AP: Gore Assails Domestic Wiretapping Program

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON _Former Vice President Al Gore asserted Monday that President Bush "repeatedly and persistently" broke the law by eavesdropping on Americans without a court warrant and called for a federal investigation of the practice.
...
Gore said that Bush's actions — which the president has defended as indispensable in the war against terrorism — represented a "direct assault" on the special federal court that considers, and decides whether to authorize, administration requests to eavesdrop on Americans.

Gore said the concerns are especially important on King's birthday because the slain civil rights leader was among thousands of Americans whose private communications were intercepted by the U.S. government.
...
Gore was repeatedly interrupted by applause Monday as he spoke to the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy and the Liberty Coalition, two organizations that expressed concern with the legality of the surveillance program.

Gore, also a former member of the Senate from Tennessee, proposed that a special counsel be appointed by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to investigate whether there have been violations of the law.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060116/ap_on_re_us/gore_domestic_spying_1

[AlGore-08.com]

1. In case you missed Gore's speech, link to the transcript

http://www.algore.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=325&Itemid=78

[AuntiBush]

6. Thanks for the link to the transcripts.

Kicked!

[hootinholler]

8. The transcript doesn't do the speech justice.

I could hear real passion in his delivery, deeply by him, these beliefs are held.

-Hoot

[wordpix]

26. thanks for the transcript, I missed the speech, chained to my work

[Lisa]

29. me too ... I even missed it on The Situation Room ...

I wasn't scheduled to work this afternoon, but some wretched person begged and pleaded with me to let him make an appointment ... then he forgot to show up!

[LoKnLoD]

2. and it is a crying shame

that Alberto Gonzalez won't do shit about it.

[deminks]

3. Dont' forget to vote up the story on Yahoo! nt

[yellowdogmi]

7. I have been surfing the networks

Not a single mention of the speech. I have written them all to complain about the lack of coverage of this historic speech. To have a former Vice President call out a sitting administration like this is unprecedented in my life time. Especially concerning a matter that is so important to our nation. I also dispatched letters to each of the local affiliates to cover the speech with the decorum it deserves. Please do the same.
Thanks
TWR

[Tesla]

11. 2:47 nothing on CNN

This is CRAZY!!

[lyonn]

12. Hey, hey Yellowdog

Pointing out the fact that an ex-vice pres. gets no reporting or respect when he makes a major speech concerning the illegal acts and corruption of the current president.

[Wordie]

35. Tweety covered it and so did Keith Olberman.

I just wish it could be broadcast in its entirely in primetime in msm. This is a speech that all Americans should hear. It was stunning. He is so eloquent...makes Bush look so bad in comparison. (Although Bush hardly needs a comparison with much of anyone in order to look bad! LOL)

I wonder if Larry King would have him on. It would help get the message out.

[alfredo]

4. Copy the transcript, then mail it to everyone. Send the speech to

your congress critter. Insist on a special counsel to investigate bush's crimes against the American people.

[AuntiBush]

5. Kicked

So Other's won't miss this later!

Watched - it was empowering!

[zapp]

9. Link to MP3 of Audio

http://thetruthis.us/audio

[saltpoint]

10. Gore is top-drawr these days. Let him consider a run

for the White House which is legitimately his in the first place anyway, and let Senator Clinton scramble to find a way to beat him to the nomination.

[lyonn]

14. It appears he is working on running again

If he can get enough backers to help push his plan to the people. Since 9-11 he has been very vocal which made me wonder if he was truly considering running again. From the way he put his message out today I am beginning to think he has an excellent chance, if, he doesn't buckle to the DLC types.

[PassingFair]

22. He'd have my vote.

Especially if he joined up with Feingold.

[saltpoint]

23. If Gore ran, he would be hard to shove aside.

I think Senator Clinton's campaign would be the most visible casualty of a Gore campaign. I'll support the Democratic ticket if she is our nominee, but less enthusiastcally than if others are at the top of it.

[HuffleClaw]

13. *yawn*

nice to hear but it won't matter one whit.

on edit, i note that the newsnet stories seem to overlook the fact that bob barr, a republican supports him on this.

[GOTV]

17. Why are you so sure....

... that it won't matter?

[phantom power]

19. Consider Senator Byrd...

Byrd makes some monster speeches on the Senate floor, on a fairly regular basis. If you've never read them, I recommend looking them up. But they've had exactly zero impact on anything that actually gets done, as far as I can tell.

