Republican Senators Divided Over US Surveillance Program

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Republican Senators Disagree on US Surveillance Program

By VOA News
20 August 2006

A senator from President Bush's Republican Party says the president overstepped his authority by ordering an anti-terrorist program to monitor international phone calls without court orders.

Senator Chuck Hagel from the state of Nebraska was asked about the eavesdropping program on Fox television Sunday, after a U.S. court declared the program was unconstitutional.

Another Republican senator, John McCain, defended the plan, saying there is no one who believes the government should not have the authority to perform such wiretapping.

Speaking to NBC television, McCain stressed the need for surveillance operations, following the recent discovery of a plot in Britain to bomb flights to the United States.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-08-20-voa22.cfm

[Nite Owl]

1. No one is saying the government

doesn't have the right to have surveillance programs. Just get the damned warrant first! There are provisions for emergencies in the law too, they just need to report it in 72hrs. Me thinks they don't want to be saying who they are spying upon is all. McCain could be just as bad as * if he gets in.

[elehhhhna]

5. NO KIDDING. WTF do people think "Unwarranted" MEANS?

[infogirl]

2. yep and remember...

you are dealing with someone who was kept a prisoner for 7 years! That has to have an effect on you....

[WinkyDink]

3. What? He wants to make us all prisoners? McCain is an equivocator,

as bad as Cheney.

[wryter2000]

4. The British example proves exactly the opposite, McCain

It proves you can detect and thwart terrorists while operating within the law. Damn, but I hate these liars.

[rodeodance]

6. Mccain, like many repugs forget the phase 'warrentless' !!

Speaking to NBC television, McCain stressed the need for surveillance operations, following the recent discovery of a plot in Britain to bomb flights to the United States.

[koopie57]

7. I would like to see someone ask McCain

if he considered they might be spying on him too? After all, no one knows who they are keeping tabs on.

[bigtree]

8. AP fleshes out Hagel

Aug 20, 11:46 AM EDT
Sen. Hagel Says GOP Has Lost Its Way

By WILL LESTER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- snip

Hagel, a possible presidential candidate in 2008, said Sunday that the GOP today is very different party from the one when he first voted Republican.

"First time I voted was in 1968 on top of a tank in the Mekong Delta," said Hagel, a Vietnam veteran. "I voted a straight Republican ticket. The reason I did is because I believe in the Republican philosophy of governance. It's not what it used to be. I don't think it's the same today."

Hagel asked: "Where is the fiscal responsibility of the party I joined in '68? Where is the international engagement of the party I joined - fair, free trade, individual responsibility, not building a bigger government, but building a smaller government?"

"I think we've lost our way," Hagel said. "And I think the Republicans are going to be in some jeopardy for that and will be held accountable."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HAGEL_REPUBLICAN...

[Hubert Flottz]

9. To cowardly to defend the Constitution like they swore to do...

Afraid of their MASTER Karl.