FRIST THREATENS REID In Friday Letter: If I Cant Win, I'll Cheat...

[kpete]

Bill Frist has decided if they can't win on the merits, then he'll cheat. Frist threatened Harry Reid, in a letter delivered late on Friday, that he would change the composition of the Intel Committee unless they rubber stamped the Bush Administration's repeated illegal activity.

Guess Frist was hoping reporters would miss his smarmy threat of cheating if he dumped it in the late Friday news cycle...too bad for him, Glenn Greenwald caught it.

Frist specifically threatened that if the Committee holds NSA hearings, he will fundamentally change the 30-year-old structure and operation of the Senate Intelligence Committee so as to make it like every other Committee, i.e., controlled and dominated by Republicans to advance and rubber-stamp the White House’s agenda rather than exercise meaningful and nonpartisan oversight.

Yet again, Republicans are threatening to radically change long-standing rules for how our government operates all because they cannot manipulate the result they want. From redistricting games to changing the filibuster rules, when Republicans are incapable (even with their majorities) of manipulating the political result they want, they use their majority status to change how our government works in order to ensure the desired political outcome.

While Frist’s threat here is, in one sense, of a piece with those tactics, it is actually quite extraordinary and motivated by a particularly corrupt objective. The whole purpose of the Senate Intelligence Committee – the only reason why it exists – is to exercise oversight over controversial intelligence activities. Whatever else one might want to say about the NSA warrantless eavesdropping program, it is controversial on every front. There is no conceivable rationale for the Intelligence Committee not to hold hearings.

This truly is an unprecedented move: the Senate Majority Leader is threatening to make the Intelligence Committee a political rubber stamp because the White House and the Republican leadership are so terrified that the President's actions won't withstand scrutiny and will be found illegal by the Committee.

http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/03/bill-frist-t...
http://firedoglake.blogspot.com/2006_02_26_firedoglake_...

edit to include Frist's letter:
http://frist.senate.gov/_files/030306.pdf

[Horse with no Name]

1. Why bother?

I mean, if the Repugs try hard enough, they can just transfer all their power directly to the White House and then stay home.
They won't even have to show up.

[rucky]

6. Most Americans still think we live in a Democracy.

that's why they keep up the facade.

[tom_paine]

37. Din ding ding! We have a winner!

BushPutinism draws heavily from the Ancient Romans, who's core mythos was ALSO "we are Free People who will NEVER bow down again to Kings".

Which is why the Caesers also retained the useless, nearly pointless and slavish Imperial Senate...to maintain the illusion of freedom and elections for Imperial Subjects.

It is no coincidence that a similar condition exizsts today in Imperial Amerika.

[renate]

47. I wouldn't have known to put it as intelligently as this

But I'm sure the reason that this administration is allowed to get away with wiretapping, etc, is that the populace have been inculcated since childhood with the idea that America is the ultimate democracy.

And since there are still the illusions of elections and three independent branches of government, everything's still okay.

[PurpleChez]

62. "the idea that America is the ultimate democracy" True, BUT...

I agree, but I'd add that, in addition to having been "inculcated since childhood with the idea that America is the ultimate democracy," the RW has also been teaching their own that Too Much Democracy might actually be a BAD thing, that the Bill of Rights goes too far, that it's OK for government to rein in things that other people do that make us uncomfortable. A lot of people like being told what to do.

[beltanefauve]

81. You got that right, Purple Chez!

And if our President and our elected officials lie to us or cover-up or wiretap, its because its for our own good! Because after all, to be President or a Senator, you have to really care about people and about our country!

[WinkyDink]

69. Bacause we ARE free.....to BUY STUFF! And that's what COUNTS, right?

Bidness, McMansions, SUV's, gotta love it!

[Peggy Day]

59. They might as well hold picnics in the Senate

That's what I said about Alito, but it hold true for this situation as well. They are giving up their powers and are being cheated out of the rest.

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. You know the words I'm waiting to hear:

"Okay, all of your who were appointed by Republicans, turn in your resignations."

[PurpleChez]

65. I've been meaning to post this as a thread, but it fits here:

1. Assume that the coming election is fair and transparent.

2. Assume further that voter discontent translates into Democracts retaking Congress.

3. Assume one last time that the new Dem leadership begins aggressive investigations into Chimpy's crimes and uncovers incontrovertible proof that our recent national elections have been fraudulent and that responsibility runs right to the top of the Chimp Regime.