So, if a sitting senator can't influence Congress with his rhetorical prowess, why should a has-been VP have any influence?

[GOTV]

21. Not that I'm convinced Gore's speech will have an effect but....

... I think Gore is a much more familiar person than Byrd as so is less risky for the media to cover. So the media will be less reticent to give time to Gore's speech.

[HuffleClaw]

24. well, it might IF

others join in, instead of cowering on the sidelines. the democrats as a whole seem to be pretty wishy washy with this stuff.

[wordpix]

25. we need to get behind someone good early and I say Gore's the man

No on is perfect, friends, but Al Gore would be a great president. As you can see from his speech, he's got a very good handle on what's happening and he always has. He was an early environmentalist and he DID give the internet a boost.

[Upfront]

27. I think

you are full of rethug shit!

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

15. Well, it has finally hit the NYT

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/16/politics/16cnd-gore.html

[tinfoilinfor2005]

16. It gave me goosebumps, and I just read the transcript

but did not see it on the air.
I too tried to find mention of it on the msm to no avail. Shameful. We should all scream to the rafters so that all the citizens of this country are aware of this historic speech.

:kick: and nominated.

[phantom power]

18. A fine speech, as always, but why should Congress listen?

[Arkansas Democrat]

20. And this was my favorite part.........

The founders of our country faced dire threats. If they failed in their endeavors, they would have been hung as traitors. The very existence of our country was at risk.

Yet, in the teeth of those dangers, they insisted on establishing the Bill of Rights.

Is our Congress today in more danger than were their predecessors when the British army was marching on the Capitol? Is the world more dangerous than when we faced an ideological enemy with tens of thousands of missiles poised to be launched against us and annihilate our country at a moment's notice? Is America in more danger now than when we faced worldwide fascism on the march-when our fathers fought and won two World Wars simultaneously?

It is simply an insult to those who came before us and sacrificed so much on our behalf to imply that we have more to be fearful of than they. Yet they faithfully protected our freedoms and now it is up to us to do the same.
Al Gore 1/16/06

[Rose Siding]

32. Mine too! He laid waste to the rationale behind every bush power grab

That was my favorite part, too, along with the hugely inspiring brevity of his closing.

[bread_and_roses]

28. He assailed a lot more besides

It was a stirring speech. Very stirring. I found myself chanting yes yes yes at the TV toward the end - highly unusual for me.

All I kept thinking is "THIS is how a President speaks."

His call to Congress was clear and scathing: stop squirming under the Boot and DO something before you are completely irrelevant and Democracy is not just dying but dead.

[primavera]

34. Truly, domestic spying was the tip of the iceberg

I was there in person today and was absolutely overwhelmed by what a far-reaching indictment of the administration Gore gave. The case he built was the mirror image of everything we've been saying here on DU for five years, that the shrub is attempting to establish himself as a dictator overseeing a police state. Frankly, disturbing as domestic surveillance is, it scarecely begins to hold a candle next to the rest of the shrub's crimes of kidnapping, indefinite detention, torturing people to death, engaging in an illegal war of mass murder bvased upon willfully misrepresented justifications, the systematic effort to disinform the public and other branches of government - all of which (and then some) Gore explicitly and in no uncertain terms charged the administration with. To pass it off as just another criticism of domestic wiretapping is a serious injustice to the content of President Gore's extremely compelling presentation.

[lyonn]

36. If this sh-t keep piling up you can't help but smell it!

[lovuian]

30. The speech was fantastic and brought me to tears...

the people gave him a standing ovation... It wasn't military clapping but citizens of America......

[primavera]

38. Many, many standing ovations

I was in attendance with MountainLaurel and the entire crowd was on its feet cheering practically continuously throughout the speech. It was little disappointing that CSPAN didn't show more of that.

[Tippy]

31. Gore speech will be on in a few minutes

C-Span 1 at 8 pm eastern time

[Wordie]

33. Dare I hope for Nightline coverage??? eom

[goforit]

37. Question?....Why didn't Bob Barr show up???

Did Cheney threaten him?

[UDenver20]

39. When did Gore grow a pair?

Did I miss something?

[ColonelTom]

40. Gone in under 24 hours - CNN, MSNBC.com

Gore's speech is no longer even mentioned on either CNN.com or MSNBC.com's home page as of 10:15 am today. :mad: Oddly enough, FOXnews.com has it as the #2 story on their "latest news headlines."