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Lessons Not Learned
Six years ago, in the aftermath of 9/11, Congress rammed through the USA PATRIOT Act with little consideration of what that bill actually contained. Five years ago, Congress authorized a reckless and ill-advised war in Iraq. One year ago, Congress passed the deeply flawed Military Commissions Act. And late last week, a Democratic Congress passed legislation that dramatically expands the government's ability to conduct warrantless wiretapping, which could affect innocent Americans. It is clear that many congressional Democrats have not learned from those earlier mistakes, two of which happened when Democrats controlled the Senate. Once again, Congress has buckled to pressure and intimidation by the administration.
It should go without saying, but it's important to repeat: every member of Congress supports wiretapping terrorists. And no one thinks that the government should have to get a court order to listen to communications between suspected terrorists in foreign countries, even if those communications happen to pass through the U.S. The FISA bill Congress passed late last week was the latest example of the administration exploiting a legitimate problem to make an outrageous power grab - and unfortunately, it was also just the latest example of Congress giving in to the president's fear-mongering. The very last thing we should be doing is granting this administration -- and this Attorney General in particular -- more authority to conduct wiretaps without adequate judicial supervision. It is the abuse of power by this administration that is one of the main reasons this president and attorney general should be censured.
The American people see through these tactics, and don't buy the president's attempts to use the threat of terrorism to get what he wants any more. Unfortunately, 16 Senate Democrats and an Independent, as well as 41 House Democrats were all too willing last week to let the president successfully employ this ruse yet again.
The bill the president signed yesterday gives free rein to the government to wiretap all the communications of anyone who happens to be outside the United States, for whatever reason, without court oversight. That includes U.S. citizens living or traveling abroad, U.S. service members in Iraq, or journalists reporting from overseas. And that includes the calls and emails of anyone outside the country to people in the U.S. This goes far, far beyond the identified problem of foreign to foreign communications that we all agree should be fixed. What little judicial review the bill does provide is essentially meaningless. The FISA court will decide only whether the government certification that it has put reasonable procedures in place to direct its surveillance against people reasonably believed to be abroad is clearly erroneous. That's nothing more than a rubber stamp. And it provides no protection for Americans who may be calling or e-mailing friends, family or business partners overseas and who have done absolutely nothing wrong.
After all the wrong-doing by this administration, it was disheartening to see Congress bow to its demands one more time. But there is a silver lining to that dark cloud. The Democratic leadership in both the House and the Senate proposed alternative bills that addressed legitimate concerns about foreign-to-foreign communications while also doing a better job of protecting innocent Americans than what the administration was proposing. In particular, Majority Leader Reid, Intelligence Committee Chairman Rockefeller, and Armed Services Committee Chairman Levin responded to specific concerns a number of us raised about a draft Democratic proposal in the Senate. The resulting Senate Democratic bill was far from perfect, but it was vastly better than the administration's proposal.
I am also encouraged by Speaker Nancy Pelosi's call for fixing this flawed legislation as soon as Congress reconvenes in September. We should not delay passing a bill that will end Alberto Gonzales's six-month, oversight-free surveillance holiday. The president will undoubtedly oppose these efforts and the Republicans in the Senate will no doubt filibuster any efforts to reinstate judicial involvement and tighten the controls around the president's eavesdropping authorities. In the face of that expected opposition, Democrats will need to stick together this time to fix the mess that we just created. And at least some Republicans will have to be convinced to support the Constitution.
Clearly, this will be an uphill fight. But it's a fight worth having. Our constitutional rights should not be sacrificed to scare tactics. Congress must stand up to the president. The sooner that Democrats realize that standing tough on national security doesn't mean giving into the administration, the better off they - and the country - will be.
Russ Feingold is a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin.
© 2007 Huffington Post
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24 Comments so far
Show AllRuss, when are you going to get off your ass and run for President. Al apparently isn't going to do it. Who is going to step up to the plate and give the establishment candidates a real run for their money. I love Kucinich, but we all know that for completely lame reasons, he doesn't have a chance in hell.
On the other hand, if folks like you would work your asses off to get impeachment proceedings under way in the Senate, drawing up a bill similar to HR 333, Kucinich can claim to the be the only candidate with any real balls, dig?
"I am also encouraged by Speaker Nancy Pelosi's call for fixing this flawed legislation..."
