Posted on 07/21/2005 10:02:40 PM PDT by CHARLITE
A funny thing happened on the way to the nation’s highest forum last week. After Harry Reid attempted to use the well of the U.S. Senate to advance his party’s frivolous attempt at ousting Karl Rove for outting Joe Wilson’s wife, GOP leaders actually fought back. After four years of quietly beating the minority to a pulp behind the scenes and at the ballot box, Bill Frist and company exhibited a rare public display of political payback.
Amid the undulating and ever-changing accusations of Republican skullduggery, the liberal left--ever reliant on its faithful media wing--has finally turned its attention away from the balmy climes of Guantanamo Bay and focused on its favorite beltway bogeyman, Rove.
Against this latest threat to national security, Democrats sent the steely-eyed sniper Reid and his poisoned legislative pen to write the following amendment (#1222) to the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill:
"No Federal employee who discloses, or has disclosed, classified information, including the identity of a covert agent of the Central Intelligence Agency, to a person not authorized to receive such information shall be permitted to hold a security clearance for access to such information."
Faster than you can say ''ex post facto law.'' the majority leapt into action. Cherry-cheeked assassin, Mitch McConnell then asked that the Frist Amendment (#1223) be read:
"Any federal officeholder who makes references to a classified Federal Bureau of Investigation report on the floor of the United States Senate, or any federal officeholder that makes a statement based on a FBI agent's comments which is used as propaganda by terrorist organizations thereby putting our servicemen and women at risk, shall not be permitted access to such information or to hold a security clearance for access to such information."
Childish though this Durbin-for-Rove tit-for-tat may seem, it marked a rare defiance by Republicans in the face of the liberal mud-slinging machine. Right wing supporters have clearly longed for some red meat from their senate leaders and have generally come up hungry. Not this time. Even the usually staid Pat Roberts, summing up the facts of the case, got worked up:
“What we have here is a Special Prosecutor with a lot of leaks; we have a reporter in jail for a story she did not write; we have a steady stream of leaks about every aspect of this case; we have the Washington press corps in full attack mode; and, finally, before we have all the facts known, we have my colleagues across the aisle calling for Karl Rove's resignation, if not incarceration. So much for the presumption of innocence. “
And McConnell on Joe Biden: “Statements on the Senate floor--out here on the Senate floor--comparing our service men and women to tyrannical regimes that result in risking their safety must not and should not stand. I hope when the Senate has an opportunity to address both of these amendments shortly, the Reid amendment will be defeated and the Frist amendment will be adopted.”
Of course, both amendments failed as sanity was restored after ninety minutes of partisan hijinks and rhetorical flourish concluded. But the political ''gotcha'' game continues with the left’s jihad against Karl Rove, even as the GOP shows signs of using their own tactics against them. And it’s not as if some current Democrats haven’t had their own run-ins with security issues in the not-too-distant past.
Harry Reid underhandedly alluded to “a problem” in the confidential FBI files of judicial nominee Henry Saad. John Kerry let slip the name of an undercover CIA officer in a question to John Bolton at his confirmation hearing, even as Mr. Bolton tried to cover up the gaffe by referring to the agent as ''Mr. Smith'' in his reply.
And who, but Democrats, can forget former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, who pleaded guilty to stealing and destroying classified material in advance of the 9/11 Commission report and then lied about the whole matter? Berger, who was a sure bet to receive a high cabinet post in the Kerry administration had there been one, was forced to leave his post as campaign advisor on matters of foreign police and national security.
Which all leads back to another Kerry campaign advisor, Joe Wilson, who joined the team just prior to his first star-turn, the fatuous ''sixteen words'' tour in 2003. Shortly after hitting the hustings, diplomat Wilson said, “I don't care who you vote for, but get out there and caucus. Don't leave it to the neoconservatives and evangelical Christians.”
Out of mothballs after failing to spur his candidate to victory, Wilson is once again making the media rounds as a left wing darling, even though most of his allegations have been discredited. This has never stopped Democrats from attacking the president, his administration and his party. But this time they may have a fight on their hands.
