UPDATED DIARY - beginning now with Mark Klein, the AT&T whistleblower, explaining why there should be no retroactive immunity.

On the flip, Russ Feingold, Chris Dodd & others speak FOR and against retroactive immunity -- and on the dangerous flaws of the various versions of the revisions to the FISA law.

I am taking a break from discussing wind power and just how much it will save for each of us, in order to talk about another topic which has hit the news recently.  Of course, based on my pocketbook, dropping every American's electrical rates is very important.  But it pales far less than whether or not we have a country left, or more appropriately, whether like Humpty Dumpty, the pieces are splintered too tiny to even bother picking them up and patching them back together.

As you know, Dennis Kucinich proffered the Articles of Impeachment on the floor of the House and they are now in the Congressional Record for every historian to read.....  There is some question where my Congressman Mike Castle stands on the issue, which of course is what brought that topic into the arena of the local blogosphere.

Minority Leader John Boehner, the guy we all love around here. He supported pollution of the Earth, stood with the GOP House Caucus when Foley did bad, and supported sweatshop labor in his own country. What a lovable guy.

And today he supports immunity for illegal wiretapping.

But John Boehner didn't when he got wiretapped, and he believed in a right to sue. And did file lawsuit.

Lets flashback 10 years to 1998.

More of this sort of bluntness, please:

GOP claim about Chinese oil drilling off Cuba is untrue
Erika Bolstad and Kevin G. Hall | McClatchy Newspapers

last updated: June 11, 2008 08:31:54 PM

WASHINGTON — As Congress has debated energy policy over the past several days, an unusual argument keeps surfacing in support of drilling off the U.S. coastline and in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Why, ask some Republicans, should the United States be thwarted from drilling in its own territory when just 50 miles off the Florida coastline the Chinese government is drilling for oil under Cuban leases?

Yet no one can prove that the Chinese are drilling anywhere off Cuba's shoreline. The China-Cuba connection is "akin to urban legend," said Sen. Mel Martinez, a Republican from Florida who opposes drilling off the coast of his state but who backs exploration in ANWR.

"China is not drilling in Cuba's Gulf of Mexico waters, period," said Jorge Pinon, an energy fellow with the Center for Hemispheric Policy at the University of Miami and an expert in oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. Martinez cited Pinon's research when he took to the Senate floor Wednesday to set the record straight.

Who's guilty of spouting this particular line of bull?

Vice President Dick Cheney, in a speech Wednesday to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, picked up the refrain.

Surprise!

But guess what? It wasn't a lie, it was "faulty intelligence!"

Cheney quoted a column by George Will, who wrote last week that "drilling is under way 60 miles off Florida. The drilling is being done by China, in cooperation with Cuba, which is drilling closer to South Florida than U.S. companies are."

The article also catches House Minority Leader John Boehner -- whose otherworldly tan is itself rumored to be of offshore Chinese manufacture -- repeating this crap, as well as relative nobody Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA). It also reportedly appeared in an Investor's Business Daily editorial earlier this week. Boehner and his tan, for their part, blame... The New York Times:

The office of House Minority Leader John Boehner defended the GOP drilling claims. "A 2006 New York Times story highlights lease agreements negotiated between Cuba and China and the fact that China was planning to drill in the Florida Strait off the coast of Cuba," said spokesman Michael Steel.

Boehner's tan had no comment, but was allegedly later sold for $136.38 a barrel.

Moral of the story: These guys will lie about absolutely anything. WMD. War and peace. POW rescues. The combat records of actual war heroes. Whether or not they marched with Martin Luther King. Everything.

And you can't "work out bipartisan compromise" with liars. Compromise requires at least two genuine positions to start with.

Hypocrisy rarely crystallizes this purely, so be sure to savor it:

Before the House override vote [on the farm bill] Wednesday night, lawmakers discovered that the version sent to the White House last week was missing a part. The discovery raises questions about whether that section of the bill, which dealt with authorized trade and food aid, would become law.

The discovery of the missing section, "Title III," prompted concerns from House Republicans that the override vote was improper.

House Republican Minority Leader John Boehner immediately began sobbing:

"What's happened here raises serious constitutional questions -- very serious," said Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. "I don't see how we can proceed with the override as it occurred."

Where were the Bronzed Boehner's famed crocodile tears in 2005, when a $2 billion "clerical error" cropped up in the so-called "Deficit Reduction Act?"

I don't recall any rending of garments over those serious constitutional questions by Captain Suntan. Do you?

By the way, if you're wondering what happened with that situation in 2005, John Conyers, then the Judiciary Committee's Ranking Member, filed suit to challenge the law's validity. The case (Conyers v. Bush) was decided in favor of the president by federal judge John D. Bates.

