The Legislative Branch Shows Signs of Life

by emptywheel

When I was at the Duke conference last week, I premised a question to ACLU's Legal Director that ACLU was having more success in the courts than in Congress of late. He responded by joking about my faint praise. Perhaps I reverse jinxed him. Because we're beginning to make some progress in Congress.

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the House Majority Leader, postponed a press conference announcing new reforms of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act after progressive lawmakers banded together and said they would fight any legislation that did not include a set of eight principles on wiretapping that preserve the "rule of law."

"What's most significant is that the Progressive Caucus came together and said to the leadership that all 72 of us require that these provisions be included," said Caroline Fredercikson, Legislative Director for the American Civil Liberties Union. "This changes the dynamic significantly."

Meanwhile, back in the Executive Branch, we are making no progress, as you'd expect.

The head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission declined to investigate reports that phone companies turned over customer records to the National Security Agency, citing national security concerns, according to documents released on Friday.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin turned down a congressional request for an investigation as a top intelligence official concluded it would "pose an unnecessary risk of damage to the national security," according to a letter National Intelligence Director Michael McConnell sent to Martin on Tuesday.

Frankly, Markey is the kind of person who could bull dog these issues effectively, and Commerce could exert pressure on the phone companies in other ways too. Let's hope he follows up fully.

We might yet coax this legislative branch out of their stupor, yet.

Comments

[litigatormom]

I don't know what to make of Hoyer's postponement -- whether it's substantive, and means the proposal is going to be changed, or whether it's just a stalling tactic to let the progressive caucus think they're part of the process. I fear that whatever Hoyer was going to propose was going to be far too accomodating to the Administration, since the Democrats seem to fear a veto above all else.

[bmaz]

Litigatormom - My guess is they, i.e. Hoyer, Pelosi et.al., are finding an absolutely meaningless tiny point to concede, and, at the same time, making parliamentary maneuvers behind the scene to place the bill in a posture where the progressives are unable to further challenge it.

[profmarcus]

"We might yet coax this legislative branch out of their stupor, yet."

ya know what...? we don't have TIME to friggin' COAX them out of diddly-squat... i'm with robert parry who's either singing out of my songbook, or i'm singing out of his, take your pick...

"At some point, the congressional Democrats may have to face up to the hard choice before them: either put impeachment of Bush and Cheney back “on the table” or accept that the United States has ceased being a constitutional Republic governed by the principle that no man is above the law."

but, as of yesterday, this is what we were treated to on the "liberal, progressive" blogs, who ought to have something of a clue...

- i skipped over to daily kos and read posts supporting obama, hillary, and edwards, the latest outrages about supporting or not supporting the troops, mark penn, and blackwater...

- then i popped on over to think progress and read about who's including george bush in their prayers, tony snow's appearance on last night's letterman, and a new right wing group being set up by newt gingrich, et al...

- then i visited atrios and read about the u.s. attorney caught in a sex sting, larry craig, and chris matthews...

evidently, the very likely possibility that our country "has ceased being a constitutional Republic governed by the principle that no man is above the law" isn't something worth posting about... likewise, the myth that "all will be back to normal" with the inauguration of the next (democratic) president underlies every post and every comment...

as long as the mechanisms of unfettered, unchecked executive power are left intact and our constitution remains in tatters, things are a far cry from being "normal..." we've got less than 15 months to fix it... are we going to do it or are we going to try to coax a criminally complicit congress into doing it for us (an unlikely prospect, imho)...?

http://takeitpersonally.blogspot.com/

[radiofreewill]

profmarcus - I can envision a scenario where impeachment gets put back 'on the table' very quickly:

If - and we don't know with certainty, yet - Bush 'secretly' used the Feb 05 OLC 'Simulated Drowning is Okay' Memo to authorize torture while 'publicly' claiming the Dec 04 OLC 'Torture is abhorent' Memo is his policy -

Then, We have to Impeach - It would be an unpardonable Betrayal of Trust.

Everyone in America, Dems and Reps, would 'see' the depraved barbarity as Monsterous.

As a first response to the Times article (a 3 months in the making, 24 sources, heavyweight shot to the gut,) Bush is back-peddaling pretty hard and trying desperately to pull Congress in around him by saying that the 'appropriate' members have been fully briefed.

It's time for those, supposedly briefed, Congressmen and women to come forward and challenge the President directly. They need to follow-up on the Times article with a Haymaker to Bush's chin - make him provide the 05 OLC Opinions and have them reviewed for legality and truthfulness by Experts outside the Executive Branch.

The more he hesitates and withholds, the more Republicans will come to the side of the Rule of Law. Even the Goopers will be able to see that a Tyrant's favor is hardly any surety when that Tyrant is willing to torture at his discretion, and in secret - which is exactly what the heavily researched Times article says.

So, if he has used his 'inherent powers' to torture in secret, then Bush could be screwed pretty good - either give-up the Memos that presumably certify his Betrayal, or withhold them and get Impeached with the help of his own suspicious and fearful base.

Let's hope Mukasey does the right thing and tells the Senate he plans on handing the Memos over.

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