Jay Rockerfeller's FISA vote explained

[Botany]

[Merlot]

1. Is this for real? What's the source?

[Botany]

5. plenty of documentation

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/10/senator-denies-.html

[chill_wind]

24. Opensecrets.org has all the numbers. Look up Steny Hoyer, too, n/t

[wtmusic]

2. All of fucking Congress on the take.

Not that they always haven't been but Keerist, people. Selling out the Constitution? Can I buy your moms for a night?

[atreides1]

3. K&R

Thank you

[spanone]

4. succinct

[undeterred]

6. How much money does a ROCKEFELLER need?

Is there no end to the greed?

[undeterred]

7. Feingold is the only one who truly can't be bought

He's not rich, and he needs contributions from ordinary people... and that's who he represents.

[redqueen]

10. The only Senator?

I thought Kucinich was kinda un-buyable as well...

[undeterred]

12. Of course.

And maybe there are a few others. But lately I've seen that even some of the dyed in the wool progressives can't resist taking PAC money from corporations. (Just a little bit won't hurt.)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

21. Kucinich is a Representative, not a Senator...(nt)

[redqueen]

25. Heh yup... that's why I thought maybe she meant the only *Senator*.

Cause he's one Rep that certainly seems to fit the bill. :)

[NNN0LHI]

8. This is from a site promoting that Dems be punished for FISA - Not the Rethugs who pushed it.

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/

Online Movement Aims to Punish Democrats Who Support Bush Wiretap Bill

A group of high-profile progressive bloggers and libertarian Republicans are rolling out a new political action committee called Accountability Now to channel widespread anger over pending legislation that would legalize much of the president's warrantless electronic surveillance of Americans, and grant retroactive legal immunity to telephone companies that cooperated with the spying when it was still illegal.

Progressive author and lawyer Glenn Greenwald, who writes for Salon.com, and blogger Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake, are spearheading the effort. They've hired the political media consultants behind a historic Ron Paul online fundraising drive to organize a similar "moneybomb," set to go off Aug. 8.

"That is the day Richard Nixon resigned, and the idea is that 35 years ago when you did this kind of stuff, you were forced out of office, and now congress drops everything to make your crimes legal," says Hamsher in an interview.

The campaign marks a milestone in the evolution of online grassroots organizing. The PAC is cherry-picking the tactics and tools that proved most successful in the presidential primary campaigns, and is using them to corral online support for the single issue of domestic spying. The PAC's money pay for advertisements in the districts of the House Democrats who voted for the spy bill -- potentially causing problems for those capitulating on the Bush wiretapping program.

"The fact is, we're all entering completely new territory here," writes Micah Sifry on the TechPresident blog in a post on other, similar efforts to rally support to influence Barack Obama's vote on the pending legislation this Wednesday in the Senate. "There have always been efforts to influence political candidates to take or change positions during a campaign (or afterward), but we've never before had a national campaign create an open platform for mobilizing supporters and then seen a salient chunk of those supporters openly use that platform to challenge the candidate on a policy position."

[redqueen]

11. Bipartisan funding - they should be targeting members of both parties who voted for it.

As it is, this stinks to high heaven... plays right into neo-cons hands.

[robinlynne]

16. We KNEW the republicnas would vote for it. WE wroked hard to amke sure the Dems

did not. aNd the Dems had the power to keep it off the floor or remove the immunity. The republicans were being republicans.
The Dems who voted for it voted the wrong way, the republican way.
And besides the Dems are supposed to REPRESENT us.

[NNN0LHI]

18. Who are you referring to when you say we?

[robinlynne]

26. Well, if you didn't do anything to stop FISA, shame on you.

[arcadian]

9. A Rockefeller should never have to explain himself.

n/t

[undeterred]

14. A Rockefeller is too rich to be bought. n/t

[lame54]

13. He's got more money in the cushions of his couch...

If he's gonna sell us out he should at least make it for an obscene amount

[Muttocracy]

15. with Rockefeller, it's not just his vote, it's that he's intell. committee chair :(

[wtmusic]

17. Well looky who else is for sale on the Senate Intelligence Committee:

Verizon -> Sheldon Whitehouse (D)

CORCORAN, ELLEN M
DUXBURY,MA 02332 VERIZON/SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT 4/4/07 $250 Whitehouse, Sheldon (D)
KENT, JOHN I
SMITHFIELD,RI 02917 VERIZON/DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENTAL AF 9/29/05 $200 Whitehouse, Sheldon (D)
MCCLOSKEY, COLLEEN A
BEDMINSTER,NJ 07921 VERIZON/MANAGER 4/9/07 $500 Whitehouse, Sheldon (D)
MOTT, ROGER A
SPRINGFIELD,VA 22151 VERIZON/GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS 4/9/07 $250 Whitehouse, Sheldon (D)
SALDENBERG, IVAN
WEST NYACK,NY 10994 VERIZON/CHAIRMAN & CEO 4/4/07 $500 Whitehouse, Sheldon (D)

[Inuca]

19. So you think that

Whitehouse sold his vote for less than $2000? I doubt it... Iam not at all happy with how FISA went, but let's not go overboard.

[wtmusic]

23. phrase it how you like

it lubricates the wheels of democracy.

AT&T PAC contributions for 2008 cycle

Pelosi, Nancy (D-CA) $5,000
Conyers, John Jr (D-MI) $7,500 (7th highest in House)

[WCGreen]

20. The average Senator raises about $ 5-6 million dollars...

Do you really think that $45,000 will make all that much difference...

I'm just saying.

[DCKit]

29. Yes, every dollar makes a difference.

If the word got around that any single company wasn't getting action for their individual contributions, however seemingly minor, corporate funding would slow to a trickle to that corporate schill. That's how it works now - vote against any single contributor's interests, risk being starved out.

The way you're thinking - that the individual amounts are "too small to matter" - is exactly how we're supposed to see it.

The best example I can think of is Congressman Don Young (R-AK) earmarking transportation monies for FL.

http://www.anklebitingpundits.com/content/?cat=60

"But the bridge isn’t Mr. Young’s only earmark to draw negative attention. It seems the veteran lawmaker inserted a $10 million earmark into the 2006 transportation bill for a road project in Florida.

Of course, Florida is not exactly next door to Alaska, so more than a few people have wondered why Mr. Young pushed to fund the pork-barrel project. Among those inquiring into the matter is the Justice Department, which is looking at the fact that a Florida real estate developer, Daniel J. Aronoff, who stands to benefit from the federal earmark, has raised some $40,000 for Mr. Young’s campaign coffers."

[progressoid]

22. I doubt it. That's chump change for Rockefeller.

[windoe]

27. It is cause for concern when our representatives are being bribed

and no I won't shut up about it. It is wrong.

[Joe Fields]

28. yes, Rockefeller is one of the largest recipients of telecom money.

Feinstein is another.