SO...if it is demonstrated that Chimpy was never legitimately elected would there thus be legal grounds to invalidate his appointments, executive orders, etc.? Or would it need to be more involved? (Rule of Law and Due Process -- imagine that!)

>>>Fellow DU'ers: I acknowledge that this is a HYPOTHETIAL discussion and involves scenarios that might not ever come to pass in real life. Please don't respond simply to say that this is not going to happen. I already know that. But I'd love to know what you think would happen if it DID.

[Laelth]

70. PurpleChez

As far as I know, this issue has never been decided by the courts. There's no precedent to guide the Court on this issue. The Supreme Court would have to make a decision. What do you think their answer will be?

I appreciate your train of thought, but I think it unlikely that the Court would invalidate any of *'s judicial appointments. The new executive would be free, however, to invalidate any of *'s executive orders.

-Laelth

[PurpleChez]

72. Good to hear from you! I assume from your avatar that you are another

liberal in red, red, Georgia. Lonely, sometimes, isn't it?

I actually don't have a sure opinion on the issue. Judicial appointments was the obvious "most important" issue, but I've also thought about it in a broader sense -- if the president himself is proven to be "illegitimate" to what extent do his official actions as president also become illegitimate and, therefore, perhaps null and void?

[Laelth]

73. I have the county-by-county vote map ...

... as my avatar to demonstrate that there are, indeed, some blue areas in GA, and that we're not all wingnuts.

As for your broader issue, I think the Courts will seek to legitimate, rather than de-legitimate, everything that * has done. I would be very surprised to see our current SCOTUS take an activist approach to overturning official acts of the executive branch, even if the current mis-administration were deemed illegitimate.

But that's just my take on it. I remain open to other possibilities.

-Laelth

[KnaveRupe]

76. Chimpy WAS legitimately elected, though.

Presidents are elected by the Electoral College. Whatever bogus situation occurred on election day in 2000 and 2004, the fact remains that the EC DID elect *, and the Senate DID certify the election. The popular vote is kind of superfluous... in theory, the electors for one candidate could vote for the other candidate when push comes to shove if they wanted to. There exists no mechanism for overturning the results of that process. The only recourse is impeachment for High Crimes and Misdemeanors. It could be argued that rigging an election qualifies as that; but it wouldn't invalidate the fact that Chimpy was duly elected by the EC and certified by the Senate.

At any rate, Chimpy's election was LEGALLY legit; therefore, chimpy's appointments COULDN'T be legally determined to be invalid.

At least I'm pretty sure that's how it works, but I could be wrong. I'm not an expert - just someone who tries to keep up on this stuff.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

77. Unless there's some new...

...Supreme Court ruling I'm not familiar with, stolen elections are still not legal or legitimate. The FBI and our judicial system's failure to act and investigate this matter thoroughly has not prevented others from doing so and the evidence for election theft is more than compelling.

When a pickpocket thief steals a wallet and keeps its money contents, it seems by your logic, he/she's come into this money legitimately, even in the face of evidence of the theft, so long as no court or law enforcement agency takes action to bring this thief to justice. This thinking turns logic on its head. The individual came into the money by THEFT, the same way Bush came into the presidency, not legal or legitimate, and is a criminal at large until brought to justice, just as Bush is.


edited to add:

I would acknowledge that, while evidence of election theft is more than compelling, Bush himself has not been successfully linked to it in any way other than being the chief benefactor. I will not withdraw my statement that he is a criminal at large, however, because he is a war criminal and the case for this is not just compelling, but airtight.

In applying my analogy to the question raised in post #65, and this is not a legal opinion since I have no legal background, Bush's appointments don't stand any more than the theif gets to keep the money contents of the stolen wallet if caught and convicted.

[PurpleChez]

80. I didn't think of that. But election fraud would have swung the

electoral collage just as it did the popular vote. If the thugs hadn't effed around in Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004 the electoral collage might have produced dramatically different results than what we've been stuck with. I don't actually expect any of this to actually come up as a real-world issue, even if Dems win in november, but I'm interested in what others have had to say about it. Thanks for the comment.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

82. Unfortunately, he was sworn in as Pres.

It's going to take several years to undo what he has done.

[Minnesota Libra]

3. So do we allow our liberal representatives to blow in the wind OR......

....do we get behind them and inundate Frist and others with emails to the point that we crash their email server?? That way we can't be ignored any longer.

