By:
John Amato on Friday, June 20th, 2008 at 10:20 AM - PDT
(h/t Heather)
The vote just went down. As expected, the House passed the disgraceful Steny Hoyer led capitulation bill passed 293-129 I believe…It now goes to the Senate to debate next week.
What this bill means to the Telecoms: The lawsuits they face could be dismissed by a court if the Telecoms proved that they had received directives from the administration that said warrantless wiretapping was legal. They already have that evidence so basically they have been give immunity against all lawsuits with this bill.
Please keep donating to our Blue America FISA page. We will not sit back idly…We’ve raised another 30K since last night.
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we have to take these people down this fall.
if they voted for this they are done!!
marko @ 1:
Right. Even if it means voting Repuke to get rid of bad DINO’s such as Reid, Pelosi, Hoyer and Emanuel. I’d rather have a slimmer lead in Congress then have the Dem’s who voted for Cheney/Bush immunity bill
Pelosi voted for it.
I am absolutely convinced that she is a stealth republican.
She needs to be removed from office.
Whores…I’m beginning to think that the only satisfactory option is to ‘get the hell out of this ‘effin’ country’ for keeps.
I listened to C-Span call in comments…they were 9-1 disgeusted with the Democrats and Democratic leadership.
Do these assholes in Washington WANT a god damn revolution? WTF?!?!?!
Its gotta make ya wonder - if the democrats are this willing to rollover and let Bush have this what does Bush have on them? What is going on that they are so willing to give up their seats this year?
Why don’t we just stop calling them Democrats and Republicans and rename this faction of voters the Corporate Party. God help us with Democratic leaders like Pelosi and Reid. We are doomed!!!! I like the first comment except one thing, the American voter is smart or educated enough on the issues to vote smartly. The illiteracy of the voters will continue to keep America in the hands of the spineless and now we can lawless Democrats, along with the Nazi like Republican party. America as we knew it is gone. The Constitution no longer matters. We have officially moved to a plutocracy with this vote today.
Dan-in-PA @ 5:
That is the only thing that will fix this country. Wake up! Democrats = Republicans and vice versa!
The elite control both parties. We need peaceful demonstrations. If that doesn’t work…let the revolution begin!
Where was Obama in all of this?
It appears that this allows companies like Blackwater to - under contract (implicit request by the president) - to perform espionage on US citizens.
Yet more proof that the Democrats are owned by the GOP and only do their bidding.
Pelosi and Hoyer are anti-American totalitarian fascists. Let’s look at the roll call vote, as that will clearly identify the Democrats that are controlled by the Republicans.
Bush today has the lowest approval of every president in history, why on earth would the Dem leadership do this? Because they are really Republicans.
I am going to find out how my rep voted to see if he’s a closeted Republican.
The sound of goose steps just keeps getting louder.
CruzBustamove @ 9:
This was a bill in the house. O’Bama is a senator. He will get his chance next week when the bill is considered by the senate.
I kicked in $50 through the link at Glenn’s site.
CruzBustamove @ 9:
He’s a senator.
This was a House vote.
Ask next week.
So who is opposing Hoyer, this year? If the Rethugs were smart, they’d put up a moderate with strong community roots, who could work out a good PR campaign pointing to Hoyer being in the hip pocket of the telecoms.
CruzBustamove @ 9:
He’s in the Senate not the House.
So what kind of dirt does the White House have on Steny Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi? If they weren’t guilty of something, then they would have never supported a bill that violates the 4th Amendment to the Constitution.
Is Cindy Sheehan still running in Pelosi’s district? If she is, then send her money, help her get the votes. Pelosi has to go and so does traitor Steny Hoyer. They are just as bad as the Republicans and the boy Bush and his Chimpletons.
I thought it was interesting that even the C-Span republican callers (excepting one) were outraged by this BS. I’ve been hoping this vote would finally end the media blackout, but the only blurb has been that the House passed a “bipartisan” bill with only minor dissent.
Well done, congress! You’ve sold your soul and ours!
Now I have to buy a paper tomorrow to see if my letter to the editor makes it in.
ex-post facto laws are against the constitution.
It should be argued on those grounds!
Where is Obama on all of this? As the titular head of the party, he could have, if not prevented, then at least held up the vote.
pissed off patricia @ 17:
so what was his vote yesterday?
Boo Who? @ 21:
he and his campaign are being compromised as we speak.
anon @ 13:
OBAMA is the leader of the democratic party and is running on a platform of ending the “business as usual” in washington.
this is the ultimate in ppolitical bullshit and constitution breaking we have yet to witness.
any statement he made condemning this bill would in effect PROVE he is true and believable.
“crickets”
Here is how I am going to handle this travesty:
(1) I will be at my Town Hall when they open Monday morning to change my lifelong membership in the Democratic Party to Independent;
(2) I will put all emails from Howard Dean and the Democratic Party on my blocked sender’s list;
(3) I will call Barack Obama’s office (again), this time to tell him that I am taking his yard sign to the dump and his bumper sticker off my car, and he can forget about future contributions from me;
(4) I will call Chris Dodd (202-224-2823) to find out if he is willing (as he said he was before), to fillibuster this bill into dust.
(5) I will give another $50 to the ActBlue cause each paycheck until the election.
I hope all you moaners out there will DO something instead of just whining.
