‘What’s the use of passing another statute if the president won’t pay any attention to it?’

April 28, 2006

The good news is a Republican senator is offering some tough talk when it comes to the president’s [tag]warrant[/tag]less-search program. The bad news is it’s [tag]Arlen Specter[/tag].

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Thursday he might seek to block funding of a domestic [tag]eavesdropping[/tag] program in an effort to force the Bush administration to answer lawmakers’ questions about the operation.

In a warning to the White House, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said he planned to introduce legislation that would cut off funds for the surveillance program, which he described as a threat to civil liberties and a violation of domestic espionage laws.

Specter said he was not yet prepared to support a cutoff of funding, which he said would be a measure of last resort. But he warned that if the Bush administration was unwilling to comply with existing laws or help draft new domestic surveillance legislation, the only way for Congress to exercise any control might be to deny funding.

“What’s the use of passing another statute if the president won’t pay any attention to it?” Specter said. “When you talk about withholding funds, there you’re talking about a real authority.”

It’s the kind of comment I’d get excited about if Specter hadn’t let us down so many times before. Specter had grave concerns about warrantless searches, before he backed down during a hearing with Alberto Gonzales. Specter was going to give Samuel Alito the grilling of a lifetime, before he backed down during conformation hearings. Specter was publicly uncomfortable with Karl Rove and James Dobson cooperating on judicial nominees, until he backed down. As Harry Reid said a few weeks ago, Specter is a “moderate Republican…whenever you don’t need him.”

Kevin said today that “someone from the White House will coo soothing words in Specter’s ears.” Usually, that’s all it takes.

Fool me once, shame on me; fool me several dozen times, shame on Specter.

Amen, CB.

  • As Harry Reid said a few weeks ago, Specter is a “moderate Republican…whenever you don’t need him.”

    What’s that make Joe Lieberman?

  • I agree that Arlen has let us down before, but I think that the political climate has changed quite a bit recently. A call from Dick Cheney does not carry as much weight as it once did, and the GOP would be better off to distance themselves from the administration. That said I think you are right, but I would not be stunned if Specter actually holds his ground this time.

  • Lieberman is a wolf in sheeps clothing. He just ought to be honest and change his party affiliation. If he is a moderate then so is Orin Hatch.

  • “…But he warned that if the Bush administration was unwilling to comply with existing laws or help draft new domestic surveillance legislation…”—Arlen Spectre.

    First, let me say that I know about the mis-spelling; it’s quite intentional if you look at the meaning of the specific word. Second, this one sentance fragment bears a somewhat ominous connotation to Kid George being offered a choice; a “Column-A/Column-B” kind of thing. I’m betting that they’ll go with Column B—and draft new domestic surveillance legislation—thus making all the illegal stuff completely legal.

    If this oval-office-dolt had been the “burning bush” of biblical fame, Moses would have never gone back to Egypt. He would have whacked the bush with his shepherd’s cane. He probably would have urinated on the bush, and put the fire out. There certainly would not have been an Exodus.

  • “What’s the use of passing another statute if the president won’t pay any attention to it?”

    Spectre is admitting Bush is a dictator.

  • I’d still much rather see Specter make these statements than not. Yes, he’s all talk… but given the frightening tendency of probably 50 other Republican senators to go along with the “We’ve always been at war with Eurasia” presidential pronouncement du jour and happily accede to their ongoing institutional neutering, I’ll take the talk.

    I’ve never liked Specter (I’m a native Philadelphian), but the man isn’t dumb. He knows what all this is and where it’s headed. Frankly I think he’s trying to create a sort of historical paper trail.

  • Specter proposes a spending cutoff that he says he wouldn’t vote for himself and that the president wouldn’t obey. Whup-de-do. Not exactly ‘Give me liberty or give me death.’ We need to realize that he’s the kind of Republican that we need to defeat if we are going to preserve an semblance of liberty in this country. The Snows and the Collins and the Specters are the ones who enable the hard right authoritarians to destroy freedom.

  • These guys are going to be remembered in history books as the idiots who let Bush get away with murder and mayhem. Specter wouldn’t even vote for his own legislation..sort of shows the GOP really doesn’t care to curb Bush but only keep their majority in the Congress….none of these come even close to being the kind of government that our Founding Fathers hoped for. I know Jefferson is rolling over…

    • Comments are closed.