Five Republicans at the hearing took turns attacking the idea as a reckless stunt that could embolden terrorists. Just two Democrats showed up to defend it, arguing that Congress needed to rein in the White House's expansive view of presidential power. The Democrats' star witness was John W. Dean, the former counsel to President Richard M. Nixon who divulged many of the details in the Watergate scandal.
source:
nytimes.com
Pissed off rant at the spineless congressional dems below the fold.
WTF? Have any of you douchebags (& I say that with no respect whatsoever) taken the time to read
the Constitution of the United States of America? Here, I'll make it easy: the part that I'm referring to here is the fourth amendment.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
What part of this do you not understand? It is short, clear, & very concise & directly contradicts the Unitary Executive B.S. that Bush & co. have been spouting. Not only does the Second Article of the Constitution NOT give the President extensive powers as he claims but this Amendment (which is a part of the Bill of Rights) specifically states in no uncertain terms that neither he nor Congress has that right. The ONLY way to get around this amendment is to amend the Constitution to declare it null and void. And that hasn't happened yet.
So, again, I ask you: WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU THINKING? If you don't stand for the Constitution then you don't deserve to be our representatives to Congress. And you certainly do not deserve our vote or our political support or (& this one should really get you) our money.
Get a fucking spine. If you can't afford one, we'll be more than happy to chip in & pay for the operation. I'm not kidding.
Let me put this in terms you can understand. Do you want to keep your cushy little jobs in Congress? Then fucking do your job. Let me give you a clue: your job entails showing up at hearings that focus on Presidential malfeasance. You may think that you're irreplaceable, but you're not. You may think that we're stuck with you because you're the lesser of two evils, but we're not.
You bent over backwards to support an illegitimate invasion of a foreign power on false pretenses without even asking if those pretenses were false.
You were unable and unwilling to fight the Republicans in 2004 in any way possible & let's face it: they were triple dog daring you to fight them. But you kept your powder dry like good little Republican-lite brown-nosers that you are.
You let that douchebag Roberts take the title not only of Justice to the Supreme Court but Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. You let that other douchebag Alito take the title of Justice. That's a fucking smear on the word justice.
You've got a president that fully two-thirds of the American public despises, distrusts, & disagrees with. You've got a Republican Party that is splitting apart at the seams. And still you just sit there, moronic, numb, beaten. And still you are keeping your powder dry.
Lemme ask you something: do you respect your furniture? I don't. And I dare say that most Americans don't either. So long as you sit there on your fucking asses doing nothing to stand up for our rights, you are fucking furniture. And I have no fucking respect for you.
Note: this rant does not apply to Feingold, Boxer, Leahy, or Harkin. Though it would've been nice if Boxer & Harkin had showed up to this meeting, if only to sit in the audience chambers.