How could anybody be encouraged by Nancy Pelosi. She allowed this disaster to pass in order to rush home for summer vacation and wants to "fix it" later. Way to take the "Incomplete" grade Madam Speaker; another fine example of Democratic leadership.
The Bush Administration was convicted for violating the FISA Law (thrown out on appeal on bogus jurisdiction claims) now the Dems enable BushCo yet again. As the Senate investigates Alberto Gonzales and the travesty of the Department of Justice, the House gives him more power.
Cindy Sheehan for Congress!!!!!!!
"And no one thinks that the government should have to get a court order to listen to communications between suspected terrorists in foreign countries, even if those communications happen to pass through the U.S."
Au contraire.
Though I am, I guess, "no one," I very much think that any damned time any government official wants to wire-tap any "suspects" s/he should have to show some shred of evidence in open court that the alleged suspect is doing something wrong.
But as I say, I am no one. Just a citizen of the US who happens to be struggling to make a living here.
With "liberal" and "progressive" leaders like the millionaire Feingold, and the rest of the millionaires in the Senate, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I -- and a majority of US citizens who actually believe in the principles of constitutionalism and the rule of law -- should be considered "no ones."
But wait, we have "Impeachment-Is-Off-the-Table Pelosi," in the democratic lower house to stand up for us. When Congress returns from vacation, she may propose that the latest heinous attack on our constitutional and human rights will be "fixed."
I am sure it will be. Among millionaires like Feingold and Pelosi, the fix is always in.
I just really wish that they would in fact, treat me and my fellow compatriots as true no ones and stop the damned attacks on our rights and our ability to make a living in this world.
At least stop the lies, especially the Big One: that they are acting in the interests of anyone other than the rich and connected.
This is more limp rhetoric.
What I'd like to hear is a clear explanation as to why the Democratic Party is behaving in such a pusillanimous manner when the public is looking for decisive action and a change of course. I'd like to hear a coherent argument as to why this cave-in happened. Then, a comprehensive plan for fixing the flaws in the Democratic Party that allowed it to happen again.
My armchair quarterback assessment is that the Democratic Party has no focus, and essentially does not exist as an integrated entity. Time and again, Republicans band together, and the term "Democrat" seems to apply to the leftovers.
Instead of "Democratic Party" I believe this group of people would be more accurately called the "Remnants Party", or "Leftovers Party" -- something that expresses the fact that the only thing these people have in common is that there are not in the conservative club and do not swear allegiance formally to the Republican agenda.
There is no legitimate opposition to the Republican Party in this country right now, a fact which raises the suspicion among many, such as Chomsky and other great thinkers, that there is in fact only one Party in America, and that the Democrat-Republican dichotomy serves one purpose: the illusion of choice for the duped on matters of no consequence while the unbridled acquisition by the wealthy continues.
Feingold needs to argue that his Party is relevant, not gripe about turncoats in the Party. There is nothing to turn against.
n/m
Dear Russ,
I sent you an e-mail yesterday in response for your call to support censure of Bush/Cheney/Gonzales. Here is a copy of what I sent you:
"I signed the petition, but this is NOT enough. Particularly in light of what the Congress passed on Friday and Saturday. I appreciate your stand and "No" vote, but it isn't enough. The Web is literally on fire over what Congress allowed to happen. We feel betrayed and alone. Democrats in particular are outraged. Even DKos is having a major problem with this. There is no excuse for Pelosi or Reid allowing this bill to come to the floor of the Senate or the House. The Democratic leadership sold my freedoms and the Constitution down the river to a madman and his henchmen. There is NO excuse. No apology will ever be accepted by the people of America. The real insult to injury was to let Gonzales have any part of this. What a disgrace. And don't think that Dem's or independents are going to forget this travesty in '08.
And, by the way, Clinton and Obama's "No" vote doesn't mean a damn thing. We know how this works. When Reid brought this to the floor of the Senate, he already knew what votes he had. It was safe for your presidential candidates to vote "No" because they already KNEW it would pass. What a crock!
AND…Your Censure Motion does not site the fact that the invasion and occupation of Iraq is/was illegal under international law. All I ever hear from the Dem's is how badly BushCo has "mismanaged" the war. What bunch of immoral, cowardly nonsense. This is and has always been a war of aggression. This was a war of choice. No matter what lies came out of this administration to justify this invasion of a sovereign nation, there is no excuse that Congress can put forth that will wash the blood off of their hands.
