Defending Obama On FISA

I woke up Friday morning to an e-mail in my box from the Obama campaign. It was a two and a half minute video of Barack Obama and his announcement that he was foregoing public funding for the campaign.

"Join me and declare your independence from this broken system, and let's build the first general election campaign that's truly funded by the American people."

So I gladly donated for a second time to Senator Obama's campaign. I spent the rest of the morning writing a rebuttal to an Obama smear e-mail and taking great joy in sending it to every schmoe that ever e-mailed me crap like that and giggled as I imagined their faces as they read. On my way to work, I felt good for the first time in a while, sending some cash to Obama and fighting the lies. I actually felt a spring in my step.

Then I got to work and read this: House Passes New Steny Hoyer/FISA Bill. KAPOW!

It took me a couple of minutes to regain my breath, and just as I was starting to feel better, I read this: Obama on FISA - "It is not all that I would want. But given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as President, I will carefully monitor the program, review the report by the Inspectors General, and work with the Congress to take any additional steps I deem necessary to protect the lives - and the liberty - of the American people."

KABOOOOOM!!!! Kicked in the balls!

Still seeing stars, I decided to take a deep breath, count to ten, and try to sort this all out. Steny Fuckin' Hoyer... that's where the anger needs to be directed. Hoyer and Nancy "impeachment is off the table" Pelosi.

Think about it. It's been barely two weeks since Hillary Clinton suspended her campaign and endorsed Barack Obama. The most recent polls show Obama leading McCain in swing states, rewriting the fucking electoral map by the minute. No scandal du jour to speak of - Rev. Wright is forgotten, and guest preacher Father Michael Pfleger's Hillary rant was the last straw that caused Obama to actually sever ties with Trinity United Church of Christ. Even Michelle Obama co-hosted The View to improve her image and show the world that she's always been proud of her country. A hard stance on the "compromised" FISA bill voted in the House would fan the flames of dying embers.

He's stuck between a rock and a hard place and it's the House Democrats who put him there. The worst part of the whole thing is that it always seems like the Democrats in Congress don't know what the fuck they are doing. Maybe because they really don't. They are so petrified of being perceived as soft on national security that they capitulate to the whims of a lame duck president who made us less safe in the first place; and they don't realize that the capitulation itself is what truly makes them look weak. It makes the Republicans look like they were right all along.

Let's take a step back and realize that through it all, Barack Obama is a politician. And at this point in time, it's not wise to come out in harsher tones than is necessary regarding a crap FISA bill that still has to pass through the Senate.

Unfortunately, before you can say "telecom immunity", the liberal blogosphere goes apeshit and acts as if Barack Obama just ran over their dog. Twice. Atrios calls Obama "Wanker of the Day." Digby is "tempted to say this is a Sistah Soljah moment." It's understandable to a point. But why trash our own Democratic nominee and likely next President of the United States before we've gotten him out of the wrapper?

Here's John Cole's reaction to the liberal freakout entitled "Things I Learned Today":

Obama can not snap his fingers and magically change the minds of hundreds of Democrats elected by people other than Barack Obama, and because of it, he does not deserve the votes of the netroots.

Also, compromise means getting everything you want, not just shifting the debate and working to remove portions of a bill that you find objectionable. Compromise to the netroots is much like George Bush’s definition of compromise. Who would have thunk it.

Additionally, Obama apparently hates the Constitution.

The last thing I learned today is that the ideal candidate goes down with the ship. It does not matter if that candidate was right on the issue all along, did everything he could to win the fight, but that he must go down with the ship. It does not matter if the fight is already over and the battle lost, real candidates try to maximize the loss by inflicting political pain on themselves.

You all make me cranky. Enjoy President McCain, whiners.

And he makes a good point. Is Senator Obama supposed to slit his own throat with a FISA tantrum to satisfy his loyal base, damn the consequences? Don't forget that he also said this in his statement: "It does, however, grant retroactive immunity, and I will work in the Senate to remove this provision so that we can seek full accountability for past offenses."

