.

He is a big, fat hypocrite!!

He helped to undermine Hackett in Ohio and Cegilis in Illinois.
He is anti-progressive.

he's an ass of the most arrogant type.

and has been one for a very long time.

Some Democrats are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Hillary as I do! It makes me crazy! I mean I expect nothing but shit from the repukes, but so many in our own party are so worthless--it's like good ol' Phil Oches song, "Love me love me love me, I'm a li-ber-al." I heard that many black people in the old south used to say they'd prefer an in-yer-face southern, white racist to a "nice northern liberal" who turned out to be anything but what they seemed to be. The arrogance and duplicity infuriates me! I'm gonna work my ass off to get Tasini on the ballot against Hillary and if (when) he's defeated,I'm gonna just keep on coming back for more and fighting these pigs 'til we take our party and country back or I die--whichever comes first!

Viva Russ Feingold-Viva Russ Feingold- Viva Russ Feingold!!!!!!!!

Statement of Senator Russ Feingold
On Senator Schumer’s Proposed Legislation Regarding the President’s Warrantless Wiretapping Program

March 29, 2006

"I applaud Senator Schumer’s desire to get this issue to the Supreme Court as soon as possible. I am pleased that my colleagues are thinking about ways to address the President's illegal conduct. But while I look forward to reviewing the Schumer proposal, Congress itself should not delay in holding the President accountable for his illegal actions."

http://feingold.senate.gov/~feingold/statements/06/03/2006329.html


Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
In Response to Chairman Specter’s Comments Regarding the Scheduled Hearing on the Censure Resolution
March 28, 2006

There is no truth to the claim made today by Chairman Specter that I have asked for a postponement of Friday’s hearing on the censure resolution and I am very puzzled how the Chairman could have reached that conclusion. I hope the Chairman is not backing away from his commitment to hold the hearing on Friday morning.

http://feingold.senate.gov/~feingold/statements/06/03/20063028.html

and Specter is a pig, he is that man that convinced the Warren Commission that a single bullet, still in pristine condition, was responsible for striking Texas Governor Connelly, stopped in mid-air, changed its trajectory, and then hit Kennedy on the neck.

Specter is the grand master of cover-ups!

with that freak. When does Sen Specter's term expire? I understand he's planning on retiring... is this his last year?

Schumer needs to be slapped down for what he did today and how he did it.

:hi:

Recommended

called the fringe. "The fringe-not afraid to hold the administration accountable".


We could have as a theme song-Lunatic Fringe.

liberal democrat with a hard-core republican.

Schumer is one of the good senators - the Supreme Court is still somewhat in our favor depending out how Kennedy votes. Perhaps we can get the Supreme Court to rule on how illegal this is.

then the rest of the country is screwed. Sorry. I've worked with the man and at this point really would almost rather have a republican in his seat, since the republican would be easier to replace.

So when will we have democratic senators in Texas?

Here's a really silly idea - let's try to get the majority first before we use our own personal standards to decide who should and shouldn't be in congress. Personally I like Schumer but like all democrats, I don't see eye-to-eye on all issues. But I would rather have Schumer in office than to try your really fucked up plan of electing republicans, putting up with them for SIX FRICKING YEARS AS THEY DESTROY OUR CONSTITUTION EVEN MORE and then we'll go about replacing them.

Do me a favor - don't solve Delaware's congressional challenges, we'd rather have Biden & Carper represent us instead of trying your Texas method :D

and I've talked to his staffers on the phone - there is a level of arrogance that almost rises to Cheney's arrogance - That aside, what i saw him do on the Senate Floor yesterday was a joke and an insult.