Put forth your censure motion, but follow it up by pressuring Pelosi to bring articles of impeachment against Gonzales. Get Pelosi to put impeachment BACK ON THE TABLE!! Get her to allow Conyers to move HR333 to the floor of the House and get the ball rolling on Cheney. Impeachment is the ONLY remedy to the Constitutional crisis we face. It would help if you folks got off the dime before Bush declares marshal law, or starts seizing our assets. You need a refresher on the Executive Orders Bush has been issuing lately. They are scaring the hell out of me. Especially with Congress on vacation for a month.
Thank you for listening to my tirade. I know you are one of the "good guys". And thanks for all you do."
I would add that given the mess that Congress has allowed this country to slide into, the "fix" cannot be incrimental. "Fixing" what you broke is not enough even if you could get it done, which is unlikely. IMPEACHMENT is the only remedy at this stage in the game.
Thanks
Russ, with all the critical issues that need serious and sustainied work, how come Congress is taking off? So many things can't wait till September. I've had to cancel vacations to get things done at work....
S-in-C.
With all due respect Senator,
I just have to ask: WTF is WRONG with democrats?? I really feel like there is no one representing us now. How did they manage to cave last week on the FISA bill? I am so disgusted I could just spit. Just think how happy Karl Rove was when he heard the news. He was handed the last tool he needed to create his "permanent republican majority". At this point, he doesn't even need a republican majority, with dems like these....who needs republicans?
I would bet my last dollar that the bush administration has already been using the domestic spying program to target political enemies, now they can do it LEGALLY! Instead of holding him accountable, they make his illegal actions legal in retrospect.They may as well just have signed on to warrantless wiretapping of themselves for the 08 campaign. For what? Are they under some ridiculous assumption that voting against this president on any national security matter would hurt them politically? Are they serious??? Mr. 25%, the least popular president in history?
We've been through all this before. All of Bush's excuses for this illegal spying program are pathetic. He can - and he should - do all the spying in the world to keep us safe.The FISA court already allows for this. All he has to do is run it by a court after the fact to make sure they aren't abusing the civil liberties and the privacy of innocent Americans. John Ashcroft fought this illegal FISA program from his hospital bed in 2004. In fact, the entire top echelon of the Justice Department and the head of the FBI all threatened to resign because of how illegal this progam was. The law they just passed appears to be broader than the one Ashcroft's Justice Department fought against.
Why is it Bush's bill or nothing? Why not send him a bill that fixes the FISA gap and LET him veto it? Why not bargain for Gonzales' resignation? Why not do SOMETHING other than cave?! What's really sad is in doing this, they have just framed themselves as losers and pushovers. How can they be tough on terrorism, when they can't even deal with the real terrorist that lives in the White House?
They fell for the same old trick that Bush has used a hundred times. Hurry up and give me this authority right before you go to recess otherwise the country will blow up.Is this what Chertoff's "gut feeling" about a terrorist attack this summer was really about? The public was finally getting wise to the fear mongering....when will congress? Can they really be this stupid? Where was the democratic leadership on this? They should have been on the floor twisting arms, not packing for vacation! The fact that Pelosi, Reid and the presidential hopefuls were not putting up the fight of their lives, leaves me with little hope for the future.
How will history look back on this era? Can democracy survive this? This has probably been Bin Laden's plan all along....to get us mired in an ongoing conflict that destroys our economy and divides our people, as we readily give up our freedoms for some false sense of security. How pathetic.
Sorry to beat up on the democrats.I know a good majority of them voted against it. I'm just really pissed.
The long and short of it is this: The Congress passed and the president signed a bill that makes it legal for them to listen in on my phone calls if I have the temerity to speak to someone outside the US, WITHOUT A G*DD*MN WARRANT. So much for the Fourth Amendment, kiddiwinks. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get home to see if the Third is still inplace or whether soldiers are now quartered there.
Each time I think I can't get more disgusted with Democratz, they outdo themselves, AGAIN. I wish I were a cartoonist. I'd institute The Giant Tin Ear Awards.
