House passes noxious FISA bill; here’s how Minnesota’s delegation voted
Friday, June 20, 2008 at 5:40 pm
- 4 Comments
Today the US House voted by a 293-129 margin to pass HR 6304, the FISA amendments bill that would grant immunity for telecoms that break the law in the course of cooperating with the feds and grant the executive branch additional surveillance powers.(Here’s the AP story about the vote. McJoan posted this backgrounder at Daily Kos yesterday.
The Democrats did not hold together in their opposition to the bill. All week long House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has taken well-deserved hits for touting a "compromise" that gave the administration and the Republicans essentially everything they wanted. Glenn Greenwald wrote about Hoyer’s miserable gambit earlier this week.
In the end, 105 Democrats voted for the bill, and 129 against.
In Minnesota’s delegation, however, every Democrat except Collin Peterson remained steadfast in their opposition. Here’s how the roll call broke down:
Bachmann Y
Ellison N
Kline Y
McCollum N
Oberstar N
Peterson Y
Ramstad Y
Walz N
4 Comments
Comment posted June 21, 2008 @ 9:55 am
Well, the so-called Democratic presidential nominee, Obama, has made the statement of his intention of voting for the FISA when it come to the Senate. Of course, he might do a flip-flop. No one should be too surprised, as he did vote for Condi Rice as Secretary of State, and voted for the reauthorization of the Patriot Act. The Democratic Congress in general, is a big disappointment. They are probably about to once again approve another war funding bill. Even worse (if that is possible):
FROM: Just Foreign Policy,
The US House of Representatives is considering a new resolution that would effectively demand a blockade against Iran – an act that would be widely seen as an act of war and would invite Iranian retaliation, possibly leading us into a shooting war.
Over the last three weeks, 77 House Democrats and 92 Republicans have agreed to cosponsor this resolution, but we think many do not realize its dangerous implications. Can you ask your Representative not to support this dangerous step toward war with Iran?
Comment posted June 20, 2008 @ 6:17 pm
Noxious isn’t the half of it. What’s the point of a Democratic Congress if they’re going to give the administration all the Constitution-shredding it asks for? It was an astonishing, proud moment when the House ignored the (equally noxious) Senate bill this Spring. What dissolved their spines in the meantime?
Noxious? Disgusting. Nauseous.
Comment posted June 20, 2008 @ 1:17 pm
Noxious isn't the half of it. What's the point of a Democratic Congress if they're going to give the administration all the Constitution-shredding it asks for? It was an astonishing, proud moment when the House ignored the (equally noxious) Senate bill this Spring. What dissolved their spines in the meantime?
Noxious? Disgusting. Nauseous.
Comment posted June 21, 2008 @ 4:55 am
Well, the so-called Democratic presidential nominee, Obama, has made the statement of his intention of voting for the FISA when it come to the Senate. Of course, he might do a flip-flop. No one should be too surprised, as he did vote for Condi Rice as Secretary of State, and voted for the reauthorization of the Patriot Act. The Democratic Congress in general, is a big disappointment. They are probably about to once again approve another war funding bill. Even worse (if that is possible):
FROM: Just Foreign Policy,
The US House of Representatives is considering a new resolution that would effectively demand a blockade against Iran – an act that would be widely seen as an act of war and would invite Iranian retaliation, possibly leading us into a shooting war.
Over the last three weeks, 77 House Democrats and 92 Republicans have agreed to cosponsor this resolution, but we think many do not realize its dangerous implications. Can you ask your Representative not to support this dangerous step toward war with Iran?
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