And is he the only Senator opposed to this bill? Did everyone forget the existence of Russ Feingold? Or Chris Dodd? Filibuster away. My hope is that Harry "Poopy Pants" Reid will get all flustered because nothing else is getting done in the meantime and table the bill. And if they are able to strip the retroactive immunity from the bill, then Mensa Man will veto it anyway and at least the Dems can say they tried, but Georgie doesn't care enough about national security and too much about the corporations that did his evil bidding in the first place.

So chill, people, or I will hide your Firebird keys. Direct your anger at the cowards who voted for the bill.

My other thought (initially, while I was still angry) was that both sides are knee deep in shit (would that be so surprising?) and this is a way for the whole thing to go away. Immunity equals the end of getting the bottom of things and finding out the truth. If there are Democratic hands that are as dirty as Republican ones, then the bill will pass. And that would make me very sad indeed.

And I started the day with a spring in my step.

Bush Vetoes SCHIP Again

Mr. Compassionate Conservative once again vetoed a bill that would make possible the inclusion of 5 million children to obtain health insurance.

Bush issued his veto on Wednesday, saying "our nation's goal should be to move children who have no health insurance to private coverage - not to move children who already have private health insurance to government coverage."

This statement of course has no basis in fact. The State Children's Health Insurance Plan is available to those who make too high an annual income to receive Medicaid but not enough income to afford to pay for a private insurance policy. SCHIP is not free. It is a discounted plan, with participants paying low cost premiums. But President Bush would have you believe that it is a substitute for private insurance and that the Congress is trying to expand a program to those who already have private coverage as a step toward that evil concept we call socialism. Of course, Bush and the rest of the elected members of government already receive government funded health care. If it's so bad for the rest of us, why doesn't he switch to private insurance? He can certainly afford it.

Mr. No Child Left Behind would also try to make you think that the $35 billion that Congress allocated over five years is fiscally irresponsible and that his economic conservatism was a main reason for rejecting the bill. This is a strange reason when you consider that $7 billion pays for approximately 2-3 weeks for the occupation in Iraq.

The fact is that at the current funding levels, some participants currently covered by SCHIP would have to be dropped.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the House will take up the extension question Thursday in a bill that also will make adjustments to Medicare.

"We'll obviously need to put additional money" into the children's health insurance program, Hoyer said, because several states say they will have to remove recipients from their rolls if the current funding level continues into next year.

As far as raising taxes is concerned, "What a sad day that the president would say that rather than insuring [millions of] children, 'I don't want to raise the cigarette tax,' " said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

In 2006, an estimated 20.8% (45.3 million) of U.S. adults were current cigarette smokers; of these, 80.1% (36.3 million) smoked every day according to the Center for Disease Control. I, for one, would not be affected by this tobacco tax increase, and neither would 80% of the US population. If a 61 cent per pack tax deters people from smoking and become healthier in the process, so be it.

Why do cigarette smokers feel discrimiated against for a tobacco tax? Do drinkers feel discrimination on an alcohol tax? Or drivers on a gas tax? If you don't drink or don't drive, there is an automatic savings. Should I feel angry that the non-drinker doesn't pay tax on my glass of wine or bottle of beer? Is Bush is worried about the smoker that is against a tobacco tax , or is it the tobacco lobby?

One more question: if Bush was so proud of this veto, why did he sign it in private?

...such votes are uncomfortable for GOP lawmakers. It is a popular program with the public, making some Republicans wary of sticking with Bush on such an issue with the 2008 elections looming. Of the 43 million people nationwide who lack health insurance, more than 6 million are under 18 years old. That's more than 9 percent of all children.

Bush said the bill "moves our country's health care system in the wrong direction." If we aren't currently moving in the wrong direction, what the hell does Mensa Man have in store for us?

The Impeachment of Dick Cheney

The squad car turned onto the quiet street. The dispatcher had gotten a call of a possible domestic disturbance on First Street, unusual for that part of the neighborhood a few years ago, but it was becoming more and more frequent over the past year. The dispatcher answered the call and then the caller hung up after dispatch heard yelling in the background. Officer Kay exited the car and approached the large house. “Nice place,” he thought. “I wonder what’s going on in here.”

There were lights on inside, but all seemed eerily calm. He knocked on the door and waited a seemingly long while before knocking again. A few seconds later, the door cracked open a bit.

A small lady was on the other side. Through the opening Kay could see that she was visibly upset. She had a bruise on her right cheek and a small cut over her right eye.

“Ma’am, we received a call from this house. Are you okay?”

“Yes,” replied the obviously beaten woman. “I... I just tripped and fell down the stairs. It happens a lot… I’m a klutz. … I called 911 myself thinking I might need an ambulance,” said Nancy as her eyes welled up with tears, “but I’m okay now. It’s not as bad as I thought.”

“Well is anyone in the house with you? Do you need medical attention?”

Just then, Kay heard a voice coming from inside the house. “Who the hell’s at the door?!”
“Here we go…” Kay thought.

He heard steps coming toward the door and it forcefully swung completely open, Nancy visibly flinching as it whizzed by her.

“Oh… good evening, officer. Kin a help ya?” said a man of considerable size. He stunk of cheap whiskey and seemed agitated, sweat beaded on his forehead and he looked disheveled in his stained Ohio State tee shirt. He seemed to trip on himself a bit at the door as he reached into his pocket for a cigarette. Kay knew what he was in for.

He had seen this all before. An obviously battered spouse. A belligerent, overbearing man who pushed his compromising wife to the edge time and time again, and shoved her around if she dared talked back. He’d seen these types of cowards before.

Unfortunately, Kay’s hands were tied. The law prevented him from doing anything unless Nancy filed a complaint.

“Sir, we received a call and...”

“Yeah, she can be a bit of a klutz. She fell down a coupla’ steps. She’s alright now though, ain’tcha honey?” He put his arm around her and squeezed her in closer.

“Well, sir, I’ll need your name for the record, just to verify that we made the call.”

“John. And this is my wife, Nancy,” said the drunk with a scrape on his knuckle. Nancy stared down at the floor. She dared not look Kay in the eye. If she did, he would be able to see all the pain, all the frustration in her.

“And how long have you been living here?”

“Just about a year now,” Nancy said, still staring at the floor. John whipped his head around and looked at her with daggers in his eyes. How dare she speak. He squeezed her tighter.

“Nancy, can I speak with you a moment?” Kay stared at John as he said this to look for a reaction. John inched forward but immediately realized he’d better behave. If he did, it would all go away.

Kay took Nancy down the walkway. “Look Nancy, I know what’s going on. But I can’t help you unless you tell me. You need to take the first step. I’ll ask you again: Is everything alright? Will everything be alright once I leave?”

Nancy stood there. She didn’t say a word. She thought perhaps she could finally get out of this relationship. She’d tried to be compromising in hopes that John would see how good a person she is. Maybe the kindness would be reciprocated.
But it never worked that way. John would take and take and take. He would never give anything. He wasn’t built for it. He’d been like this his entire life and an old biting dog doesn't like muzzles.
Maybe this time she could call John out on his cowardice. Maybe this time, John would see that she wasn’t going to stand for it anymore. She wasn’t going to sit there and take his crap anymore.

“No, I’m fine… I fell.”

Kay gave Nancy a business card and told her to call him if there was any problem. She looked back at the door and saw John standing there, arms folded across his chest, watching her every move. She slowly took the card. Kay watched as Nancy slowly turned back up the walkway heading towards her front door.

“Goodnight, officer,” John said with a shit-eating grin on his face. “Thanks for stoppin’ by. Nice to know we got the city’s finest watchin’ our back.” The business card was snatched out of Nancy’s hand before the door was shut.

And that’s how the resolution to impeach Dick Cheney ended in the House of Representatives.


From BOB CESCA:

If only the Democrats were attentive enough to the people to realize that a majority of Americans, including a majority of independent voters, support the impeachment of Dick Cheney, they would've treated the resolution with a little more respect. If they acknowledged their mandate and discarded their predictably impotent political habits, they would have had the mettle to at least debate the resolution and entered into the record their collective objections to the vice president's malfeasance, as well as forced into the record the Republican Party's inexplicable support for the man's attempt to undermine their authority. History demands this.

