Blue America PAC against FISA Retroactive Immunity: Targeting Bush Dogs
By John Amato Monday Mar 10, 2008 3:00pm
Donate if you can to our new FISA page. The Blue Dogs for retroactive Immunity are stomping their feet and writing letters to Nancy Pelosi:
In a January letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, 21 Blue Dog Coalition members made it known they supported granting immunity to the telecoms, and urged Pelosi to move quickly to pass the Senate version of the bill. (The 21 members who signed the letter are listed below.)
Members of the Blue Dog Coalition were integral in the passage of the highly controversial Protect America Act (PAA), a Republican-backed bill that greatly expanded spy powers in August 2007. The PAA was allowed to expire in February in the face of stark warnings from the Bush administration.
Rep. Boehner is threatening to shut down the HOUSE at this moment over the bill because these crybabies aren't getting their way. From the comments: John Boehner and the Repubs have just brought a 4th motion to adjourn on the House floor, in yet another tantrum to “shut down the house” until their FISA BS is voted on.
These are the same House members who do this again and again when it comes to any legislation that isn't horribly corporatist and regressive. They hold the Democratic party hostage, and can effectively passing legislation most any time they want to join with the Republicans to do so...
Glenn Greenwald writes: Targeting Bad Democrats
The only real prospect for changing any of that is to attach a political price, some form of meaningful punishment, when they do things such as vote to abolish habeas corpus or to vest new warrantless eavesdropping powers in the President or to grant amnesty to telecoms. That needs to be done even if it means weakening the bad Democrat in question. Last October, when six House Democrats announced that they would vote to sustain Bush's veto of SCHIP legislation, a group of blogs -- including FDL and C&L -- raised funds to run negative robocalls in the districts of all six, and five of the six ended up switching their position.
Howie has a great quote form John Hall (D-NY), twice endorsed by Blue America on FISA. And we were successful in our efforts on SCHIP. Here's what we did..... Jane set up a poll and the top two Bush Dogs picked will be the targets of our newest push against them so go and vote. We need your help in fighting back so please give what you can to our Blue America PAC against FISA page
We've had great success fighting against these Bush Dogs and will not back down now...
Howie sez: These 6 have been consistent Bush Regime rubber stamps across the board and each signed a letter to Nancy Pelosi supporting retroactive immunity.
John Barrow (GA)
Chris Carney (PA)
Leonard Boswell (IA)
Brad Ellsworth (IN)
Zack Space (OH)
Heath Shuler (NC)
Help stop the madness...
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Okay back to business. As unusual.
O.T. Admiral Fallon resigns. Who didn't know that was going to happen.
Ron @ 2:
The numb and dumb most likely.
Blue America PAC against FISA Retroactivce Immunity: Targeting Bush Dogs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPI1nAqkpLQ&feature=related
and yet another reason why -
C&L Wins the 2008 Bloggie - Best Political Blog Award
CONGRATULATIONS!
Lose enough Democrats in the house and it will become as gridlocked as the Senate.
Don't kid yourself.
There are districts were a Blue Dog is as good as we're going to get.
katy @ 5:
Thanks
I read Boehner's name and then crybaby, and i figured he was letting loose again... :)
L.A. Confidential @ 7:
LOL how bout a best "crew" category?
Getting rid of the DINOs is a GOOD THING
I think Pelosi has been assimilated by the Bush Borg.
Admiral William Fallon, head of US Central Command, is stepping down effective March 31.
What's next? Why now bush can go ahead with his plans to invade Iran and further harm the real war on Terror in Afghanistan. We all knew that bush would get rid of Fallon because he was a voice of reason in an otherwise completely inept administration. So now it's completely Inept.
It's time to make noise people, time to get off the couch turn off the Reality show and get into the real reality.
I'm going for Carney. He voted against voting rights for DC.
CD @ 6:
Blue America is responsible for eliminating Carville/Emmanuel Democrat in the primaries. Replacing a DINO with a progressive is the plan and it's working. People are learning not to vote against their own interests.Thanks for your concern.
I can spare $10. Anyone care to match?
No to retroactive immunity! The scoundrels.
This is Olbermann interviewing Mark Klein the whistleblower who exposes the lie Bush still repeats, that the eavesdropping was legal.
From Jan 12 '08. It has been posted by others.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GspsG3Jd5co
Boner crying again?? This clown needs to be voted out of office.