[dogday]

7. I am amazed you would even call them liberal

[Minnesota Libra]

20. DUH, They oppose neocons - good enough for me nt

[dogday]

22. Not all Democrats are Liberal Duh!!!

Not all Liberals are Democrats Duh!

[Minnesota Libra]

23. We found that out in 2000 and look what it got us. nt

[dogday]

25. Was that when the repugs started calling all Democrats

Liberals? This is the spin from the right, all Democrats are now labeled Liberal and the Liberal is a dirty word...

[Minnesota Libra]

26. No that's when we .....

.....suffered a split vote left of the middle and ended up with the neocons.

[happydreams]

35. You are absolutely correct dogday. nt

[Wrinkle_In_Time]

24. Threatening the U.S. Govt with a Denial of Service attack...

... is probably not wise. Although if you tried it, your last sentence -- "That way we can't be ignored any longer" -- would certainly come true.

[bumblebee1]

32. Wasn't shutting down the govt used in 1994? n/t

[im10ashus]

4. Sometimes I wish I could just go to sleep.

And somebody will wake me when it's over. But I am a fighter and know better. I hope he's voted out of office in November. Anybody seen the latest polls??

[ramapodem]

18. Frist is not running for reelection

Harold Ford Jr, a democratic congressmen is down 2-4 pts against 2 different possible republicans. So with luck we can pick up the seat.

[Higans]

45. POLLS DON'T MATTER WHEN DIE BOLD COUNTS THE VOTE!

[bluerum]

5. What are they afraid of? This reminds me of the old saying - why

does a dog lick itself?

"Whatever else one might want to say about the NSA warrantless eavesdropping program, it is controversial on every front. There is no conceivable rationale for the Intelligence Committee not to hold hearings."

What are they trying to hide? It seems like they are trying to consolidate even more power simply to provide absolute and complete control and cover for the supreme executive.

[BuyingThyme]

14. They're trying to hide the fact that Bush used the NSA to monitor

political and military activity before September 11, 2001.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[leftchick]

27. I don't know How I missed that thread

Good lord we are so fucked.

[xchrom]

8. what can you expect from an animal torturer?

[Independent_Liberal]

9. Oh, that little bastard!

Impeach the Cat Torturer! He's out of control!

Byrd, get on the floor of the Senate right now and tell him this is a democracy, not a dictatorship.

[salin]

10. So to protect the president

Frist is threatening action that would facilitate the taking down of his own party in Congress - by assuring lack of resistance to all *unpopular* things per bushco. Seems to me that in the past two weeks Frist must have abandoned his own hopes of winning the presidency - as he is strong arming in the interests of the president, on issues that are likely to hurt his own folks (congressional gop) in their reelections... and doing this at a time when the ONE issue that the GOP was perceived by the public to be stronger than dems on has reversed so that the dems are beginning to look stronger on nat'l security than the dems... pure foolhardiness.

Perhaps Rove is promising that he will work for Frist as bushco heir apparant and thus he *Frist* is now willing to help takedown the party in his own pursuit? But it would seem to me that even Rove won't be able to make Frist look good - as the public has turned against Rove's current project. Foolish, foolish Frist.

[liberal N proud]

11. All congress is doing is giving the illusion that America is a democracy

They do nothing to check or balance the policies set forth by the bu$h regime.
We do live in a totalitarian ruled country.

[Dr.Phool]

12. I got out of bed this morning

And with my coffee, I re-watched Al Gore's speech that I had Tivo'ed. The one he made recently at Constitution Hall. My wife hadn't seen it yet. She was sitting there with tears coming down her cheeks, thinking what might have been.

An intelligent, articulate leader vs.this stumbling, bumbling little fascist who stole the election.

[Fridays Child]

13. This is an unbelievaable outrage. We need to demand that...

...Harry Reid do everything he can to blanket the airwaves with Frist's letter. I'm writing to Reid immediately.

[OregonBlue]

15. Has this been sent to EVERY major news media. How about those dems on the

talk shows tomorrow. Shouldn't they all be holding up a copy of the letter and be screaming. OH, I FORGOT, they don't have the guts for that.

[Sydnie]

16. why am I still amazed at their hubris?

[jasop]

17. Is there any power left that can be used against the Bush Regime?

I am wondering if there is an avenue that they haven't blocked. It seems they have taken over all branches of government including federal courts and the supreme court. So I am seriously wondering IS there ANYTHING that can be done?

[Maraya1969]

48. I am thinking a fucking coup but I don't know who would do it.

And there are so many that are clueless in this country they would say:

Other than that I have no fucking idea.

