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It's another depressing week for progressives who keep hoping that the new boss will bring us substantially better than the old boss, at least Congressionally speaking. The House has made its way to summer recess by cleaning up bills that apparently just HAD to get done, lest we die in a terrorist attack by holding telecom companies and the Bush administration to account, or suffer the fate of withdrawing troops from Iraq without a crushing victory won. The upshot is that you and I have less privacy, the Bush administration and phone companies will get more in order to cover their wrongdoing (and also top Democrats, if merely in their longtime knowledge and thus complicity in the scheme). and another blank check of your grandkids' money will be cut for the war, no strings attached. It makes me wanna puke, the paucity of leadership we're seeing in Congress. Nancy Pelosi let FISA hit the floor and go forward. Steny Hoyer compromised with himself and presented it to the White House, secretly. And was there even a peep about quietly floating another bigtime chunk of credit for this hopeless, destructive, counterproductive war? No. There are pockets of sanity, surely. A majority voted against the FISA compromise, but many inexplicablhy voted for it--enough to carry the bill with almost every Republican. A more solid majority voted againt the war bill, nine more than last time if I heard correctly--as if that's some kind of grand consolation. But still 80 Democrats evaluated this unpopular, disaster of a war effort and said, "Yeah, sign me up for another 165B, baby!" This is a shame we all bear as Americans, but as Oregonians we have to feel pretty lucky, and proud. On both bills, all four Democratic Representatives voted No. Earl Blumenauer, Darlene Hooley, Peter DeFazio and (even, some might say) David Wu formed a solid coalition of Oregonians FOR privacy and accountablity, and AGAINST warrantless spying on citizens and wasteful warmongering. Forget Walden; for many states there are Democrats voting for this garbage, shadowboxing imaginary pitfalls for their re-election. Staff for both Earl and David were kind enough to send me the Congressmen's statements on FISA, which I'm happy to relate to you here. Read their words carefully, because I think it won't be too long before history realizes how sad and pathetic these times were for justice and the Constitution, and takes note of those who stood against it, doing the duty they had sworn an oath to uphold. When "history takes note," to anthropomorphize, it will recognize our Democratic delegation on these issues, and recognize them favorably. So. Wu first, on FISA: This so-called ‘compromise’ legislation does not strike a middle ground. We leave the door open for the attorney general and the director of national intelligence to abuse their authority and snoop on any American anytime anywhere, under the guise of ‘incidentally’ collected information. This is not what the framers of the Constitution had in mind. It is the legitimate role of government to protect Americans from both foreign aggression and the domestic abuse of authority. In compromising with Republicans, we have compromised the privacy of every American.
And the always-eloquent Blumenauer, first on FISA and then the war supplemental: I have heard some say that the enemies of America take on many forms. To them I say: let us be sure one of those forms is not our own government. I cannot vote for a bill that expands the government’s spying power. Nor can I vote to give backdoor immunity to telecommunications firms. These firms directly assisted the Bush administration in warrantless spying tactics. I am dismayed that we could not pass legislation that does more to protect the rights of American citizens. I continue to believe that the intelligence community does not need to violate the rights of Americans in order to protect them. I demand, and Americans deserve, protection of their basic civil rights. and the war, keeping a promise not to fund without timelines for withdrawal: Thankfully, this is the last supplemental funding bill that will be considered under the Bush administration. I have opposed the Iraq war from the start and remain committed to opposing all legislation that does not set a firm deadline for bringing our troops home. I continue to believe that the best way to honor those whose lives have been lost in this tragic war is to end it as quickly and responsibly. Without hesitation, I voted to fund vital domestic items. These include an expansion of ‘GI Bill’ education benefits, an extension of unemployment benefits, and the protection of Medicaid from harmful cuts. The bill we passed will also helps Iraqi refugees, four million of whom have been displaced by this tragic war. I hold our Reps to a high standard. I fault Blumenauer for being too easy on trade, and for disclaiming the need for impeachment. Those aren't minor flaws IMO, either. But I don't think there's mendacity or something crooked afoot, so I accept the difference and maintain a high opinion of him overall. Wu I'm even less psyched about at times, but he too has been reliable on some of the most important issues of our time when others have not, and he is in a much purpler district than Earl for sure. And the more Darlene Hooley stays around, the more I'll miss her now that she's become so damned progressive! It seems like about a year or two ago, she snapped out of a go-along kind of mentality and made her break with the charade. She's been a rock for the progressive caucus ever since. So yes, I'm hard on them. But I never lose sight of the fact that for their suggested faults, as a state delegation they are nearly unmatched for the way they have firmly aligned Oregon against the madness of the last eight years. That's a lot to be proud of. The people WE sent to represent US, did not get the wool pulled over their eyes--or if they did they pulled it right back up pretty quickly, cursing their good faith in those who should have earned their skepticism. If you've voted for them in the past, give yourself a pat on the back--good choice.
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