87.5% of "Family" & DLC Affiliated Senate Democrats Voted Yes on FISA

[Leo 9]

Bruce Wilson

87.5% of "Family" & DLC Affiliated Senate Democrats Voted Yes on FISA

Posted July 15, 2008 | 01:37 PM (EST)


In early July 2008 Senate Republicans voted, with astounding conformity, in favor of the controversial electronic surveillance FISA bill update that was condemned by American civil liberties advocates across a wide range of the US political spectrum; two GOP Senators, John McCain and Jeff Sessions, abstained from voting and so 95.9 % of Republicans voted "aye" on FISA. But there was one specialized subgroup within the Democratic Party that voted with almost as much uniformity in favor of the FISA bill - Senate Democrats who belonged both to the DLC and who were members or "friends" of a shadowy fundamentalist group that's been burrowing, since the Eisenhower years, into the Washington power establishment: The Family.

This is the first in a series which will explore, building off Jeff Sharlet's new book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at The Heart Of American Power (excerpt from book and a review), recent influence of The Family within American politics and especially within the Democratic Party. Future installments in this series will cover: (1) the birth of the DLC and the ties of key DLC founders to The Family, (2) treatments of specific DLC members with extensive Family associations (3) possible Family influence in the 2000 US Presidential election (4) methods by which The Family has advanced its ideological agenda, through legislation, supported by Republican-DLC coalitions, designed to attack New Deal and social welfare programs, attack church-state separation and advance other long-term Family goals.

As Constitutional Law expert Jonathan Turley put it, shortly before the July 2008 final U.S. Senate vote on the FISA bill which expanded the power of US presidents to conduct secret surveillance of American citizens, "What the Democrats are doing here with the White House is they're trying to conceal a crime that is hiding in plain view. ... It's like all those stories where someone is assaulted on the street and a hundred witnesses do nothing. In this case, the Fourth Amendment is going to be eviscerated tomorrow, and a hundred people are going to watch it happen because it's just not their problem". Based on data I've compiled, from the controversial FISA Senate vote, one could possibly predict, with some accuracy, upcoming Senate votes establishing various components of an emerging, wildly antidemocratic legal apparatus for an American national security state. Secret government surveillance was, of course, a hallmark of Soviet Russia and it is common to many authoritarian regimes. So FISA probably serves as a very good proxy - US Senators willing to cast their votes in favor of FISA will likely be willing to support just about any legislation that's antidemocratic, at least in spirit if not directly antagonistic to the US Constitution, to come up for a Senate vote.

Overall, only 56% of Senate Democrats voted against FISA. If they had voted with such uniformity as did Republicans on FISA, the bill would not likely have cleared the Senate. But 42% of Senate Democrats, 21 in total, peeled off to join Republicans in backing the FISA bill. A weak majority of Senate Democrats associated with the Democratic Leadership Council, 55%, supported the FISA bill and DLC Democrats comprised the core of Democratic Party FISA support: 71.4%.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-wilson/875-of-family-dlc-affilia_b_112878.html

[Selatius]

The DLC should be ashamed of itself for fielding such wretches for political office. nt

[Hell Hath No Fury]

1. Good.

This needs to be exposed. :amd:

[libnnc]

2. kick

this is freaking me out

[libnnc]

10. kick

[Hydra]

3. And people here STILL say we need the DLC

For what? To sink us?

[Selatius]

4. Only the people who have DLC in their avatars and signature lines. Let them fly blind. nt

[mmonk]

5. It could explain the horrendous court or judge confirmations

and Mukasey confirmation as well.

[bonito]

6. The DLC thinks like Lieberman, party affiliation is irrelevant

for the neocons intentions are clear.

[fascisthunter]

7. Exposure of the Democratic Party's Hidden Opposition

moles

[Wilms]

8. K&R n/t

[Me.]

9. Giving This K & R

While waiting for the usual suspects to come out and walk the DLC dog.

[jaksavage]

11. Throw all the bums out. nt