I am soooooooooo tired of repeating all the obvious grounds for impeachment AGAIN, I now have my own sound byte mantra response to Demz' fundrasing appeals.
No impeachment, no money. I'm done.
Only Kings are not impeachable and somebody needs to tell our Pretender to the Throne, that occupants of the Oval Office serve at the pleasure of the people and WE ARE NOT AMUSED!!!
IndependantVoices.org has regular national conference calls on national issues. The next one is August 12th at 4 p.m. PST. Call 712-580-0380, Access code is 732282#.
The Democratic party lost its soul in Chicago in 1968, when intra-party politics sold out the anti-war movement and underhandedly gave the nomination to Hubert Humphrey. It's just taken this long for rigor mortis to set in, after a brief spasm of "chicken with its head cut off", under Clinton, giving it the appearance of purposeful actions.
Demz won the midterms by a hair and the blogs defribillating voters, one last time. Talk about last throes.
So, I guess the Gonzales Inquiry is now over?
What exactly is the point of taking Gonzales to task when the Dems just legalized what Torquemeda Al was doing illegally?
Feingold and Pelosi, talk talk talk and the dieing goes on.
REBEL FARMER: Great letter. I hope he reads it. Like the rest of you, I just can't believe more power was given to the unlawful likes of Bush, Cheney and Gonzales. If ever someone fit the mafia stereotype of the insider attorney, it would be him. A man in possession of fewer principles (particularly ones with the faintest connection with this nation's Constitution) would be tough to find, and there he is, loyal to his master... reminds me of Dracula's little buddy, a clan dependent on others' blood to be sure.
Switch your Dem registration ASAP.
Watch the loyalbushieDems sweat as the "base" numbers suddenly evaporate. If they earn our vote, they'll get it. Meanwhile, if we continue to show loyalty to the "party," we're condoning their anti-American actions and they will continue strapping on the knee pads and praying to the Loonitary Decider.
Only two things they care about - votes and money. They just lost one. Switch to Independent today!
I see nothing but wrist slaps happening from (Cough!) OUR REPRESENTATIVES in D.C. Until the great-great grandsons and granddaughters of "The Minutemen" organize in this time frame, the current "Arisrocracy" will remain in power.
Here we go again! are the people who read and comment on CD the only good guys around?
I still do not understand why there is no impeachment going on now. Why is the Bush administration still in power? What more do they have to do to be removed from office? What is wrong with Americans?
These crimes have been too grievous.
If we are to regain standing as a moral nation the Bush administration must be repudiated with a legal hearing and with an affirmation that America is a nation of laws.
If Americans decide to continue to support Bush even knowing what has been done, then at least we will know what America is.
God help us
...................................................................
I saw Russ Feingold interviewed on Fox by Chris Wallace.
Feingold clearly stated that he would have no problem with the intercepts of messages between two foreign sources.
"FEINGOLD: See, what you just described is exactly the kind of thing we should be doing. Communications between two foreign sources is something that all of us have publicly said we can agree should be changed.
But that's not what they're pushing for, Chris. What they're doing is trying to change immunity laws. They're trying to take items that go through the normal courts and put them into secret courts. They're trying to basically gut the FISA law as part of this process."
FEINGOLD: Well, as long as it's two foreign countries, we have a deal. That's fine. I agree with that.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,291298,00.html
WALLACE later in a round table discussion LIED
and said Feingold opposed intercepting communications between two foreign sources. And Wallace knew he was lying imo and looked down at the floor as he told his lie. People like Wallace have no honor.
"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."
Abraham Lincoln
The people who watch Fox are in the second category. (fool some of the people all of the time)
I have almost no trust left in anyone in government. The system is broken. Bush should be impeached.
What a ruse. In September Pelosi will introduce more restrictive legislation that if it passes will be vetoed by Bush. Then she'll lament that "at least we tried".
The time to stop it was before vacation when all it took was a simple majority in the House and Senate to defeat it. Then the Dems could have passed a more restrictive piece of legislation and put the onus on Bush to sign it to protect the country.
Lobo Gris
The Democrats might win very big with the next election cycle and then all this eaves dropping might be used against the Republicans.
mirf59-
Want a coherent explanation why the FISA cave in happened? Try this one.
