Friday, September 15, 2006

Give Them Hell Harry


Hell no, says soon-to-be Majority Senate Leader Harry Reid.

Glenn Greenwald of Unclaimed Territory writes that Specter's bill giving the green light to the Bush administration and legalizing lawbreaking ain't going nowhere.

Praise the Lord and a thousand Hosannas!

Responding to Greenwald's question about how he would prevent passage and get 51 'nays' to the Specter bill, Reid reminded Greenwald of minority rights in the Senate. That is, fillibuster, baby!

Howling Latina guesses that Reid must have received some indication from 40 senators or so that they would not only vote down the bill but fillibuster, if necessary.

Sen. Reid specifically referenced the fact that in the Senate, one does not need 50%, but only 40%, to block the enactment of a bill. He explained that rule existed to protect minority rights. When I asked him expressly whether the Democrats are committed to filibustering the Specter bill if doing so is necessary to defeat it, he said he thought that would not be necessary, but repeated that they would make sure the Specter bill did not become law. He was unequivocal about that a second time.
A few monts ago, Howling Latina wrote about a poll that showed Americans wanted the minority party in Congress to stop rolling over and to stand up to the White House and their band of bullies.

Hey folks, it's a no brainer.

Americans do not want the government rifling through their private mail, computer messages or phone conversations. Let the the recent deeds of Sens. John McCain, John Warner and Lindsey Graham give Democratic senators both peace and courage.

Media pundits wonder if McCain might've shot his presidential chances in the foot by ruining GOP election-year talking points that Democrats can't be trusted 'cause all they care about are silly international laws.

Well, the public and media always love the noble hero who fights for his ideas; and the media will continue to write favorably of McCain. Unlike '02 and '04, the media look like they're also willing to give a modest megaphone to Democrats to frame their positions.

What a perfect storm; ink space and air time to show Americans that Democrats have a backbone. Let's seize the moment and make political music with our humble cone-shaped media phone.

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