OK, This Is Weird
I don’t know if you’ve been following the strange tale of the war supplemental bill. Two controversial amendments were attached to the funding. One amendment is funding for the International Monetary Fund (unpopular with Republicans) and the other amendment is the Lieberman-Graham FOIA amendment. The Lieberman-Graham amendment would allow the Secretary of Defense to exempt photos of detainees from release by FOIA. This amendment passed in the Senate.
However, when the supplemental went to the House, the House Progressive Caucus (71 members) refused to allow the Lieberman-Graham amendment to be attached to the bill. Well, Graham and Lieberman are outraged! They are now threatening to filibuster the war funding.
If the provision is eliminated, Lieberman and Graham said they would vote against the supplemental and any attempts to bring debate on the measure to a close. Graham predicted that most, if not all, of the 40 Senate Republicans would do the same, and Lieberman said he would be reaching out to Democrats on the issue as well. That could be enough to filibuster the supplemental measure on the Senate floor, because 60 votes are needed to end debate on a bill.
What, Lieberman, Graham and the Republicans are threatening to cut off money to our troops on the field? Why do they hate our troops?
Tags: Lieberman Crazy
Wonkette has a NSFW version of this….
And good on all of them for pushing back on the pictures.
Lieberman makes my skin crawl. How much longer until he’s gone? I hear Connecticut isn’t happy with him either.
I think Lieberman has until 2012.
What is the point of the voyeurism that is being promoted by the ACLU?
How would the left respond to some graphic images of abortion procedures?
The FOIA isn’t even close to being a main reason why republicans are against the spending bill. Its is the laundry list of extras that are being tacked on.
$4 billion extra for swine flu, and $5 billion for the IMF, $4,500 in vouchers for buyers to trade in their less fuel-efficient vehicles for ones that get better mileage, $3.1 billion for eight C-17 and 11 C-130 military transport planes that the pentagon didn’t even ask for, and around $1 billion for pakistan.
Now, these items have nothing to do with funding our troops overseas. These are just pet projects that were crammed onto an important bill so they could get pushed through. What they want is for these items to be removed so that they can be debated on.
So before you start talking about troop hating, why don’t you show all of the facts instead of just a small peice to support your narrow view.
Besides, the IMF should be unpopular with everyone if you looked into how they drive countries into debt, then rob them of their natural resources.
How would the left respond to some graphic images of abortion procedures?
Great example Art – abortion pictures are public and are widely available.
How would the right react to a law suppressing abortion pictures?
I guess Art doesn’t support open government. The point is we want to know what the government was doing in our name.
As far a demagouging the issue, damn right. The right has done it for 8 years, frightening timid Democrats into voting for war supplementals. It’s only fair they get the same treatment.
Unstable,
Filibustering the war supplemental for the wrong reasons is better than not filibustering it at all.
I support open government but there are some matters that can give aid and comfort to the enemy.
What good will be done vs the harm?
Should we reveal information that reveals the identity of operatives and puts them in harm’s way?
We are in a war against an amorphous enemy and scoring some cheap political points at the risk to our Nation may seem to be great short-term politics.
Art, there is much greater risk to the Nation if we cover up the photos and the crimes they depict.
Let’s be honest Democrats like Obama talk a good game against war. If you have such serious concerns then the Dems should vote to withhold funding.
They did not under Bush and they won’t under Obama. All talk and no action, merely talking points. It is called cowardice.
For the uninformed on Lieberman, he is doing fine in CT. It is the crook named Dodd who is going down to defeat. You know the Dem who got a sweetheart deal on his mortgage and while bamking chair did nothing so he could move to Iowa to run for President?
Mike Protack
Good points, Phil.
“I hear Connecticut isn’t happy with him either.”
They’re even less happy with Dodd.
The actual torture is what hurts out troops. That’s why we shouldn’t torture. It’s not a difficult concept.
If they really want to torture Gitmo detainees, send Gore over to give a Global Warming presentation.
Ah – the Gore joke was funny
….back in ’06
When Gore gives up his shtick, I’ll give up mine.
Gore isn’t ever going to give it up considering he plans to make billions should cap and trade pass…..
didn’t know making money was a bad thing, especially if it’s a win-win for the parties involved….well maybe not a win for Texxon.
Too bad one of the parties isn’t the average american. All cap and trade will do is raise prices for average people. Man-made global warming is a sham and he knows it. He is only pushing it to line his own pockets. Oh, and the millionaire hedge fund investors, lets not forget about them.
Even if it were true, only an idiot would think that the government and a tax scheme could fix it.
All cap and trade will do is raise prices for average people.
No, that is not all. It will also clear the air and water, and provide incentive for alternative energy.
How about impoverish people and pay off the politically connected who drafted the bill.
How will that clear the air and water? Do the papers or computer systems soak up the pollution? Is it supposed to work like the war on poverty? The war on drugs? The war on terrorism? It is all just a ponzi scheme. The same companies who will get hit for this will be able to pass the buck onto consumers while the executives get rich through the hedge funds.