Lovely, they tear up the Bill of Rights for the bleedin’ phone company!! What’s next, a curfew on behalf of the freakin’ dry cleaner? Perhaps martial law on behalf of the local grocers fershitesake?? Welcome to George and Nancy’s Cash and Carry Government. Well, this is incentive for me to get off my butt and get a passport. It’s not noon in AZ yet; too early to start drinking….
marko @ 24:
NANCY PELOSI could have stopped this bill dead in its tracks. She didn’t need Obama.
If you want to bitch, I suggest you get on the phone and ream HER out.
People fought and died for the Constitution including the 4th Amendment. What is the price for someone like Hoyer who would spit on the graves of those who fought for the Constitution?
Speaking of Obama, you may not like this.
Sorry, I KNOW he’s a senator! But his silence on the issue has been deafening. And as the de facto head of the Democratic Party, doesn’t he have any influence over the so-called house “leadership”???
Where was Obama in all of this?
He’s in the Senate not the House.
Yeah, but if he’d come out strongly against this bill, delineating the myriad reasons it’s just wrong, he might have prevented its even coming before the Senate, stopping it in its tracks. His actions could have precipitated the public outrage necessary, instead of leaving it to the talking heads to ignore or misrepresent what was truly happening.
Gotugye @ 28:
a few thousand and a free lunch.
Time for everyone to pitch in and give to Cindy Sheehans campaign. She is challenging bend over for Bush Pelozi. I will not give the Democratic party one more dime, but I will send people like Cindy who are challenging the rubber stamp Democrats to get them out of office. You all know who they are.
can someone explain to me why we are angry only at holy joe??
before our eyes, the dems in congress, who campaigned against this very bill….all became repugs
these people make me sick
I want to make a vocal type greeting card to send to Whoryer & Peloosi that looks all nice and pretty on the outside but when you open it, it says FUCK YOU TOO!
BaScOmBe against Bitter Elitist Appeasement Bullshit @ 29:
Solid record of “not voting”.
When do you realize that this is a pattern?
The Democratic party first puts on a good show to impress its left wing base, and then quietly votes against it.
They have done this for years with war funding bills and now they are doing it with telephone company immunity.
They are TELLING you that they are willing to present a very public dog and pony show to get your support, but in truth they don’t buy into what you want any more than Republicans do.
Why do they do this? Is it out of fear that defunding a war in progress, or making it hard for telephone companies to help in surveilling terrorist suspects, will lose them so many votes that they can’t afford to follow through? Quite possibly so. But whatever the reason, this is what they are doing.
And as long as your reaction is to spit out angry denunciations, but then grit your teeth and vote for them anyway, you can bet your bottom dollar that they’ll do it again.
Cats r Flyfishn @ 18:
No, she is a Republican, she’s always bee a Republican, her voting record bears that out. The GOP has no need to blackmail the Dem leadership, as they’ve been solidly Republicans since they refused to hold Acting-President Reagan accountable for his many war crimes.
oh, and i warned all of you about pelossi
i knew that when the dems got power, she should not have gotten the speaker’s position
she is weak, and should be home reading to her grandkids…not on the house floor
BaScOmBe against Bitter Elitist Appeasement Bullshit @ 20:
Ex post facto prohibition means not prosecuting a person for an act committed before it was made illegal.
Here we have the reverse. The criminals have rewritten the law to make the crimes they committed non-crimes.
It is entirely against the public interest.
The criminals dream has come true.
OK so could someone please link or list the yea’s and ney’s on who abd how they voted
Total capitulation!!!! AAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!! $#@&^*&^(! and f(*()#*_)_)(@@@@@ 4#@!(I*($#@! *($)#_*(*)_@!(*(#*@!()_
BaScOmBe against Bitter Elitist Appeasement Bullshit @ 29:
Yes, yes, anyone that’s been paying attention knows that both Clinton and Obama are also closeted Republicans, as is one of my senators, Leahy. He ALWAYS votes with for GOP for the votes that count, like cloture, but does vote with the Dems ONLY when he knows they will lose it.
Obama is a Republican. There are NO Democrats running for President in 2008.
Ken @ 41:
YES! I want to know if the monkeys from Arkansas voted for this (I’m guessing they did).
Ken @ 41:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll437.xml
harley @ 36:
solid record of campaigning
karl @ 46:
Endless campaign - hmm where did I hear that before?
“Not voting” = no real position.
Progressive members of the Democratic Party repeatedly play Charlie Brown to the party leadership’s Lucy, in the old “I’ll hold the football while you kick it” game.
Ok, obviously the Dems could give two shits about us and the Republicans are as crooked as they come.
So, Ron Paul just got my vote. Sorry Democrats, you just fucked up real bad you spineless mother fuckers. And if that splits the Democrat vote and gives McCain the election… So be it. At least the country will go down the toilet faster. But I will not freaking continue to reward COWARDLY TRAITORS like the freaking Democrats. Sorry Obama, your party just fucked you over.
Even Dutch Ruppersberger, my own Rep voted for this pile of crap. In fact the only Maryland representative that didn’t vote for it, was the fucking Republican! Roscoe Bartlett!
The only hope on this now is to petition the Supreme Court, which you can only do if you can prove you’ve been wiretapped, which you can’t since it’s all classified. Given the margin by which they decided on whether or not people have habeas corpus rights in this country, they’re unlikely to do anything at all.
GAAA! I’m so fucking furious right now I could spit!
I’ve always been Independent; and I’ve only voted for the Dems when I thought they could keep Bush at bay; but it seems that it’s not really Bush who’s the problem; and I knew that in 2000; thus I have even less of a reason to feel guilty about picking Nader over either one of them.
Where can someone check to see if they Congressman supported this treachery?
harley @ 36: