Time for Another Primary Challenge for Jane Harman

by emptywheel

Buried in this article on Democrats compromising with Republicans, I noticed this paragraph:

And as Democratic leaders push their own legislation to rein in the wiretapping program, Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) has been quietly exploring avenues of compromise with Rep. Peter Hoekstra (Mich.), the ranking Republican on the House intelligence committee. Centrist Democrats hope those talks can dovetail with the Senate intelligence committee's own bipartisan measure on surveillance of suspected terrorists.

Jane Harman, of course, is a former member of the HPSCI. Only, with the changeover in Congress, she got bounced from HPSCI and relegated to chairing the Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment over at Homeland Security, which means she is not in a formal position of leadership on this issue. Harman made news last month when she called the Republicans on their bullshit attempts to use a sketchy terrorist threat as an excuse to push FISA amendment through. But she also appears to have been one of the only Democrats (if not the only Democrat) to have approved uncritically of Bush's illegal wiretap program.

But now, apparently, she's taking it upon herself to negotiate her own version of a FISA Amendment, presumably one designed to bypass HJC (which wants nothing to do with telecom immunity) and HPSCI, which under Reyes is proving to be increasingly skeptical of Bush's BS.

How nice, that the one Democrat who gave approval to this illegal program is the one now negotiating immunity for them. Not a conflict of interest there, not at all.

Comments

[Katie Jensen]

I am writing her now. I want her to know I see her and what she is doing. Let's out her little quiet compromising.

Thanks e.w without you we would never know.

[bmaz]

Well this is disappointing; I had hoped Harman had turned the corner back to the good side. I have to say, however, I do not trust Sylvester Reyes one bit; he appears both stupid, flaky and impressionable by the Gooper Daddies.

[radiofreewill]

I've been holding out hope that Harman, and Rockefeller too, were forces for good struggling to get moral clarity in the face of intentionally limited information from Bush.

But, it seems clearer all the time that Harman, in particular, threw-in with Bush and the Neocon Republicans from the very beginning - When our Civil Rights were on the table, She Acted as a Stealth Gooper.

And, she's been 'angling' to cover her complicity ever since by claiming to be a neutral 'voice of reason.'

However, while championing a bill that 'returns FISA to its lawful reporting structure,' she neglects to mention that she was Pivotal in letting that Lawless Genie out of the bottle to begin with - We need better representation than that.

Harman is too Weak to do the job with Integrity.

[phred]

EW do you or anyone else here know of a website that highlights primary challengers to Bush Dog Dems and the DLC Leadership? I would really like to focus my campaign contributions on primary challengers, but I am not aware of anyone highlighting those races in particular.

[PeterB]

emptywheel, I might be misreading you, but it seems you're taking Harman's calling Republicans on their bullshit attempts to use a sketchy terrorist threat as an excuse to push FISA amendment through seriously. At the very same time she was calling bullshit, she was arguing to have a FISA "fix" that would give retroactive telco immunity and allow for non-individualized warrants. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0907/5746.html

Harman didn't need to be terrorized to pass that bill, she was willing to give them what they got and lots, lots more without any coercion at all!

[bmaz]

Phred - don't know about your website request, but #4, 82 yds, 6-1. Yowzah. Go Pack!

[JohnLopresti]

I think the dynamic with Harman's assignment to a different committee represents part of the mechanics which helped Pelosi sketch a modest movement forward strategy after the elections 2006 instead of something more readily headline capturing. While MWinograd's challenge to the candidacy of Harman in 2006 garnered a substantial minority, even with a quantifiably tardy decision by namesake 'MW' to enter that race, Harman must recognize the long developing polity in her region toward the progressive mode will replace Harman's paleocentrism which was classical for that district in decades of yore. MWinograd has helped organize the ProgressiveDemocratsOfLA for years. Although in a different part of CA, I hope she does well if tossing the hat in the ring again next election cycle; MWinograd is known as an avid participant in issues affecting modern families and individuals. I wonder how the Harman sparse comments about the serial secret G8 briefings will evolve in public; I recall that's being in the news weeks ago, and, seemingly, Bob Graham's retrospective was the most volubly critical of the administration's compartmentalization of congresspersons, as there is lots more Harman briefed into than only telco mirrored bitstreams while she was at HPSCI's top echelons in the minority contingent.

[phred]

bmaz -- That pass was something, eh? Man, I love watching Favre play football!

[Sparkles the Iguana]

Clinton "troubled" by Mukasey but could still vote for him.....

[Neil]

phred, bmaz,

Tom Brady is the new Brett Farve. I attended my first pro football game last Sunday in over 30 years. Yes Washington is not Indianapolis but their level of domination matched the level of competition.

[emptywheel]

phred

Wowza, yes, those were two impressive throws. Over two damn good corners.

[bmaz]

Oh stop it you Amherst alums. I have been genuflecting to the greatness of EW's team for weeks now (Lions strangely doing well also). Neil, I got news for you, Tom Brady would have to throw more interceptions and keep the games a lot closer for him to be the "New Brett Favre". What Brady is doing is simply in another world. It is hard not to love watching a 38 year old little kid having so much fun and doing so well though.... Go Pack!

[Neil]

How I love thee PRIVATIZE... let me count the ways

WASHINGTON - President Bush will nominate retired Army general James Peake on Tuesday to direct the Department of Veterans Affairs ... Peake, 63, is a physician and former lieutenant general who spent 40 years in military medicine and was decorated for his service in Vietnam.... He retired from the Army in 2004 after being lead commander in several medical posts, including four years as the U.S. Army surgeon general... The president will be joined in the Roosevelt Room with Peake, now chief medical director and chief operating officer of QTC Management Inc., which provides government-outsourced occupational health, injury and disability examination services... If confirmed by the Senate, Peake would lead the government's second-largest agency with 235,000 employees in the waning months of the Bush administration. AP

The VA has 235,000 employees? Not for long!

[Ishmael]

Bmaz & Phred - Tom Brady is playing like a clone of Joe Montana and Dan Marino right now. It is a sad thing when pro football teams have better leadership and management than the US Government. BTW, I have not seen nearly enough triumphant exultations in the comments for the WORLD SERIES CHAMPION Boston Red Sox!

[radiofreewill]

I've got to give-up a hat-tip to Michigan and their fans for battling back to 7-2, tied for first with Ohio State in Conference play. That, plus the Pats having such an excellent season, just goes to show that teams play better when they have something to prove.

Now, if we could just get Congress motivated about proving the validity of the Rule of Law being the One Law for US All...

[Neil]

It's true, the pack is back. And of course, it's Favre not Farve.

You may have noticed my updates of the Jeffs' gridiron exploits have become rare as they failed to pass key tests against Middlebury and Tufts, the two schools tied for first place in NESCAC at 5-1. The Little Three-Amherst, Wesleyan and Williams- and Trinity are tied for 3rd at 4-2.

Middlebury and Tufts have easy contests next Saturday and finish against each other at Tufts, probably for the league championship, in the final game of the year. There is no post season football in NESCAC. It is a league run by the college presidents, not ADs. An a side note, here some news about our AD.

The four teams tied in third place play each other in the next two weeks; Amherst plays Trinity then Williams, Trinity plays Amherst then Wesleyan, Williams plays Wesleyan then Amherst.

I'm going to Amherst Saturday, Family Weekend, to watch the Jeffs play Trinity. Mom and I will park in the endzone and pack a tailgate lunch for halftime. That way if our fortunes fail, we can enjoy the beautiful weather, good food, and great company without enduring the painful final 30 minutes without ample distraction.

Go Jeffs beat Trinity!

[bmaz]

Neil - Nice find. Peake sure sounds like a qualified dude other than the CEO of the privatizing company; I guess we pretty much have to assume that he is indeed a giant privatizer at heart, or Bush would not have put him up (because there sure is no track record for just hiring qualified guys, it has to be the privatizing). Oh well, maybe some of the former VA personnel can go to work for the Consumer Product Safety Commission; oh, thats right, they don't want new help or money....

[Ishmael]

While we are on the topic of primary challenges, it seems to me that our sports-centred talk provides an interesting metaphor. When a young Tom Brady was given the chance to replace an often-ineffective Drew Bledsoe, the result was 3 Super Bowls in four years. As Atrios says, more and better Democrats please!

[bmaz]

Hey Neil, that isn't the Trinity team that won on the 15 lateral last second play last weekend is it?

[phred]

Excellent point EW, it was indeed TWO great passes, but the second one was the one that put the smile on my face as I drifted off to sleep ;)

Neil, Tom Brady is NOT the New Brett Favre. Don't get me wrong, Brady is a great, Hall of Fame great, quarterback. Like bmaz said, the joy of watching Favre is the same as watching a 12 year old. So many pro sports stars talk about doing their job and getting it done, Brett plays like it's a game, a great fun game. It makes all the difference when you watch him play.

Ishmael, I've been trying to restrain any inclinations towards gloating about the Sox -- especially 'cause I predicted Cleveland would win the ALCS and then the Rockies would sweep them in the series. All things considered, I figure I better stick with football for any bragging rights I might claim to possess ;)

[Neil]

bmaz

That was "Trinity University of San Antonio" as opposed to Trinity College, Hartford, CT but both are NCAA D3. I can't say which school has higher academic standards with regard to admitting athletes.

[phred]

Ishmael -- Nice metaphor, lets hope our replacement quarterback has Brady's success!

[emptywheel]

Having lived in SF for some of the Montana years, I gotta say Brady's something else. Frigging machine. But boy is he fun to watch.

I was contemplating a post on all the whining about the Pats' "running up the score" on poor Joe Gibbs. I actually think my opinion on this--after having played with and around sports teams that excel in their region and get walloped nationally because they don't know how to use games against lesser opponents to prepare--has changed significantly. Call me crazy, but I sincerely believe that Belichick kept pushing because 1) he wanted to practice a couple more quarterback run plays, and 2) he wanted to make sure the Pats had practiced fourth and one a couple of times in game situations before next week's game.

I didn't do the post because my card died. Looking for a new Fit--sorry Ford, you didn't get the new Fit competitor to the US in time...

[Jim DeRosa]

Hhmmm....this is my district. Maybe I'll make a run against her.

[phred]

bmaz -- sounds like a rugby match broke out in the middle of the Trinity football game ;)