[Lasher]

51. Yes. Help elect Democrats to Congress this year

If we get a majority in either the House or Senate, the game's over for the Bush cartel.

[in_cog_ni_to]

64. 2 words.

evoting machines.

[Lasher]

75. I know this is something we have to contend with

But I'm not going to give up on account of it. The more votes we can get out for Democrats, the harder it is to cover up election fixes by the puke cartel.

I'm going to do what I can to help get the votes for Democrats. It's all I can do, so I will do that.

Lasher

[MelissaB]

19. Nominating from the great state of Tennessee in the Opryland hotel.

Hey, Frist! Up yours you slimy firball. You don't deserve this beautiful state and it's people.

[IDemo]

21. Frank Church is spinning in his grave

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Committee

[Frank Cannon]

56. Thanks for mentioning Frank Church

One of the greatest American statesmen of all time.

It's amazing that there were once Senators in this country who actually investigated and reported shocking abuses of government. But then I guess there were once Senators in this country who served the American people instead of multinational criminal cabals.

[Trevelyan]

79. Thank you for the link to Frank Church -- I have been thinking about him

recently since he and Ted Kennedy chaired the online Senate Hearings into MK-ULTRA and read about Church's outlawing torture by the CIA but a CIA book on torture was found years later in South America.


"He transferred to Stanford when he thought the cold Massachusetts winter was the cause of a pain in his lower back. The pain did not go away and the doctors soon diagnosed the problem as cancer. After removing glands in his lower abdomen, he was given only a few months to live. However, he rebounded from the illness after another doctor started X-ray treatments. This second chance led him to later reflect that "life itself is such a chancy proposition that the only way to live is by taking great chances." In 1950, Church graduated from Stanford Law School and returned to Boise to practice law.
=
Church was defeated for re-election to the Senate by conservative Republican congressman Steve Symms in 1980 by less than one percent of the vote. His defeat was blamed on the activities of the Anybody But Church Committee (which strongly supported Symms) and the announcement of Republican presidential candidate Ronald Reagan's overwhelming win in Idaho before polls closed statewide, which some believe caused many Democrats in northern Idaho to not vote. Following his 24 years in the Senate, Church practiced international law with the Washington, D.C., firm of Whitman and Ransom, specializing in Asian issues.

[pat_k]

28. Make 'em do it. Now. ***** Get Ready...To...RUMMM-BULLL! *****

Screw threats! Make them do it. Now.

Tell Frist that Democratic members of the Senate will not betray their oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Tell Frist that if he is determined to render them powerless to carry out that oath, why wait? Do it now. Show the voters what Republicans think of the Constitition the American people established for their government.

[stop the bleeding]

29. I wish the AP would pick this up - oh well wish in one hand and

shit in another and see which one fills up faster.

[slaveplanet]

30. did you read the update?

UPDATE: The ineptitude, sloth and confusion of our national journalists is sometimes so extreme that it's actually hard to believe. Here is an AP article, published by CBS News (h/t David Shaughnessy), which reports on the exchange of letters between Reid and Frist but never even mentions, let alone highlights, the only newsworthy aspect of the exchange -- that Frist threatened to re-structure the Intelligence Committee to block the NSA hearings.

Instead, the AP and CBS simply copy the claim in Frist's letter, base the headline on it, and then blindly recite it as the lede. Thus, the headline of the article is "GOP: Politics Blocking Survey of Spy Units." And the first paragraph of the article simply copies Frist's point and "reports" as follows: "Stifling partisanship is preventing the Senate Intelligence Committee from overseeing the nation's spy agencies, the Senate's Republican leadership says."

Frist's purported concern over the way in which "politics" is preventing the Committee from engaging in meaningful oversight is nothing short of hilarious. There is no oversight from the Intelligence Committee because Pat Roberts uses it to rubber-stamp everything the Administration does. And Frist is trying to block meaningful oversight by preventing NSA hearings designed to investigate the eavesdropping program -- hearings that have bipartisan support on the Committee. That's just obvious (but not mentioned in the article).

Frist's claim that he wants to block the NSA hearings in order to ensure that the Committee can engage in meaningful oversight is as Orwellian an example of up-is-downism as you will find. But you certainly wouldn't know that from the AP article or from CBS News, which "neutrally" mold the article's headline and first paragraph to fit Frist's facially deceitful claim, and then worse, never even mention the only newsworthy part of the whole episode.

