2politicaljunkies
In a rare show of bipartisanship, GOP members of the House helped their liberal counterparts to declaw the Patriot Act by attending Michelle Bachmanns “Super Bowl of Freedom” rather than doing their job (which, on Thursday, involved voting on one of the Republicans’ pet issues – National Security).
Three sections of the Bush legacy Patriot Act expire at the end of this year, giving legislators an opportunity to amend the law. The Department of Justice has stated that the expiring sections should simply be renewed, intact.
The liberal members of the House Judiciary Committee have actually bucked that instruction, seeing an opportunity to moderate some of the more egregious excesses written into the original Patriot Act. Among other considerations, the Committee wants to remove the so-called “lone wolf” provision, a tool for tracking non-U.S. citizens in anti-terrorism investigations that has never actually been invoked.
In addition to eliminating the “lone wolf” provision, the House bill would also place restrictions on national security letters, which are FBI demands for information that do not need a judge’s approval. Under the proposed amendment, the FBI would be required to demonstrate that the information requested is connected to a foreign power or its agent before issuing national security letters.
Yet another proposed change would force the government to justify to a judge the need for a gag order, which prevents the recipient of the letter from disclosing it.
The House bill also would:
_Require that the government demonstrate to a judge that the target of a roving wiretap is a single person. Thus deterring “fishing expeditions” that could ensnare innocent people
_Require that the government produce more evidence to a court, than is currently needed, to obtain records from businesses, libraries and booksellers. An even higher standard would be needed for obtaining library and bookstore records.
_Set a December 2013 expiration for the roving wiretap and records seizure sections. Congress would have to revisit the legislation to keep those sections in force.
Gentleman, Start Your Obstruction!
The proposed checks on some government authority were expected to upset some law enforcement and intelligence officials, but sponsors of the bill only needed a simple majority to pass it. Despite the fact that the House Judiciary Committee is dominated by liberal Democrats, committee members were probably expecting more of a fight and much closer votes on such a Republican “hot button” issue.
GOP lawmakers have predictably said, all along, that the proposed legislation would hinder law enforcement and intelligence agencies in fighting terrorism. Nevertheless, the bill sailed out of committee to a full House vote on a 16-10 committee vote along party lines, with Republicans casting all the votes in opposition.
What no one could have foreseen was that key GOP committee members would find it far more compelling to attend Princess Wingnut’s little Hate-fest on the Capitol Steps on Thursday.
Now That’s What I Call Dithering!
Zachary Roth of Talking Points Memo outlined the direct effects, by individual vote, of the absence of these Major League Ditherers:
“Several Republican members of Congress yesterday blew off votes on the signature anti-terror legislation of the post 9/11 era to attend Michele Bachmann’s Tea Party rally against health-care reform.”
“Reps. Steve King of Iowa, Trent Franks of Arizona, Randy Forbes of Virginia, Jim Jordan of Ohio, and Louie Gohmert and Ted Poe of Texas all took time out yesterday for the “Super Bowl of Freedom,” as Bachmann has called it. And all missed votes in the House Judiciary committee on Republican-sponsored amendments to the reauthorization of the Patriot Act — measures that would have toughened the Act, but narrowly failed. Those votes took place, a committee staffer confirmed, between noon and two — the very time when Republican lawmakers were rallying the Tea Party troops on the Capitol steps.”
“One measure, offered by Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the ranking Republican on the committee, would have extended the “lone wolf” provisions of the Act, which would allow the FBI to surveil or search foreign nationals even if it can’t be shown that the person is an agent of a foreign power.”
“Many believe that had this been in effect before 9/11, the FBI might have caught Zacarias Moussaoui. And Republicans had said that extending the lone wolf provision this time around was crucial to protecting national security. Even some Democrats supported the measure, giving it a good chance of passage. But it failed by a single vote, 15-15. Reps. King and Gohmert were absent.”
“Another measure, offered by Rep. Dan Lundgren (R-CA), failed by a vote of 11 to 8. Reps. King, Gohmert, Jordan, and Poe were all missing.”
“And a third, brought by Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL), which would have bolstered the ability of local law enforcement to use a device that records phone numbers from a particular phone, failed by 12 to 10, with King, Gohmert, Jordan, Poe, and Franks all absent. (A subsequent amendment that did essentially the same thing later passed, it’s worth noting.)”
What, Me Worry?
Photo by Christina Bellantoni
I guess I’m just not savvy enough to understand why these guys would blow voting on what they consider crucial legislation with which to wage their precious “war on terror.” Especially when the alternative was to make asses of themselves with three or four thousand of the fringiest of fringe elements. I’m not exactly complaining, frankly I wish the same group would absent themselves from more votes. We might actually be able to solve some problems.
Two burning questions remain for me, though: “who votes for these lame creatures and do they feel that they’re getting their money’s worth”?
Oh yeah, and one more question, “how long before the Cheneys hold these guys up for public ridicule for making “Americans less safe.” I think Obama and his Department of Justice did more for National Security on this one than the chowderheads in the GOP.
Technorati Tags: Republican Party, GOP, Michelle Bachmann, tea party, House Judicial Committee, Patriot Act