Instead, by engaging in such an awkwardly amateurish fire drill on the floor of the House, [Steny] Hoyer managed to inject his misguided capitulation into the national debate. He might not know this, but there exists cable news and internet blogs, both thirsting for material. Now, millions of people know that the House Democrats dropped their short pants and stumbled away from the task of holding the vice president accountable -- their trousers bunched around their ankles restricting normal locomotion -- simply because the Republicans dared them to act.

And so in trying to avoid a so-called public embarrassment, they publicly embarrassed themselves anyway.

Here is another video from Brave New Films summarizing the resolution to impeach Cheney. Watch it and then honestly tell yourself that he doesn't warrant impeachment.

More from CESCA:

When the Democrats acquiesce on torture or impeachment or anything that might reunite them with their balls, they're only succeeding in begging the right's aggression. There won't be any favors returned from the Bush/Cheney right wing. I don't think the Democrats fully understand who they're dealing with. And if they do, well then, how dare they play along. How dare they patronize us with 'I'm against this but I'm voting for it because I'm smart and important and you wouldn't understand anyway.'

You stand up and vote NO on torture, Senator Schumer. You allow a debate about impeaching the vice president, Congressman Hoyer. And you sure as shit don't vote to support the administration's Iran policy, Senator Clinton.

In other words, compromising with the White House won't make the president go all limp and soupy -- it will in fact make him louder and more petulant next time around...

..."Shut him up or shut him down!" That's what the American people are expecting. Any failure on that score leaves the Democrats in this pathetic ass-up submissive posture. When it comes down to choice of nuance versus aggression, the answer has to be aggression. Take on those bastards with the fury and tenacity these historically imperative issues demand.

We don't expect hand-holding and mutual masturbation between the Bush Republican White House and the Democratic Congress. No one has ever assumed the president would compromise on anything anyway. But we assumed -- perhaps wrongly -- that the Democrats would stick him. We expected a fight, and that's why we voted for Democrats a year ago yesterday. And if they should ever decide to collectively stand up and fight, we will gladly elect more of them a year from now.

It took me a few days to wrap my head around what the hell happened in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. If the Republicans wanted a fight, if they wanted to attempt to "embarrass" the Democratic Party by forcing a debate on Kucinich's resolution to impeach Cheney, then the leadership should have gone to the coat check room where they usually leave their collective scrotum at the door, strapped it back on and said, "You wanna throw down?! Let's go! Game on, brohim!"

But the Rethuglicans know the battered wife game. They wrote the book on it. They dared the Dems knowing they would flinch. And flinch they did. It's times like these that I feel like changing my party affiliation to Independent.

And what embarrassment would they have saved? A July poll showed that 54% of Americans favored impeachment of Cheney (including 17% of Republicans)... and that was in July! Four months ago! It's got to be riding at 60%+ now.

What is an embarrassment to me is that the Democrats fold like a house of cards time and time again. It's an embarrassment to me that Nancy Pelosi says impeachment is off the table when it's not her choice, but a duty that the Constitution dictates. It's an embarrassment to me when a Senate Nominating Committee with a Democratic majority would allow Michael Mukasey to be approved as the next Attorney General after hemming and hawing on torture and that Harry Reid would allow a simple majority vote for his confirmation after a five hour debate.

It's an embarrassment to me that they don't fight. That's why they were elected, but they've gotten so used to being the red-headed stepchild, they've forgotten that they have fists, that they have strength, that they have the backing of the American people. Stop worrying about what your cocktail guests in Washington will think, and start worrying what your constituents back home will think. Because if you don't, you won't need to worry what will be said about you at the next dinner party. You'll be cleaning out your desks in November 2008.

Not only do we have to vote Democratic in the general election, but we have to be wary of who we're voting for in the Democratic Primary elections as well.

Not only have to vote Democratic, we must vote for the better Democrat.