I also have a great quote from John Hall. (Although this was probably actually written by his former wife Johanna):
There's a man in a white house selling everyone a used
car
And he plays with his prophets, dreams that he's a football
star
But the dreams rain down fire on the little plastic men
And if you think it doesn't hurt you, you had better
think again
Every breath has its meaning
You're blowing out and I'm breathing in
So take care what you do
Cause it all comes back again
♣Bangkok Bob♣ @ 12:
They won't until it occurs to them that the reason we are trying conquer the Middle East is so we can take on the Russians, and target China.
If even then.
Ryan @ 15:
Thanks for the leg-up, I just joined you.
CAN THE BLUE DOGS GET NANCY TO STOP THIS? I'D FEEL A WHOL LOT BETTER IF THEY COULD!
Top Middle East military commander resigns
Adm. Fallon had run Central Command, called ‘difficult to replace’
updated 20 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Adm. William Fallon is stepping down as head of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees military matters in the Middle East, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Tuesday.
Gates said that Adm. William J. Fallon had asked for permission to retire and that Gates agreed. Gates said the decision, effective March 31, was entirely Fallon’s and that Gates believed it was “the right thing to do.”
Fallon was the subject of an article published last week in Esquire magazine that portrayed him as opposed to President Bush’s Iran policy. It described Fallon as a lone voice against taking military action to stop the Iranian nuclear program.
♣Bangkok Bob♣ @ 20:
Ten bucks... that will get me TO work.
22 EliteLemming
Do dogs ever thank each other for giving each other a leg up?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFMqV2FfPNk
ysbaddaden @ 23:
That link better be STATE SANCTIONED torture.
CoIntelPro - against Repug Moles in the Democratic Party @ 21:
I guess that means I'm gonna need more duct tape . .
CoIntelPro - against Repug Moles in the Democratic Party @ 14:
So according to you we should nominate people (other than the Democratic incumbent)who are liberal in districts that are outright conservative and expect the people to elect a liberal even though they're conservative?
House Steers Its Own Path on Wiretaps By ERIC LICHTBLAU
House Democratic leaders are readying a proposal that would reject giving legal protection to the phone companies that helped in a wiretapping program.
CD @ 6:
which then begs the question, what is a democrat?
if it is simply having a "D" next to the name then this strategy might work. but if there is any sense of ideology or party platform behind that "D" then one must question those that call themselves dems but continue to run cover for undemocratic ideals (as in the democratic party).
and, i guess i would rather have honest gridlock then a bunch of blue dogs capitulating to GOP pressure, over and over again. i would rather see a true filibuster, a walkout, anything, if it meant standing up for civil rights, legal rights, human rights, environmental rights. but, as glenn greenwald astutely points out, the blue dogs have not stood up for our rights the way i would hope the democratic party would demand they did.
♣Bangkok Bob♣ @ 20:
Same here.
Samson- @ 28:
Thing is that with conservative Democrats party leaders can twist their arm if the vote is important enough.
Remember we got even Ben Nelson to vote for the redeployment bill.
CD @ 6:
Then let it go to the GOP. Many will not. In any case Democratic gains in the House are assured this fall and will give the Democrats a Functional majority for the first time in quite awhile.
CD @ 26:
Usually, to perform the vulcan mind meld, you need to attach three fingers to my head. since that is not possible, I wonder how you gleaned what you presumed are my thoughts.
BTW, 23 repugs are NOT running for re-election, Denny Hastert's seat just went to a Democratic candidate after the repugs spent over $1,000,000. So I think that there are quite a few repug seats on the market and the fact that the repug trolls in Dem disguise were elected as Democratic candidates, they have a great chance of getting blown out by Blue america candidates. Since that has been happening, I'd say the idea of replacing fake Democrats with real Democrats is more than a strong possibility.
How many photo ops do you expect busch to participate in? would you pose with him?
Richard @ 31:
You'd be ok with losing control of the house?
CoIntelPro - against Repug Moles in the Democratic Party @ 32:
Don't assume that we'll be able to take all 23.
I got the email on this story too. Great idea whose time has come and come and come again. We need to jettison ALL these kinds of "democrats". I am just upset that this effort is narrowed to a half a dozen jerks.. from the South of course.
CoIntelPro - against Repug Moles in the Democratic Party @ 32:
FYI and a wish for your thoughts... Scarburough said on "Real Time" that we would win more than 60 seats in the senate this year. Your thoughts?
I can't read any of those signatures on the letter in January (I can't make out their handwriting). Was Bill Nelson of Florida on there? Or Vern Buchanan? They both voted for retroactive immunity in February if memory serves me correctly.
I just got quoted on the C&L front page for the first time :)
Time to go back to my real name: Ryan Hussein. Yippee!