[stop the bleeding]

42. excellent I did not see that - thank you n/t

[President Kerry]

60. great editorial! Everyone, please read. n/t

[Roland99]

31. Why don't they just dissolve Congress right now and get it over with?

[Joanne98]

33. Imus said Thursday morning that he has something on Frist

It's about something that happened when his wife visited Frist. He called it 'exaggerated enthusiasm". It would be nice if Imus gave his "weapon" to Frist but the greedy bastard is going to use it to get money for Autism research.

[kpete]

34. Reid's Response

http://reid.senate.gov/record2.cfm?id=252175

[Wordie]

43. Excellent. Reid laid it all out. If it goes to the full Senate, what then?

That's what Reid says he will do if the March 7 vote is delayed. It would seem to me that by taking it to the full Senate, it brings greater attention to the matter, but can Frist block even that?

[bloated.carcass]

49. Reid rocks!

I wish more of our leaders were like Reid. Give 'em hell, Harry!!!!! Criminals!!!

[Dr Ron]

36. Post at Democratic Daily

Frist Threatens Restructure of Intelligence Committee To Block NSA Wiretap Hearings
Posted by Ron Chusid
March 4th, 2006 @ 11:28 am

http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=2131

Glenn Greenwald does some excellent reporting on Bill Frist’s attempts to prevent the Senate Intelligence Committee from investigating the NSA spying. Greenwald provides historical background in explaining that, “Due to the urgency of ensuring that our country has nonpartisan and non-politicized oversight over the Government’s intelligence activities, the Intelligence Committee is structured so that — unlike every other Senate Committee — the majority is unable to dominate the Committee’s operation and agenda, and the minority has much greater powers than it does on any other Senate Committee.”

On March 3 Harry Reid released letters regarding the obstruction from the Republicans in conducting this investigation. Bill Frist responded with threats to restructure the Intelligence Committee along partisan grounds, which would make it yet another committee to rubber stamp White House misconduct. “If we are unable to reach agreement” wrote Frist, “I believe we must consider other options to improve the Committee’s oversight capabilities, to include restructuring the Committee so that it is organized and operated like most Senate Committees.”

Democrats need to take control of Congress not necessarily over ideology, but simply to provide for the essential oversight of the Executive Branch which the Republicans have failed to provide and which the founding fathers wisely attempted to guarantee. This is a goal which true conservatives, as opposed to the Bush Worshippers, should understand. Conservatives, when out of power, often warned about the power of unchecked government. Now is a time for them to show whether they truly stand for principle or their own accumulation of power.

[Pryderi]

38. I wonder if this will make Sunday morning talk shows, and who will be on?

[Lasher]

52. Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows

I don't know the subjects to be covered, but here's who will be on:

FOX NEWS SUNDAY (WTTG), 9 a.m.: Gen. Peter Pace , chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. David Johnson , director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Michael D . Brown , former Federal Emergency Management Agency director.

THIS WEEK (ABC, WJLA), 9 a.m.: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark and comedian Stephen Colbert .

FACE THE NATION (CBS, WUSA), 10:30 a.m.: Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.) and Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.).

MEET THE PRESS (NBC, WRC), 10:30 a.m.: Former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.), former representative Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.) and Pace .

LATE EDITION (CNN), 11 a.m.: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf , United Arab Emirates Economy Minister Sheikha Lubna al- Quasimi , Gen. James Jones , NATO supreme allied commander, and Iraqi parliament member Adnan Pachachi .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

[Tsiyu]

39. Give them enough rope:

they hang themselves every time.

Frist, like **, just needs a good blowjob and then we could get rid of him in Tennessee.

But nobody will volunteer.....

[dansolo]

40. When will Reid carry out his threat?

I think that Reid should do what he threatened to do in response to the "nuclear option", even if it is only for a sort while to prove a point. He should use every parlamentary trick to grind the Senate to a halt. With the filibuster threat effectively neutered, the Democrats have no other options available to them.

[SammyBlue]

41. I have this stupid letter that the asshole sent saved as a screen capture

someone please put it up on the site so when Frist takes it down and denies sending it, we have it.

It's linked to Frist's office Senate page, giving him alot of editorial ability.

[kimpossible]

44. All Senate committees should be structured like the Intelligence Committee

Completely aside from the malevolence of the current majority, the lopsided system itself is a huge problem. The absolute lock on power that's held by the majority party is a stupid way to run a body of any kind, let alone a country. It has always mystified me that our Congress is so poorly structured that the minority party is completely unable to call hearings, authorize investigations, or pick their noses without approval.