For starters, the whole issue of government wiretapping capabilities in the technology of this day and age (particularly where NSA is concerned) is complex. Also, a huge swath of the general public really doesn't have a clue how a judge-approved warrant authorizing eavesdropping is obtained under either Title III or under FISA, and they have minimal understanding of the critical privacy interests and civil liberties importance that the requirement of a written warrant safeguards.
Because electronic surveillance is, in fact, both technologically complex, and the judiciary's role in controlling abuse of that technology by intelligence agencies is little understood, public partisan discussion of warrantless NSA wiretapping of (some) communications of (some) American phone, email, and Internet communications (in the recent past and in the future) becomes fertile ground for cynical fear-mongering demagoguery.
That's why Little George's smirking sound bites "On my watch, whenever al Qaeda calls we'll be listening" resonates. Very few in the Democratic Party leadership or in the mainstream media speak back in reasoned response because to do so would require a genuine campaign of public education, revisiting the rampant sins of the Nixon administration's rogue CIA spooks against his domestic "enemies" that gave us Watergate (and FISA) in the first place.
So why suddenly did Reid and Pelosi fold, right before the August 2008 recess, just like the Dems rolled over previously on the Military Commissions Act, the 2002 AUMF and the Patriot Act?
I think Joy's post above hits the nail on the head: it's all about Michael Chertoff's sudden "gut feeling" that there's going to be another 9/11 level domestic terrorist incident here in the Homeland this summer or early fall.
This revelation is coupled with leaked White House hysteria concerning a recent secret ruling, secretly issued by the secret FISA court, that has supposedly tied NSA's hands based on some legal technicality (trust us! trust us!) hitting just at this crucial, critical moment of the global war on terror, when all the electronic chatter is pointing at a imminnent, heightened risk of attack, right here in River City.
Nobody gives a shit about Bush's abysmal poll numbers or his taunting of the do-nothing Democratic Congress. What does petrify the Dems however is the prospect of voter backlash should there be a big boom in the night, some innocent blood in the streets, and Karl Rove can point the finger back at the legislative branch for going off on vacation without fixing FISA first.
That's why (as I understand it), this outrageous legislation sunsets in 6 months, unless Congress renews it. The Democrats are simply trying to cover their asses in case there is a real (or staged) terrorist attack on US soil in the next few months ahead.
At least that's the most coherent explanation that I can conjecture up.
It doesn't excuse such craven capitulation to the hardball propaganda tactics of a lame duck tyrant. But it does make sense if you're driven by the raw politics of fear.
Bill from Saginaw
Senator Feingold:
While you may think that the "alternative bills that addressed legitimate concerns about foreign-to-foreign communications while also doing a better job of protecting innocent Americans", the reality portrayed in the discussion on Monday 8/6 Newshour is far from principaled.
Almost immediately, the supporter spokesperson for the Bill said BIPARTISAN. (This guy looked and spoke like he came from central casting for the Ministry of Truth) The spokesperson against the Bill spent her time trying to get her point across about how the Dem alternatives were better. But who's listening to this, when the first thing the Administration can claim is that it's a bipartisan bill.
Why does Congress believe that this Administration has any interest in legality? It hasn't demonstrated this in many of it's actions to date, and I don't believe that they have all-of a sudden got worried about this. Dems got suckered into being enablers to this Administration's ongoing trampling of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Yes, you could have been accused as being "soft on terrorism". However, public sentiment seems more concerned about the real loss of constitutional rights, a failed military occupation, and the gross incompetence and corruption of this Administration than the vague threat of "terrorist attaacks" (from the same incompetent and corrupt administration). How can you attack the Attorney General as being incompetent and politicizing the Justice Department, and then give him authority to "review" this unconstitutional monitoring of communications of citizens.
If you believe in the Constitution and balance of powers, it's time to face reality and take the gloves off. There may not be too much time left to preserve what the Founding Fathers creted.
I believe totally in this well-managed and timely war on TERROR and am convinced that our leaders have protected us from all evil that may have befallen us. They should be allowed to do anything they deem necessary with anyone to ensure our liberty and democracy including rendition, aggressive questioning, property and asset seizure. Medals should be liberally handed out to any who participate in the glorious efforts to save the HOMELAND!!
Are you reading these patriotic thoughts from your humble subject, President and Vice President for all time, Bush and Cheny?
Bill from Saginaw. Exactly right.