Yea, I got an email from those folks and I have yet to respond...Mainly because when I checked they didn't have DiFi's name included... I may yet support this move as it apparently has some chance to change the nature of this issue.. But I am greatly disappointed that Feinstein isn't among those to be targeted... She may not be as obvious a target as those self proclaimed bluedogs, but make no mistake.. She has, in her own unique way, become another shill for George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.... And she fully deserves to have her ass called on the carpet too! JD
Bad idea letting courts decide whether a phone company can be sued with all the appointments that bush has made, the entire justice system has been perverted.
Didn't Democrats just recently replace some Democrats who were Democrats in name only but cowered in front of Bush?
EliteLemming @ 24:
Here's another link for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm3CtlvMA90
CD @ 6:
<blockquoteThere are districts were a Blue Dog is as good as we're going to get.
That isn't true. Better Democrats can get elected any where one of these Blue Dogs is getting in. The hard part is finding them.
Blue Dogs aren't just dark red spots on a U.S. map. There's a Blue Dog next to my district, Jane Harmon, and she is just as much of a Dog as the ones in Alabama. We nearly removed her in 2004, but the candidate who tried (Marci Winograd) is unwilling to run because of outstanding debts from the previous run.
The point in mentioning Marci is that what it takes to defeat Blue Dogs is CASH. It's not true that we can't get better Dems in those districts -- we can -- but it is expensive, and takes public pocketbook support.
EliteLemming @ 36:
My real favorites are Kucinich and Edwards in that order. That said, this year's grass roots efforts and small donations have been overwhelming the election process and that is good. I cannot predict anything, but Donna Edwards gives me optimism, both as an event and a trend.
CD @ 6:
Bullshit! The economics in this country are deteriorating so quickly, many former repuke districts (like Haterts) are going to dump their Bush-licking nazi's this fall.
After the 2010 census undoes the GOP gerrymandering from 2000, the repukes will be a 270-165 minority in the House; just like they were before 1994.
CD @ 34:
you gotta stop thinking that I'm thinking what you're thinking I'm thinking.
this just in:
BuzzFlash Breaking: Geraldine Ferraro Played the Race Card on the FOX Fascist John Gibson Radio Program Awhile Back, Before Her Latest Race Card Statement Against Obama.
Listen to the end of the interview for the bombshell. Why is Ferraro Still on Hillary Clinton's Campaign Finance Committee? Because Playing the Race Card Has Been a Message Point in the Clinton Campaign Since Iowa. Gibson refers to Ferraro as "My Pal."
jack damage @ 39:
Feinstain is in until 2012. She is not vulnerable.
However, the mistake you're making is that Blue Dogs are only in the House, and the Senate DINOs are a different kettle of worms.
NoGWBpolicyleftinplace @ 44:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives_elec...
IgnoranceIsNotBliss @ 37:
Nelson of Florida is a Senator. Buchanan is not a Blue Dog, but is certainly up for elimination this November and if you are in the district, you ought to fight like hell!
CoIntelPro - against Repug Moles in the Democratic Party @ 45:
I place question marks at the end of sentences for a reason.
CD @ 33:
There is no chance of that. We will pick up FORTY SEATS at least this Fall.
There are 48 Blue Dogs. Not all are as corrupt as the others. The issue here is pressure, not necessarily removal.
ronhohn @ 40:
donna edwards heads the list. kucinich survived a coup attempt by rahm emmanuel. the reall growth in progressives won't be tallied until the election.
Paul in LA @ 51:
Pressureing them is something I can back.
CD @ 50:
to be fair, your questions seemed pointed.
L.A. Confidential @ 11:
Ridiculous. Many Blue Dogs are bionic in that sense, and the DLC itself does catering for some of their raiding parties, but the Progressives are NOT the problem, even if they aren't enough to be the solution in itself.
burp. . . america has been finally consumed by greed and corruption and pure evil. . .
My congressman is a notorious "blue dog" and I have written to him at least twice about FISA. It was very nice to see that his name wasn't on the list of those pushing for retroactive immunity. I don't know if my emails had anything to do with it but I like to hope they swayed him toward doing the right thing.
Now I have to determine whether I'll vote for him again or not. He had lost me.
Firedoglake is sending emails so you can vote for the persons to be targeted. And for a contribution. I donated also.
But what is really getting to me is the gas prices. HAS ANYBODY HEARD A PEEP out of any member of congress about these prices allowed to go up and up and up. A friend of ours had a brother who just got back from Iraq and the cost of gasoline there in most places......05 a gallon.
Why in the hell is our congress allowing the gas companies to gouge us like this. I believe in free enterprise, but I think it is about the government takes over the oil companies. And they also need a watchdog committee so there is no gouging. They can give the oil companies a reasonable percentage of the proceeds, but nothing like the billions and billions they are squeezing out of the American Citizens.