[ClassWarrior]

46. Send this to the Corporate Media!!!

16+5=2006

NGU.

[Nothing Without Hope]

50. It's the nuclear option all over again. The Dems CANNOT cave.

This has to be exposed for all to see.

[in_cog_ni_to]

63. The Dems cannot cave? That's their specialty.

They'll cave.

[Nothing Without Hope]

66. Ah - I should have worded that a bit differently: "The Dems MUST NOT

cave, or what's left of the (ha-ha) US democracy and (ha-ha) oversight of the criminal cabal that has seized power will be degrated significantly further." THere is no up-side to caving except collusion with the neocons. And as you point out, they aren't called the Vichy Dems for nothing.

[Jesterstear]

53. Our top stories

Something like this should be broadcast everywhere...

But last night when I first read this, I checked on Yahoo.com's news page and under "Top Stories" (which to me means the important stories) and there was no mention. I did, however, learn about...

That moron on CNBC that runs around screaming and throwing things while giving stock tips.

Advice from a professional party crasher about how he thinks you can sneak into an Oscars party if you dress like a chef and carry a live lobster.


More and more I fear for my country. The Republicans are blazing forward and dismantaling our government. They remove all safeguards that protect the minority party from the tyrrany of the majority, as if they know that they will never be in a minority position again. Our media might pay attention to every 3rd or 4th scandal that arises, but they quickly accept the administration's lying excuse and don't bother to dig out facts and challenge it.

Worst of all, the few of us that are still out there screaming from the rooftops about the lies are being purposefully ignored by the rest of the people. If everything that has happened so far does not get their attention, what in the bloody hell will? What can break that "OOOGA BOOOGA! TERRORISTS UNDER YOUR BED!!! OOOGA BOOGA! QUEERS GETTING MARRIED!!! OOOGA BOOGA!!!!" scare tactic that the Republican party has fooled them with?

[Skeptor]

54. Frist's definition of

"Bipartisanship": Republicans give the orders, Democrats obey.

"Oversight": You sign, we'll look over your shoulder to make sure you get it right.

[LiberalinNC]

55. Isn't all this information deemed "Classified" now?

[Clark2008]

57. Just wanted to apologize, again, from the great state of Tennessee

for foisting this asshole on the rest of you.

I didn't vote for the Cat Killer - never have - but my neighbors apparently did. SORRY!!!

[Pushed To The Left]

58. Frist in definitely not a fan of checks and balances

First he threatens to kill the filibuster, now this.

[Marr]

61. Hey- if they've done nothing wrong, they have nothing to be afraid of.©

Why so afraid of an obviously justified investigation?

[Quantess]

67. Frist is so used to the atmosphere of corruption

he isn't even trying to be sly. The rethugs seem to have this idea that lying, cheating, and stealing are acceptable ways to get what they want. After all, it has worked for them in the past, and they have paid minimal consequences. Politics as usual. Frist seems to forget that the American people are sort of disgusted by this.

You'd think he should know better, by now. Frist is incorrigible.

[Loge23]

68. Screw them both

Harry (I voted for fascism) Reid can go burn in hell with the rest of them.

[sakabatou]

71. Frist is a schoolyard bully!

[Rose Siding]

74. Roberts must not have the votes to defeat Rockefeller's motion

That's good news. Maybe Collins and Hagel haven't caved. I wonder if it can be tabled it again without a vote.

[Trevelyan]

78. We need to replace all the Vichy Dems in November and I think that may

include Reid who refused to organize a filibuster of Alito and who, I believe, just voted for the Patriot Act without Feingold's amendments to protect Americans civil rights. The Iraq and Afghanistan veterans may have the courage not to bow down to the BFEE threats against them (but the threats to their families might be harder even for vets to ignore to do the right thing) but we have to get rid of these DINOs including Kerry and Clinton.

http://www.bandofbrothers2006.org /

(PAC supporting all Fighting Dems)

London Times: "Democrats assemble an army of veterans to beat Bush"

Mother Jones: "The Capitol Brigade"

Atlantic Monthly: "Company, Left"

USA Today: "War vets ready for new battle: Politics".

My take on why the Fighting Dems matter.

56 FED UP VETS AND GROWING IN NUMBER TO RUN FOR ALL OPEN SEAT'S IN NOVEMBER ELECTIONS