GOP seeks to turn eavesdropping issue against Democrats

[struggle4progress]

BY DICK POLMAN
Knight Ridder Newspapers

PHILADELPHIA - ... Yet, in many ways, the current political climate bears scant resemblance to 2002. Four years ago, when Bush was stumping for GOP candidates and charging that the Democratic-run Senate was "not interested in the security of the American people," the Iraq war hadn't happened yet. Twenty-two hundred U.S. soldiers hadn't been killed yet, $250 billion hadn't been spent yet, and Saddam Hussein's dearth of mass weaponry hadn't been exposed yet.

When Rove played the toughness card in 2002, Bush's job-approval rating, as measured by Gallup, was averaging about 67 percent. In 2006, that Gallup rating is 43 percent. And 58 percent give him a thumbs-down verdict on Iraq. This time, in other words, Bush may not have the requisite credibility to argue the security issue at Democratic expense.

Clearly, the White House believes that the flap over warrantless eavesdropping is giving Bush fresh ammunition to invoke that issue; witness his Monday language calling it "a terrorist surveillance program." And Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, also invoking the new description, said Tuesday that warrants are impediments in wartime: "The terrorist surveillance program .. requires the maximum in speed and agility, since even a very short delay may make the difference between success and failure in preventing the next attack."
But many Americans appear skeptical. In the latest Gallup poll, 51 percent of the adults surveyed say that Bush was wrong to tap without warrants, and 58 percent want a special prosecutor to probe what Bush has done.

And Republicans aren't fully united behind Bush's program, either. At least nine GOP senators; five top conservative activists; and Bob Barr, the Republican ex-congressman who launched the Clinton impeachment probe, all question whether Bush has skirted or flouted federal law ...

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/nation/13702346.htm

[AX10]

1. Democrats must offer an effective alternative to Bush.

We cannot cede the security issue this time around.

[marmar]

4. Agreed...they've got to slug back.

Cornered rats fight to the death.

[Vyan]

13. They

have been - http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/1/23/12533/7255

But we need to do more - http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/1/25/104326/245

Vyan

[LiberalAndProud]

2. uhh ... good luck with that

[NativeTexan]

3. "It ain't FACISM it WE do it"!!.....

...the GOP Creed, of late! There are REASONS and there are EXCUSES, and NEITHER ONE can legitimize the ignoring of the United States Constitution!

[snowbear]

5. The key word in their title is "seeks"

The Democratic Party just needs to get off their asses and GET THE TRUTH out their!

That's all...

[I Have A Dream]

6. Great article. Thanks! n/t

[Up2Late]

7. Uhh, they can try, but this is clearly a crime by this WH, here are some

...links to some NPR audio from today, both efforts are huge failures by the GOP. The back and forth between David Cole and Robert Turner is very instructive and shows the totally lame excuses the GOP are trying to put forward.

<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5170271>

Domestic Surveillance, Pro and Con

Listen to this story...

Talk of the Nation, January 24, 2006 · The White House is organizing a series of public events to explain why domestic wire-tapping is necessary in the fight against terrorism. What are the arguments for and against government eavesdropping on American citizens?

Guests:

David Savage, legal correspondent for the Los Angeles Times.

David Cole, professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center; author of Terrorism and the Constitution: Sacrificing Civil Liberties in the name of National Security.

Robert Turner, co-founder and associate director of the Center for National Security Law at the University of Virginia.

In this one, Gonzales' arguments are laughable, he come off looking extremely foolish.

<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5170875>

Gonzales: Spying Covered by Force Authorization

Listen to this story... by Michele Norris

All Things Considered, January 24, 2006 · Congress' use-of-force authorization, passed after the Sept. 11 attacks, gave the Bush administration the power to use electronic surveillance, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says. Although not specifically mentioned in the measure, domestic spying is a necessary part of the effort to fight terrorism, he says.

Lawmakers and other critics have accused President Bush of sidestepping the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act by not getting approval of a special FISA court for the wiretaps.

Gonzales disagrees. "It's long been the case, as long as we've had electronic surveillance, that the United States has engaged in electronic surveillance of the enemy during a time of war," Gonzales says. "It is a fundamental incident of waging war. And therefore we believe that the authorization to use force was an authorization by Congress to engage in electronic surveillance, and therefore is fully consistent with the provisions of FISA."

(more and audio at link below)

<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5170875>

[AX10]

8. I'll listen to it in my spare time.

[gratuitous]

9. There's only one way their plan could succeed

The GOP would have to lie like a cheap rug, and the media would have to echo those lies ad infinitum as if the lies were truth.

Hmmm.

Yep, the plan is probably fool-proof. We all know the GOP can lie. And the media have shown all the curiosity of a professional wrestling referee when it comes to getting the story right in the face of those relentless lies.

[Yoda Yada]

10. UNTIL the Law or Constitution is Changed....

....BUSH BROKE THE LAW.... AND...... IGNORED AMERICA'S CONSTITUTION....repeat

Bush broke the law....AND ignored the Constitution.... repeat
Bush broke the law...AND ignored the Constitution...
Bush broke the law...AND ignored the Constitution...

This is NOT about surveillance,... it is about ABUSE OF POWER....repeat
This is NOT about surveillance,...it is about ABUSE OF POWER.
This is NOT about surveillance,...it is about ABUSE OF POWER.


Congress makes the laws...NOT the President. (no exceptions)...repeat
Congress makes the laws...NOT the President. (no exceptions
Congress makes the laws...NOT the President. (no exceptions)

Hey! Democratic Senators and Representatives......feel free to use these talking points. (I do.)

[truthisfreedom]

11. "citizen surveillance program." that's the real phrase. tell the truth,

thugs.

[TheFarseer]

12. I think alot of people are eating their bullshit

with a fork and spoon. Alot of people say, "well, duh we should spy on terrorists" and the rest don't care if their conversations get listened to because they a re just talking about their trip to the grocery store or what to have for dinner tonight. We're going to have to do a better job at telling people why they should care before this gets turned on it's head and democrats look like "terrorist-coddlers" again. If there were evidence of spying on the Kerry campaign or something things would get interesting.