Wow – Bush Says Democrats “Killed the Patriot Act”

01/03/2006

Paul Munnis

President Bush accused Democrats yesterday of blocking a full reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act for political reasons, as the White House stepped up an aggressive campaign to defend the president’s terrorism-fighting authority.

Anyone who read the newspapers prior to the adjournment of the Senate knows the score. The GOP delayed getting this piece of legislation renewed. It was due to expire on December 31st.

Senate Democrats offered to vote for an automatic extension for three months for the Patriot Act allowing time to discuss the renewal provisions of the Law. The GOP turned the Senate Democrats down. But then it was about to die again and so it went back to the House to ratify the extension. The House then threw it back over the wall to the Senate with a six month extension to vote for. The Senate was unhappy about this and GOP Senators joined with Democrats threatening to filibuster the GOP House extension. The Senate GOP could not defeat the combined forces of the Democrats and the GOP moderates together as they ran out of session time and so the Patriot Act was extended for one month and it kept key anti-terrorism powers, set to expire Dec. 31, in place until Feb. 3. It allows the FBI to continue to investigate terrorism cases using powers granted in 2001, include roving wiretaps and the authority to intercept wire, spoken and electronic communications relating to terrorism.

The GOP owns and operates both the House and the Senate, the Patriot Act is GOP legislation and the present status of the act is due entirely to bi-partisan forces, not solely to Democrats. We wish that we had such legislative power but we don’t.

When Mr. Bush accuses Democrats of killing the Patriot Act against such a clear track record there is more going on than just another set of lies (the act has not been killed). The man and his organization are clearly desperate. Thus there is now a propaganda effort being run to divert attention away from numerous Bush problems including:

1. The indictment of the GOP Speaker of the House on Charges of Fraud and Criminal conduct.

2. Accusations of ethics violations against Senator Bill Frist, the GOP Senate Majority Leader, on charges of insider trading and fraud.

3. Admission by Mr. Bush that he violated the law intentionally when he usurped powers for himself that he was denied by Congress to spy on American citizens without using the due process provided to him.

4. The war in Iraq has gone badly for Bush and he is now forced to wind it down but doesn’t want to talk about it even as Civil War is now about to rage in Iraq where he must ally with a religious majority group against a religious minority group. This is a kind of war that America simply doesn’t belong in. Mr. Bush knows that but has limited options except to get out while trying to put a good face on it.

5. The U.S. economy is dicey and there is now a 50-50 chance of a major recession during 2006 even as Mr. Bush tries to plant rosy news stories that the economy is just wonderful. The stock market is sliding and U.S. Treasures are not yielding enough for investors of short-term securities. That has to be fixed and it will worsen the national debt to do so.

6. Bush is reneging on paying restitution for destruction caused by U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq even as he tries to develop an exit strategy. That too is an attempt to deal with the worsening national debt under his stewardship.

7. Mr. Bush lost the Defense Appropriations round miserably to moderate Republicans who were disgusted with his policies of torture and abuse.

8. When Congress gets to it, the efforts to deal with the deficit are going to go against the Bush wish list of tax cuts for the rich because Congressional Conservative Fiscal Republicans have had a belly full of the Bush Administration antics on spending and they want a return to fiscal responsibility. So do Democrats.

No wonder Mr. Bush wants to change the subject. He needs to.

Today Jack Abramoff, the chief lobbiest for the GOP has plea bargained even as he entered guilty pleas to five felony charges of theft and embezzlement. He will testify against a large number of Congressional people within the GOP who are accessories to those illegal activities. The number of implicated Congressmen range from 20 to 60 people depending upon whom you listen to. This scandal has the potential to unseat a great many GOP Congressional representatives who have received illegal campaign contributions from this source. Mr. Abramoff will provide a correlation between political payoffs and bought votes thus constituting criminal behavior by Congressmen.

The Ken DeLay scandal is about to break wide open and splash plenty of GOP people who abetted fraud and corruption in the ENRON fraud too. Before this is over even more corruption will be laid at the GOP doorstep.

No one has yet brought up the subject of the un-bid for contracts for Billion of dollars awarded to Halliburton and it’s subsidiaries in locations ranging from Iraq, to Afghanistan, to New Orleans.

Mr. Bush’s answer to all of this is to charge Democrats with sabotaging the Patriot Act. That is a poor and weak media diversion tactic. Even those attempts at an Administration defense are floundering. The jig is just about up for Mr. Bush and his Administration.

Also, there are some who wonder if the Patriot Act wasn’t due for sunset provisions anyhow. Maybe the 110th Congress needs to craft something that is less controversial and more considerate of American citizens and our Constitutional and Bill of Rights guarantees. The likely scenario is that the Act will be renewed allowing Bush to claim victory, but that the onorous provisions of it will be eliminated allowing congressional candidates some bragging rights for election.

Gosh we forget to mention the CIA leak of Valerie Plume and Scooter Libby and his upcoming trial in the above litany of Bush Administration woes. We also forgot that the Texas Courts are looking at Republican gerrymandering to protect Congressional seats for themselves.

No matter, the book of GOP scandal will grow so large and be so devastating that this 2006 election will see a collapse of the GOP Party under its own weight and the 111th Congress will be much more bi-partisan as a direct result. Also the 111th Congress should be more tempered by the upcoming election.

Thank God that we didn’t give full control of the Courts to the GOP on top of the other monopolies of governance that the GOP has. The Courts are providing needed checks and balances to a government run amok.

For the GOP, Armageddon is ending even as the Day of Judgment is fast approaching.