The House of Representatives passed HR6304, the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, on June 20 by a vote of 293-129. (The roll call is here, and Democrats who supported the bill are listed below.) Democrats, the majority party, opposed this bill 105-128. Republicans voted 188-1 for the bill. [Tim Johnson, R-IL, was the exception.] It is time to explain to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer the meaning of the word majority.
Having the majority in the House of Representatives means having the power to set the agenda. With few exceptions, the rules of the House are set up to favor the majority party. If the majority does not want to consider a bill, it does not have to. If the constituents of the majority are speaking loudly against a bill, the majority has the political cover to oppose it.
Having the majority means listening to the majority. Being in the majority party has no effective meaning if you turn over your agenda to the minority of your caucus. When more Democrats oppose a bill than support it, the Majority Leader should listen to the majority of his party and keep the bill off the schedule. Otherwise, the leader is turning the Democrats into the minority party on that issue.
Having the majority means opposing the minority, especially in this administration. When the minority party supports the president's position with near unanimity, it is a good sign that the issue is not good for Democrats, and usually it is not good for most of America. It is likely not a good "compromise" when 99% of one side supports the "compromise" and more than half of the other side opposes it.
And apparently, to Steny Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi, having the majority means never having to say you are sorry.
It is time to show them what Markos means about electing "more and better Democrats". It is time to make them sorry for ignoring the tens of thousands of vocal opponents to this bill. [I'm sorry, is there a grassroots organization advocating the passage of this bill that I have overlooked?] It is time to follow our diaries with action.
It is time to give to the Blue America PAC to fight retroactive immunity.
Accountability is one of the most important foundations of democracy. It is time we start holding our elected representatives responsible for rubber stamping the most grievous aspects of the Bush Regime’s agenda. Surely the plans for retroactive immunity for Bush cronies inside his regime and for cronies in the telecom corporations who broke the law by spying on American citizens without warrants, is outrageous and needs to be brought before the bar of Justice. All the money raised on this page will go to fund accountability for congressmembers supporting retroactive immunity and warrantless wiretaps.
After Dick Gephart betrayed the majority of House Democrats and plotted with Bush, Cheney and some Blue Dogs to thwart the will of the majority and rubber stamp Bush’s decision to attack and occupy Iraq, he was forced out of his role as Democratic Leader. Steny Hoyer deserves the exact same fate.
Next on Hoyer's vocabulary flash cards: "compromise". (Hint - it does not mean the same as "capitulation".)
UPDATE: Here is the roll call of Democrats who supported the bill.
Ackerman (NY-5), Altmire (PA-4), Arcuri (NY-24), Baca (CA-43), Baird (WA-3), Barrow (GA-12), Bean (IL-8), Berkley (NV-1), Berman (CA-28), Berry (AR-1), Bishop (GA-2), Bishop (NY-1), Boren (OK-2), Boswell (IA-3), Boucher (VA-9), Boyd (FL-2), Boyda (KS-2), Brown, Corrine (FL-3), Butterfield (NC-1), Cardoza (CA-18), Carney (PA-10), Castor (FL-11), Cazayoux (LA-6), Chandler (KY-6), Childers (MS-1), Cleaver (MO-5), Clyburn (SC-6), Cooper (TN-5), Costa (CA-20), Cramer (AL-5), Crowley (NY-7), Cuellar (TX-28).
Davis (AL-7), Davis, Lincoln (TN-4), Dicks (WA-6), Donnelly (IN-2), Edwards (TX-17), Ellsworth (IN-8), Emanuel (IL-5), Engel (NY-17), Etheridge (NC-2), Giffords (AZ-8), Gillibrand (NY-20), Gordon (TN-6), Green, Al (TX-9), Green, Gene (TX-29), Gutierrez (IL-4), Harman (CA-36), Hastings (FL-23), Herseth Sandlin (SD-AL), Higgins (NY-27), Hinojosa (TX-15), Holden (PA-17), Hoyer (MD-5), Kanjorski (PA-11), Kildee (MI-5), Kind (WI-3), Klein (FL-22), Lampson (TX-22), Langevin (RI-2), Lipinski (IL-3), Lowey (NY-18).
Mahoney (FL-16), Marshall (GA-8), Matheson (UT-2), McCarthy (NY-4), McIntyre (NC-7), McNerney (CA-11), Meeks (NY-6), Melancon (LA-3), Mitchell (AZ-5), Moore (KS-3), Murphy, Patrick (PA-8), Murtha (PA-12), Ortiz (TX-27), Pelosi (CA-8), Perlmutter (CO-7), Peterson (MN-7), Pomeroy (ND-AL), Rahall (WV-3), Reyes (TX-16), Richardson (CA-37), Rodriguez (TX-23), Ross (AR-4), Ruppersberger (MD-2), Salazar (CO-3), Schiff (CA-29), Scott (GA-13), Sestak (PA-7), Sherman (CA-27), Shuler (NC-11), Sires (NY-13), Skelton (MO-4), Smith (WA-9), Snyder (AR-2), Space (OH-18), Spratt (SC-5), Stupak (MI-1), Tanner (TN-8), Tauscher (CA-10), Taylor (MS-4), Thompson (MS-2), Udall (CO-2), Wilson (OH-6), Yarmuth (KY-3).
If the leadership voted for this bill for procedural reasons, I would like to know about it.
Oh, and one more thing...where is Barack Obama?