Instead of getting rid of JUST THE BLUE DOGS, I think we should concentrate on getting rid of every single solitary one of the members of congress one by one.
Marge @ 58:
Going backwards is not progress.
Check the cost of petrol in Europe some time.
Concentrate on removing Republicans, who are the reason why the Congress has not confronted the oil companies.
CD @ 48:
The economy is going to change many a repuke seat this year. I work in what was and still is a very wealthy, mostly-white area. In 2004, the democrats didn't even field candidates. The people openly laughed at "libruls". They ain't laughing anymore.
Bush is as popular as a root canal, and I now hear people talking everywhere about voting for Obama, or even Clinton.
Item 2:
The repukes also held onto 25 house seats in 06', by winning with fewer than 3,000 votes; and most of these were gerrymandered beyond belief. In Michigan, the repukes won 9 out of 15 House seats with 42.7% of the popular vote! Some of these repuke districts don't even continually connect fron one end to the other. After the next census, the Democrats will pick up 3-4 House seats alone in Michigan. If not before then.
I'll contribute to replacing Republicans but not Democrats.
NoGWBpolicyleftinplace @ 60:
"The economy is going to change many a repuke seat this year."
yeah right most of them will listen to Rush and he'll tell them that the economy was fine to Democrats took over Congress.
some of these are talk radio dogs- strongly intimidated by the GOP talk radio empire that runs their local politics- they have adapted to it.
when progressives begin waving signs and boycotting relative to their local talk radio stations these fools may get the message.
This is an excellent review of the Speaker's strategy in the FISA fight:
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/03/house_surveillance_bil...
from the above link:
CD @ 33, usually having a functional majority means the opposite of losing control.
Terrible @ 66:
No control can be gained by losing control of the house.
.
R E M E M B E R
THEY(sic) HATE US FOR OUR FREEDOMS...
And so THEY(sic) lobby and debate the merits to undermining and removing those very freedoms.
One of the defining characteristics to what it means to be an American is the FREEDOM to be SECURE from a form of Government that seeks to spy on it's citizenry:
THE FREEDOM FROM TYRANNY. Thus the Fourth Amendment.
WHAT DOES CONGRESS SUPPORT AND DEFEND IF NOT THE CONSTITUTION OF THE U.S.A.?
Who wins when the Commander in Chief, aided by Congress, surrender those freedoms?
.
.
Congressman John Conyers needs our help!
I know we're frustrated with the seemingly ineptitude of Congress, however We, the People MUST MOBILIZE and create the force necessary to change current stream of events.
WORDS MATTER!
WORDS ARE STILL LEGAL!
SPEAK NOW...
OR FOREVER BE SURVEILED.
.
Max-Hussein-1, take heart:
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/03/house_surveillance_bil...
The passage of the independent ethics committee today was huge. The R were furious. They tried to adjourn the Congress six or seven times.
Paul in LA @ 70:
Dear Paul,
Take heart?
The HOUSE FAILED to over ride Bush's VETO of the ANTI-TORTURE LEGISLATION.
You know what's next?
P A P E R S
P L E A S E!
.
Max-Hussein-1 @ 71:
I'm sorry Paul,
What I meant to say was that just because the House leadership drafted a proposal for a surveillance bill that contains a provision which would reject giving retroactive immunity to the telecoms does, is in no way a guarantee that it will pass the House vote and/or pass a Senate approval. Witness their abject failure at anti-torture. You think they support and defend the Constitution? THINK AGAIN! THEY(sic) HATE US FOR OUR FREEDOMS!
HOW MANY CHICKENS DO YOU COUNT IN THAT CLUTCH OF HUEVOS OF YOURS?
SILENCE IS BETRAYAL.
GET IN THE STREETS!
GET IN THE PAPERS!
GET LOUD NOW!
OR BE SHUT UP, FOREVER!
.
Max-Hussein-1 @ 72:
Who said it was? You have two choices. You can blame them for trying (suggesting, as many do, that it's a kabuki just to keep people from revolting), or you can understand that the House Dem leadership has NEVER offered immunity, doesn't intend to now, and has come up with a way of registering that intent -- whatever the eventual result.
I've made my choice, based on long analysis. But if hysteria is your game, then total disaffiliation will lead you there again and again.
Max-Hussein-1 @ 72:
Abject? TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY DEMOCRATIC VOTES, the entire caucus, and --five-- Republicans.
The only House can override a veto with five votes of the opposition is one with a 2/3 majority. We may have that by 2010, but we don't have that today.
"Abject." The entire fucking caucus votes to override, but somehow that's 'abject.' You're joking.