And fight like All Holy Hell, like the Texas Senate Dems did during the DeLay engineered "redistricting", as doing everything to derail telecom immunity is actually a very easy issue to throw back at the knuckle-draggers who gripe & moan-about how burdensome playing by the rules the Constitution sets up-have become when supposedly battling "terrorists"
Being the leading candidates in the primaries, Clinton & Obama have to show leadership, NOW, as an earlier diary here pointed out
In fact, Obama and Clinton can even look to some Republicans here in Texas for a show of real spine & fire in standing up to out of control GOP malcontents, and shockwaves tore across the state from Austin when it happened, as one of the Republicans-Pat Haggerty (a lifetime friend of my family) actually able to get elected from the bluest part of Texas put a major smackdown on tyrannical House Speaker, fellow GOPer Tom Craddick. While Craddick prevailed for now, come 2009, he shouldn't expect to keep his Speakership when it comes to a vote.
While I get furious with the Dems national congressional leadership, I applaud the Dems at the state level here in Texas, they show fire and spine, they fight and make the GOP scrape & claw for every legislative attempt the Republicans try
When Tom DeLay first tried his clever trick of "redistricting", the Senate Dems pulled the one stunt they could, enough of them left the state, denying the Senate a Quorum, and stopping a purely political operation, he tried to get the FAA to track them down
And this time, unlike so many of his earlier successes, DeLay's naked power grab of clearly partisan redistricting brought about so much anger, rage, fury and heat among the opposition that it helped drive him from office under an ethical and legal cloud of criminal indictments. Very Greek Tragedy stuff, DeLay's greatest political maneuver became his greatest political blunder
Arrogance in DeLay's case led to his downfall, it's time to start making this President pay, politically, for his unbridled, unearned arrogance
This is the perfect veto-threat to ram back down the throats of W, Cheney, the Administration, and all its bipartisan lackeys & lunatic neocon advisers, all with their heads solidly wedged up their asses, and no doubt the worst cases of rectal-cranial inversion ever seen & heard by unwilling eyes & ears.
Here's the easiest way to derail the GOP's obvious BS about a W veto, frame it properly as harshly as possible. Take a tactic from that treasonous swine Karl Rove, and attack the opposition's supposed "strength", in this case W claiming that NOTHING is more important than keeping the US people safe from another terrorist attack on US soil, nothing is more important than being the vigilant protector of hard-working citizens and voters.
Well, nothing, that is, EXCEPT FOR legal immunity from all pending and active lawsuits for the telecoms which warrantlessly spied on their own customers, lawsuits which, if the President gets his way-AGAIN-will be dismissed entirely.
So perhaps Clinton & Obama, will turn the anti-terrorist vigilance against it's slimy and sleaziest practitioner, W, and actually wield variations of the following general arguments.
Such as
"Why is the President willing to risk US lives by protecting telecoms from clearly illegal behavior-warrantlessly spying on their customers purely domestic communications-as opposed to spying on al-Qaeda and Usama bin Laden?"
"Why does the President feel bin Laden's right to privacy outweighs spied-upon US telecom customers, which is exactly what a veto of non-immunized telecom FISA legislation means?"
"How can the President possibly claim protecting the US public is his most important job if he's willing to veto, for ANY reason, spying on terrorists?"
"Why does the President need to warrantlessly spy on US citizens, and protect the telecoms from legal sanctions for doing just that with their own customers, if he's trying to stop al-Qaeda and bin Laden?"
"How does vetoing non-immunized legislation show the President's sworn duty to uphold and defend the US Constitution?"
Here's more of the same, except tied-in with Iraq, both of which President Bush Jr will mention in his-THANK GOD LAST-State Of The Union rigamarole.
In Bush’s Legacy, Weak Economy Moves Up Front
On Iraq, the president will make the case that his troop buildup has been successful and "remind the people of the United States what is at risk," a senior White House official said, speaking anonymously so as not to upstage Mr. Bush’s speech. He will also press lawmakers to reauthorize a domestic surveillance law.
Okay, let's link the two
"If Iraq is truly the "front lines of the War On Terrorism", then just how has warrantlessly spying on the US public, via their telecom providers, made a positive difference in Iraq?"
"What specific al-Qaeda plots have been broken up in Iraq, with independently verifiable proof, thanks to warrantless spying on the US Public?"
"How many anti-US attacks elsewhere in the world, but planned by al-Qaeda in Iraq, have been disrupted, with independently-verified proof, thanks to warrantless spying on the US Public?"
And then there's the supremely idiotic notion, pushed by Arlen Specter and other political milquetoasts, that the telecoms should receive immunity for their clear lawbreaking, and that it should be the Govt that shoulders the "defendant" label in any lawsuits, taking the telecoms place
This is the most infuriating stance of all when it comes to this attempt to further gut 4th Amendment protections, and it's the easiest one to destroy for any politician seeking re-election foolish enough to attempt it
"Why should the US taxpayers be held responsible for the telecoms clear breaking of the law at the Administration's behest?"
I'm not a fan of either Clinton or Obama, and if they're not willing to use their political capital, if they're not willing to move legislative heaven & earth, if they're not willing to strongly stand for the US Constitution tomorrow, then they don't deserve to be President and they sure as Hell don't deserve any votes for President either
Now, here in Texas, it's a given my two Senators, Hutchison and one of the dimmest bulbs in the Senate Chandelier, Cornyn, will absolutely go along with raping the same Constitution they've sworn to uphold
Which is why I'm using those above talking points and giving their offices a call tomorrow
I'm tired of the rat-bastards sticking with W
I'm tired of the Dems-excluding the worthless Bush Dog Dems, of course-not absolutely crucifying and scourging these fucktards who have driven our society in the ground, and wreaked as much damage on our Constitution as possible in such a short time
I'm tired, but more than that, I'm angry
I'm irate
And I just can't wait to take it out on some politician, at the polling station, come November