Does Bates' name ring a bell? I mentioned him yesterday. He's the judge (and former Whitewater prosecutor) who dismissed Valerie Plame's lawsuit, dismissed the Cheney Energy Task Force suit, dismissed the DNC's suit seeking to force the FEC to rule on McCain's public financing flip-flop, and yes, he's the judge assigned to Conyers' latest suit against the Bush "administration," seeking to enforce contempt of Congress citations against Harrier Miers and Josh Bolten.

Move along, citizens. And do not stare directly at the "subpoena power."

In the New York Times today, Bill Kristol elevated Republicans' wishful thinking into the GOP's presidential election strategy this fall.  Dragged down by President Bush's record-setting unpopularity and a brand one of its own leaders likened to tainted dog food, the GOP's last best hope, according to Kristol, lies in the "exceptionalism" of John McCain.  That is, the GOP can maintain its grip on the White House precisely because John McCain is a different kind of Republican animal able to distance himself from his moribund president and his fading party.  Sadly for Kristol, the record shows that John McCain is utterly the same.

"I left my heart in San Francisco..." OK, I have to admit being a little disappointed that the decision concerning the constitutionality of "gay marriage" in California wasn't covered tonight, but I know only so much can be discussed in one hour - especially considering the fact that the "shenanigans" of GWB in Israel today and the great Dem response had to be addressed. Let the Countdown diary discussion fun begin!

The more things change.....

In an increasingly complex world, many people find it difficult to cope with the stresses of day to day life. The strain of caring for a family, paying the mortgage, job insecurity, and terrorists lurking at the Dairy Queen, can result in crushing anxiety and fear. But now, from the makers of The War in Iraq™ and Katrina Neglect™ comes a breakthrough in the treatment of depression caused by incompetent and dishonest national leadership. Now there is an alternative to the endless years of suffering brought on by deficient representation.

In his Recommended diary today, Senator John Kerry relates yet another chapter of Republicans behaving badly.  

Rep. John Boehner and Rep. Eric Cantor – senior leadership in the House GOP -- decided to ignore the actual meaning of English words and simply invent something Barack Obama didn’t say.

snip

These statements by Representatives Boehner and Cantor are so bad they rise to the level of a danger to our foreign policy.

Thankfully, there is a way to show Reps Boehner and Cantor how much we appreciate their lying, smearing, fearmongering ways.

there's more
 

**SPOILER ALERT!** - I usual post this diary a bit later, but I wanted to give people an outlet to respond to the "Special Comment" if they wanted. So, if you want to wait, stop reading here and come back at "the usual time"! Thanks!!

I can't remember the last time I went from feeling so incredibly craptacular to so ready to go out to kick a$$ and take names in such a short amount of time! What a day this has been, I'm sure, for us all - no matter which candidate you're supporting. No one can say that today has been boring! Let the Countdown fun begin!

The GOP has resorted to outright lies in this campaign – and it’s only May.

The primary process isn’t even officially over yet, and prominent GOP officials – members of the leadership of the House – are already distorting Barack Obama’s words beyond any boundaries of truthfulness.

But --  as we saw last night in Mississippi -- if the GOP thinks they can steal this election with the old playbook of fears and smears, they have another thing coming.

Details below ...

According to House Minority Leader John Boehner, Senator Obama recently declared Israel to be a "constant sore":

"Israel is a critical American ally and a beacon of democracy in the Middle East, not a ‘constant sore’ as Barack Obama claims," Boehner said. "Obama’s latest remark, and his commitment to ‘opening a dialogue’ with sponsors of terrorism, echoes past statements by Jimmy Carter who once called Israel an ‘apartheid state.’"

Not to be outdone, Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia said:

"It is truly disappointing that Senator Obama called Israel a ‘constant wound,’ ‘constant sore,’ and that it ‘infect[s] all of our foreign policy.’ These sorts of words and characterizations are the words of a politician with a deep misunderstanding of the Middle East and an innate distrust of Israel," Cantor said.

So, of course, Obama said nothing of the sort, right? Right.

A majority of Americans say they want us out of Iraq. A majority of Americans want universal health care. A vast majority of Americans wanted Congress and the President to extend health care benefits for children of poor and lower-middle-class families - even if it meant raising their taxes.

House Republican leader John Boehner and his colleagues have heard their calls, and responded...by crafting a marketing slogan that tells Americans what idiots they are.

(Note: I didn't see this diaried yet. If it has been I'll delete this one.

I've been posting about our local fundraising efforts the past few days, but this smear by Republicans John Boehner and Eric Cantor seemed more important.)

While it's despicable that GOP "leaders" such as Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) would choose to slice out only the few phrases that would make the presumptive Democratic nominee for president look bad (and they have to actually ignore those phrases' real intent even at that), it's equally deplorable that a well-respected journalist such as the Sun-Times' Washington Bureau chief and political columnist Lynn Sweet would let them get away with the distorted half-quoting via her own half-baked he-said/they-said stenography at her to-the-minute blog.

