Here's something that was only lightly touched in the news. Remember how all week we had been watching as Rahm Emanuel led a principled charge to defund the Vice President's office. At 6:30 Thursday night Surrendercrats David Obey, John Murtha and Ike Skelton persuaded 21 other Democrats to join with Republicans to defeat Rahm Emanuel's resolution 207-214. Many of the same "powerful" old farts who bowed to the President on the Iraq supplemental demonstrated that they are more interested in keeping their rich and powerful friends happy than in returning America to greatness. Take a look at the linked roll call to see if your Democratic congressman is a member of the Surrendercrat caucus.
Raw Story reports that the leader of the Surrendercrat caucus, David Obey, was unavailable for comment. Apparently he was able to slink out of town before anybody could ask him why the Surrendercrat caucus voted to fund the Vice President.
The White House is tickled. "We are pleased to see a bipartisan majority reject this political stunt," said Cheney spokeswoman Megan McGinn.
What is it going to take to convince Obey and the Surrendercrat caucus that their majority power will be fleeting if they don't stand up to the Republicans and start representing the will of the people? I don't know about you, but I am tired of having my chain pulled by Congressional Democrats. Just when you think they are growing a pair, the Surrendercrats come out of the woodwork and neuter them.
Everybody says things will be different on Iraq in September. I don't see it. The Surrendercrats are still large and in charge. They never miss an opportunity to bow to the the President.
When I first listened to Keith Oblermann's special comment I thought he might be more than a little over the top, but after all we have learned about the deliberate and organized efforts of the administration to turn the Justice Department into an arm of the RNC, I have changed my mind. Can we really trust this or any administration to voluntarily protect or restore our freedoms.
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. We, you and I, are the ones who must be vigilant. We can't depend on others. Write or call your Congressman now. Tell him that we want our freedom back and that the first steps to restoring our liberty and our sacred honor is to restore Habeas Corpus and to end torture.
Call or write Ike Skelton now and tell him we stand with behind him in any effort to restore Habeas Corpus. Skelton is a lawyer. He understands the importance of Habeas Corpus. He is a politician. He understands the importance of our support. I have met Ike Skelton. He was my late father-in-law's lawyer many, many years ago. When he was young he practiced law in Warrensburg, Lexington and other little county seats all over western Missouri. He practiced in a town called Independence. You remember Harry Truman. He was from Independence. Skelton was raised with the same American values. Like Truman he is a brave man and he loves freedom, but he is also like everybody else. Sometimes he needs to be reminded that other people also love freedom. You can probably say the same about your congresscritter. Part of our duty of vigilance is to remind elected leaders of our love of freedom. Get off your butt and do something to help restore Habeas Corpus, to help stop torture, to reaffirm the rule of law and to restore American pride.
Matt Stoller of Mydd has posted contact information. The following is a list of telephone numbers. Now is the time to act. Tomorrow give them a call. Tell them you want the Defense Authorization Bill to include language restoring Habeas Corpus. Tell them we Americans are better than those who would deny the rule of law. Tell them we Americans demand our elected officials take action to prove we are better than those who would deny the rule of law.
The following is the text of Ike Skelton's statement concerning Iran. By way of personal disclosure, Ike was my father-in-law's lawyer before he was elected to congress. That was many, many years ago. I have met him on several occasions. Like most of us here in metropolitian KC, I like him. He is a straight shooter, if somewhat conservative. My mother-in-law and her sisters think the world of him. His constituent services are first rate. That is one of the reasons that, while the rest of rural Missouri has gone Republican, he has easily beaten down Republican challenge after Republican challenge. Whiteman Air Force Base is located just down 50 highway from the little college town of Warrensburg smack in the middle of his district. Whiteman is the home of the B-2 stealth bomber. Generally, when Skelton talks on a military subject, like Jack Murtha, he is voicing real concerns he has heard from those within the military.
Washington D.C.- Today House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton released the following statement regarding two news reports on Iranian activities related to Iraq and Al Qaeda:
"I strongly condemn anyone who produces, distributes, or uses improvised explosive devices or other deadly weapons against U.S. troops. Suggestions of Iranian involvement in providing these weapons that kill or maim American troops are extremely serious and require careful Congressional scrutiny. We must do everything we can to ensure the safety of our forces serving in Iraq.
"Any attempt by Iran to arm militias in Iraq, whatever their ethnic or religious loyalties, would further destabilize the situation in Iraq, escalating the serious violence and making any political accommodation among sectarian groups more difficult. Iran could instead play a much more productive role in Iraq by encouraging the political compromises necessary to achieve national reconciliation among the various ethnic and religious parties in Iraq.
"The reported capture and detention of hundreds of Al Qaeda operatives in Iran is also a significant development. Al Qaeda is our major target in the war on terror. We must understand and undermine the complex networks they are using to try to attack American forces and interests.
"Today's articles in the New York Times and the Washington Post demonstrate just how urgent it is that the United States adopts a strategy that extensively engages Iran on these and other issues, while making clear that any contributions to attacks on American forces is unacceptable.
"The House Armed Services Committee will continue to investigate the issues raised today and any actions by or policy changes involving the American military in dealing with Iran. Briefings delivered to the committee to date have not made clear the specificity or extent of the information that intelligence agencies have gathered.
"We will carefully review the material presented at the briefing I understand will be provided by the command of Multi-National Forces-Iraq in the near future. Congress will insist on looking at all of the evidence, as well as at what the administration has planned and what kinds of measures are required to address the situation."
Skelton spoke in response to an article in the New York Times detailing U.S. intelligence indicating Iranian involvement in the production and distribution of a certain especially deadly form of improvised explosive device known as an "explosively formed penetrator" and in response to a Washington Post article which details the detention of several wanted Al Qaeda operatives by Iran.
Some might claim that Skelton is giving support to Administration war hawks. Given the reference to Iran's capture and detention of Al Qaeda suspects I think that is a misreading of the statement. I think he is telling the Administration that it is time to look closely at the nature of Iranian involvement. It is a time for discussion and not slogans. Skelton is calling for active diplomatic engagement with Tehran, not war.
Accountability. We have to be accountable, and we think our politicians should be too. We do not want a replay of the craven perfidy of the last 12 years that nearly sunk the ship of state. The administrators of this blog have decided, as a group, that working to elect real Democrats to office at all levels of government is the best way to achieve the restoration of oversight and accountability.
But please! Don’t make the mistake of thinking of us as battered wives who keep coming back for more, because that would be totally wrong. Parole Officers would be much more fitting. (Full Mission Statement here.)