About the Writer: Lisa Fabrizio is a freelance writer from Stamford, Connecticut. Lisa receives e-mail at mailbox@lisafab.com.
I was always interested in the criteria and application (or lack thereof) of our nations laws regarding treason as compared to the constitution. After learning about Vietnam and subsequently about WWI and WWII shenanigans, I am curious where the free speech/treason rubber meets the road. IMO Dick Durbin should be made to parse his statements to a court and explain the relevance to fact his comparisons had and then explain his intentions in making such statements. It should be considered as to the constitution weight of free speech and treason! If not, there is no constitutional standards applied and can be addressed as such.
Good point.
"It was a long search,
I reached down and touched them,
actually felt them,
and, lo and behold,
they were balls."
---Frist
Oh, damn. Coffee on keyboard...
Of course. Nobody expected, least of all Frist, for the amendment to pass. He was, as Rush says, "demonstrating absurdity by being absurd."
Charlite:
You are a wonderful source of research and inspiration. Thank you for all your hard work!
It was a childish response by the Republicans, but I liked it because I'm immature.
There is no constitutional right for a U.S. Senator to have a security clearance. Some of us were advocating revoking Pat Leahy's clearance years ago. There might be a separation of powers argument, but it's a weak one.
Next time the Republicans should ratchet it up with an amendment to declare it treason for a federal officeholder to make statements based on classified information that places U.S. troops at risk of reprisals by an enemy. There is no constitutional problem with that!
I wonder how Wilson's wife (oops, did it again), can stay with him after he ruined (with her help), her career.
She must be made of the same stuff.
Don't forget Leaky Leahy and Dodd. They too outed someone on the floor.
ALL of the left DESPISE CHRISTIANS and neoconservatives is a code word for gasp! Republican Jews!!!
I think it was constitutional. It was an internal Senate rule.
'Okay. . change to read, "words that provide aid and comfort to the enemy"'
That's not much better. I mean, one could argue that even disagreeing with the Iraq War gives aid and comfort to the enemy, and therefore anyone who expresses such an opinion must answer for it in a court of law. I'd hate to live in such a society.
LOL
"...steely-eyed sniper Reid"
More like squinty-pig-eyed-traitor Reid.
"The whole Democrat party is a fraud, through and through."
Sorry that it has taken me until today to respond to your excellent comment, but I am doing so, because it bears repeating. "The whole Democrat party is a fraud!"
Thanks so much for saying it like it is! Oftentimes, "short and brutally frank" carries the biggest punch!
Char :)
It has been my theory all along that she is at the heart of the entire conspiracy. She knows the ropes at the CIA. She's the professional "sleuth." He's a hack-has been "diplomat." She's a liberal, and surely part of a "vast left wing conspiracy" within the CIA who are anti-Bush and were against his Iraq policy to remove Saddam from power.
Further, I believe that she (and possibly her miserable husband) knew all about smuggling at high levels by possibly French and/or other UN officials........of Niger uranium into Iraq. The deplorable Wilson couple were trying to kill a few different birds with one stone by cooking up his "mint tea" trip.
They were helping out their smuggling pals (UN-France etc.). They were also helping the Democrats and the Kerry campaign by attempting to discredit our president. Both activities, IMO, are actionable offenses - possibly criminal: CIA employee and former State Dept. employee falsifying intelligence (Niger-yellowcake), and both using their official positions to influence a general election.
Thanks for your comments, AliVeritas!
Char (:
"So. . .you are against anyone being prosecuted for treason. Those are, after all, the words to define treason."
Of course I'm not against that. But to "give aid and comfort to the enemy" is too vague to stand up to constitutional scrutiny, and indeed it shouldn't. Look, I don't like Durbin or any of those guys. But if they think the US military might as well be made up of Nazis, they should be able to say so. Then it's up to the democratic process -- that's us -- to boot them out of office.
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