17 July 2007
Written by Kevin
Published on July 17th, 2007
After declaring the filibuster unconstitutional, threatening to "blow up" the Senate over it's use, supporting the use of the "nuclear option" to defeat it, and loudly proclaiming the morality of an "up-or-down vote"... Senate Republicans now demand that the use of a filibuster become the rule when it comes to Iraqi-related votes...
Then:
Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS): “[Filibustering] is wrong. It’s not supportable under the Constitution. And if they insist on persisting with these filibusters, I’m perfectly prepared to blow the place up.”
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) spokesman: “Senator McConnell always has and continues to fully support the use of what has become known as the ‘[nuclear]’ option in order to restore the norms and traditions of the Senate.”
Now:
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell responded to Reid with a counteroffer: an automatic 60-vote threshold for all key Iraq amendments, eliminating the time-consuming process of clearing procedural hurdles. … [A]ll the controversial war-related votes held since Democrats took control of the Senate in January have required 60 “yeas” to pass.
“It’s a shame that we find ourselves in the position that we’re in,” McConnell said. “It produces a level of animosity and unity on the minority side that makes it more difficult for the majority to pass important legislation.”
Think Progress brings the goods...
Written by Kevin
Published on July 17th, 2007
Turley On Countdown... via Crooks and Liars...
Turley: “The White House seems to be invoking executive privilege if anyone is within a twenty-five mile radius of the building. It’s as clever and as elegant as a meat cleaver. It is a rather bad way to go about this. Past presidents have compromised. On something like Tillman, I don’t think past presidents would have said ‘let’s fight this out.’”
Written by Kevin
Published on July 17th, 2007
Ouch....
Rudy Giuliani - 21%
Fred Thompson - 19%
John McCain - 15%
Mitt Romney - 11%
Undecided / Someone New - 25%
Written by Kevin
Published on July 17th, 2007
Between Abramoff and Purgegate... it's a wonder he has any contributors left...
Arizona Rep. Rick Renzi, dogged by legal woes, is running low on campaign cash, giving Democrats more hope that they can win his House seat.
Renzi, whose family business was raided by the FBI last April, ended the last quarter with $20,418 in the bank, according to campaign finance reports covering April 1-June 30. That is just one-quarter of the $80,000 he had on hand at the end of the first three months of the year.
He raised $41,664 during the quarter, a fraction of the $300,000 he raised during the same period in the last election cycle.
The report, filed Sunday with the Federal Election Commission, showed Renzi has spent $126,388 and owes $456,024.
Written by Kevin
Published on July 17th, 2007
Oops...
We assess Lebanese Hizbullah, which has conducted anti-US attacks outside the United States in the past, may be more likely to consider attacking the Homeland over the next three years if it perceives the United States as posing a direct threat to the group or to Iran.
via TPM Muckraker
Written by Kevin
Published on July 17th, 2007
As mentioned previously, the word "filibuster" seemed to have been banned by the traditional media ever since Republicans became the minority party. Astonishingly, ABC and Faux News broke the silence, and not so astonishingly, accused the wrong party of invoking a filibuster...
SAWYER: It certainly is. Senators facing an all-nighter now as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid vows to filibuster, talking all night to close out all topics besides a vote on Iraqi troop withdrawals.
...
BARNES: All he's doing is filibustering his own bill, which Republicans said, "OK, agree to the 60-vote margin, bring up the bill tomorrow," you know, the Levin bill.
Media Matters has the video and transcript...
Written by Kevin
Published on July 17th, 2007
Eighty dead, over 100 wounded in Kirkuk car-bombing...
At least 80 people were killed on Monday in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk in a coordinated attack by a suicide truck bomber in a crowded market and a separate car bomb parked on a busy street, police said.
South of Baghdad, thousands of U.S. troops swooped on a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq safe haven used to reinforce militants fighting in the capital, the military said.
Iraqi police said 136 people were wounded in the Kirkuk blasts and warned that the death toll could rise further.
Written by Kevin
Published on July 17th, 2007
If at first you don't succeed... dig the hole deeper...
The U.S. military’s top general said Monday that the Joint Chiefs of Staff is weighing a range of possible new directions in Iraq, including, if President Bush deems it necessary, an even bigger troop buildup.
Written by Kevin
Published on July 17th, 2007
Looks like the Saudis should be the target of Sleepy Joe's outrage...
Although Bush administration officials have frequently lashed out at Syria and Iran, accusing it of helping insurgents and militias here, the largest number of foreign fighters and suicide bombers in Iraq come from a third neighbor, Saudi Arabia, according to a senior U.S. military officer and Iraqi lawmakers.
About 45% of all foreign militants targeting U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians and security forces are from Saudi Arabia; 15% are from Syria and Lebanon; and 10% are from North Africa, according to official U.S. military figures made available to The Times by the senior officer. Nearly half of the 135 foreigners in U.S. detention facilities in Iraq are Saudis, he said.
Written by Kevin
Published on July 17th, 2007
Bush listens to the generals.. as long as their opinion fits his agenda...
President Bush says that he should be trusted on military issues because he listens to his commanders. But he has a tendency to celebrate his generals when they're providing him political cover -- then stick a knife in their backs when they're no longer of any use to him.
Last week, Bush rejected any blame for the chaos that ensued in Iraq after the March 2003 invasion. So whose fault was it? Bush pointed the finger at Gen. Tommy Franks, the Central Command chief at the time. "My primary question to General Franks was, do you have what it takes to succeed? And do you have what it takes to succeed after you succeed in removing Saddam Hussein? And his answer was, yes," Bush said.
That's the same Tommy Franks to whom Bush awarded a Medal of Freedom in 2004.
And when virtually all of Bush military line of command, including the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff, opposed his "surge" proposal late last year, Bush responded not by listening, but by removing the top two commanders responsible for Iraq and replacing them with more amenable leaders, including Army Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus.
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