[FYI, Lynn Sweet has been a Chris Matthews regular as she has covered the Obama campaign from one of his hometown papers for well over a year.]

Dana Milbank has the special Mother's Day edition:

On Wednesday afternoon, the House had just voted, 412 to 0, to pass H. Res. 1113, "Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day," when Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), rose in protest.

"Mr. Speaker, I move to reconsider the vote," he announced.

Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), who has two young daughters, moved to table Tiahrt's request, setting up a revote. This time, 178 Republicans cast their votes against mothers.

It has long been the custom to compare a popular piece of legislation to motherhood and apple pie. Evidently, that is no longer the standard. Worse, Republicans are now confronted with a John Kerry-esque predicament: They actually voted for motherhood before they voted against it.

Republicans, unhappy with the Democratic majority, have been using such procedural tactics as this all week to bring the House to a standstill, but the assault on mothers may have gone too far. House Minority Leader John Boehner, asked yesterday to explain why he and 177 of his colleagues switched their votes, answered: "Oh, we just wanted to make sure that everyone was on record in support of Mother's Day."

By voting against it?

Mother's Day, colleague's memorial services, nothing is sacred with Boehner and crew.

One month ago:

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) predicted Thursday that Republicans will pick up seats in the 2008 election despite a slew of GOP retirements and the Democrats’ significant fundraising advantage.

"We don’t need as much money as [Democrats] have," he said.  "We need enough to tell our story."

He added, "I think we are going to gain seats this year. Period."

Today:

Losses in two recent special elections combined with prospects for a tough contest next week sent House Republicans scrambling for change — both in words and deeds.

Minority Leader John A. Boehner told his caucus behind closed doors Tuesday that Americans won’t vote for Republicans until they fix their "brand" and convince voters they will fix Washington, according to members who were present.

The solution?

He told reporters that a campaign message for the caucus would be developed in the next few weeks.

"I think it’s clear this election is about change," Boehner said. "If we’re going to do well in this election, if we’re going to win back our majority, we have to prove to people that we are in fact the agents of change."

"I’ve been saying it for a year and a half," Boehner told his colleagues, according to the Ohio Republican’s written talking points and those inside the room. "Some of you have been listening. Others I’m not so sure about."

Boehner cited the need to stick with presumed presidential nominee Arizona Sen. John McCain and aggressively criticize Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif.

Right. Agents of change. Doing things like this.

House Republicans will hold a rally with President Bush on Wednesday morning, with all 199 members invited to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. to show solidarity with the president, according to GOP sources.

That's a total change from the blind solidarity Republicans have give Bush the last eight years! That'll show voters how Republicans want a change from a potential Obama presidency and all the things he'd do to reverse the Bush disaster! And yeah, it'll totally be a change for Republicans to remind voters that Pelosi is from -- gasp! -- San Francisco! That'll be so different from the last two years they've spent reminding voters that Pelosi is from -- gasp! -- San Francisco!

Where did Republicans dig up this joker?

Ohio district 08 is not what one would call a likely play in most years.  R+12 or so, and home to ... John Boehner, the current minority leader.

But this is likely to be a year like no other in recent memory for Democrats across the country, and is possibly the best chance we'll have for years to unseat him.  Last time around, a protest candidate named Meier, who didn't even do any groundwork other than getting himself on the ballot from what I could tell still took 36.5% or so of the vote.

Boehner is a tough nut to crack, even without being the minority leader in the House.  But it looks like we have a real live challenger in Nick von Stein this time around, and not just a protest one.

THe Hill is reporting that House Republicans are looking for a new issue to obstruct:

Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) is expected to announce Thursday that the House GOP floor emphasis will transition away from passing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and earmark reform to "stop the tax hike."

House Republican leaders will make their case to pass a tax bill introduced by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.). Republicans will use procedural floor tactics to force votes on Walberg’s bill, which would make the 2001 tax cuts permanent.

The measure has 125 co-sponsors, none of whom are Democrats....

Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner, stressed that the pivot away from security and earmarks was not an indicator that the GOP was giving up pushing for passage of FISA or comprehensive earmark reform.

Having seen direct proof that Republicans can no longer scare the public into voting for them by invoking more and more ridiculous and bogus threats (see Rep. Bill Foster, IL-14), the Republicans have to resort to their usual--lying about taxes.

While we can't declare victory on the issue--the Republicans will use any trick in the book, any parliamentary maneuver they can to get their way and bring the Protect AT&T back--Democrats have gained significant ground. That's what happens when they listen more to their constituents than their consultants, and refuse to cave. What a concept, huh?