Roberts Rakes Rockefeller

American Spectator ^ | Jed Babbin

[slowhand520]

Roberts Rakes Rockefeller - Tuesday, December 20, 2005 @ 12:53:30 PM

Yesterday, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), co-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee (and probable source of many leaks of secret information) released a hand-scrawled letter he had written to VP Cheney two years ago after being briefed on the NSA domestic intel effort. Rockefeller, trying to score political points, raised the letter as proof of his doubts about the NSA program, and that his hands were tied, unable to do anything about it. This morning, Intel Committee Chair Pat Roberts (R-KS) released this statement which blows Rockefeller out of the water:

"I am puzzled by the release yesterday of a July 2003 letter from Senator Rockefeller to the Vice President regarding the recently exposed intelligence collection program, which was authorized by the President shortly after September 11, 2001.

“In his letter and accompanying press statement, Senator Rockefeller asserts that he had lingering concerns about the program designed to protect the American people from another attack, but was prohibited from doing anything about it.

“A United States Senator has significant tools with which to wield power and influence over the executive branch. Feigning helplessness is not one of those tools.

“If Senator Rockefeller truly had the concerns he claimed to have had in his two and a half year old letter, he could have pursued a number of options to have those concerns addressed:

1. First, he could have discussed his concerns with me or other Members of Congress who had been briefed on the program. He never asked me or the Committee to take any action consistent with the “concerns” raised in his letter.

2. Second, he could have raised objections with the Vice President during one of the many briefings we received. I have no recollection of Senator Rockefeller objecting to the program at the many briefings he and I attended together. In fact, it is my recollection that on many occasions Senator Rockefeller expressed to the Vice President his vocal support for the program. His most recent expression of support was only two weeks ago.

3. Finally, he could have pursued any number of legislative remedies. He chose to pursue none.

“Senator Rockefeller could have taken any of these approaches to adress his “lingering concerns.” He did not. He chose instead to write a letter to the Vice President and for two and a half years, keep a copy of the letter in the Intelligence Committee vault and say nothing to anyone.

“For the nearly three years Senator Rockefeller has served as Vice Chairman, I have heard no objection from him about this valuable program. Now, when it appears to be politically advantageous, Senator Rockefeller has chosen to release his two and a half year old letter. Forgive me if I find this to be inconsistent and a bit disingenuous.”

So do we, Sen. Roberts. So do we.

Posted By: Jed Babbin

[Soul Seeker]

This isn't even partisanship any longer.

Their actions are the result of letting hate and desire for power overwhelm all logical thought, sanities and conscience.

They are a threat to this country, but to themselves as well.

[conservativebabe]

You are so right. They are blinded by the thirst for power and their hate for Bush. It's scary really.

[PogySailor]

If Rockefeller really had concerns about this, they would have been screaming about it last fall. Heck, they tried everything else, up to and including making up fake Texas Air Guard memos for the media to report.

Speaking of that, here's some news on that issue:

I just sent off the book proposal draft for the agent who is going to shop it around. In the chapter dedicated to the fake memos, I gave her a pass on stuff like the typos, fonts, etc., because you guys and others have already proved that. Instead I went against her new defense, repeated ad nauseam, and in bold italics in the above excerpt; that ALL the evidence supports the documents. I was running out of paper in tearing apart her own arguments and exposing glaring errors. One example: Twice in the 6 fakes one finds Bush's service number. Problem here for Mary is that these memos are in 1972 and 73. The Air Force stopped using service numbers on July 1, 1969, and switched over to social security numbers, 3 and 4 years prior. All of Bush's released records had the SSNo blacked out as required by law. But old service numbers from Bush's earlier documents were not redacted...

[The fabricator] grabbed the service numbers from released records, not realizing that they would never show up on a 72-73 document. Irony is, he put the anachronistic service numbers in the wrong format - the FG had to be a prefix, not a suffix, like FG 1234567...For a while we used to put the two letter code FG (means Air Guard; FR means Air Force Reserve, FV means active duty Air Force) as a suffix to the new SSNo ID, as in 987 65 4321FG. Later we dropped the two letter code entirely. [The fabricator's] personal experience was with the 987-65-4321 FV format (actually, the Army Guard used different codes), so when he grabbed the service number from files to add a hint of authenticity to the memos, he probably reverted to habit. Stupid, because if you look at Bush's real records, you will see the letters FG as a prefix - he couldn't even plagiarize correctly!

[Soul Seeker]

Between this release from Roberts, Stevens playing hardball with McCain, and seeing my favorite Senator (Sessions) on TV more often today is a good day. Finally some praiseworthy actions from Republican Senators.

[Cicero]

Two years old goes back to the period when a lot of this was being plotted. Rockefeller's note to the Dems on the Intelligence Committee calling on them to use their inside knowledge for political purposes. Wilson's trip to Africa. The whole Plamegate ploy. It stands to reason that he would file a letter like this away for future use--assuming he didn't actually write it yesterday.

There's not much doubt that Rockefeller has been on the inside of a lot of plotting and planning to sabotage our country in order to bring down the administration. The Republicans were absolutely stupid to fire their own aides for trying to bring this skullduggery to the public's attention--without, actually, violating any rules or laws or breaking into any secret files.

[Coop]

OUCH!!!

ROTFLMBO!

[BigSkyFreeper]

Rush said that since November 2nd of this year, when the left started focusing on the Iraq War, Bush's approval ratings have gone up 15 points. Currently at 65%.

[Kimberly GG]

I have searched everywhere for another source for this statement released today by Roberts.....do you or perhaps anyone else here....know where I might find?

[ichabod1]

"He can't pass the buck on this one, this is all about him!" Dingy Harry on Chris Wallace show last Sunday.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I am asking myself who Rockefeller really represents...have partisan politics really come to this in our country?

Short Answer......HELL YES>>>>See this:

*****************************************************

A Must Read:

Unholy Alliance :
Radical Islam and the American Left (Hardcover)
by David Horowitz

**************************************

Vastly Illuminating, September 25, 2004

Reviewer:

Kat Bakhu (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews

I had long wondered why people on the Left had the propensity to speak more positively about people who would slit their throats than they do about their own country, which affords them more freedom and opportunity than anywhere else. David Horowitz has answered that question thoroughly and convincingly in his Unholy Alliance. Where I felt bewildered and confused, I now feel crystal clear. Unholy Alliance is such a great book.

It begins with the leftist movements at the beginning of the 20th Century, and works its way up to the present day, exploring the anti-American attitude of these movements in detail. Horowitz shows that the enemies of the US back then are largely the same group today, operating under the same misperceptions, making the same mistakes, and pursuing the same impossible utopia.

Individual chapters are included on the Patriot Act (I was persuaded that it is a GOOD thing); the democratic flip-flop on Iraq once G.W. Bush implemented what they agreed with Clinton needed to be done; the driving components of the current anti-war movement; as well as chapters on individual personalities who are major spokespeople of the Left. Horowitz covers a lot of ground, and he covers it concisely and clearly. Unholy Alliance is richly informative without ever being boring or plodding.

This book is so illuminating that I simply cannot do justice to it here. I love people who reason so clearly that they help me get my own reasoning clear. Horowitz is just that type of person! In the terrain of mindless clichés (no-blood-for-oil, etc.), he is a breath of real fresh air.

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[Mike Darancette]

plugged just like Joe Pesci and his brother were in the movie "Casino".

Come out into the corn field Senator, we have anti-GOP information for you.

[PogySailor]

Hi Rush.

[conservativebabe]

Absolutely. I was watching some woman, a Dem strategist, forget her name, but they are incapable of admitting anything good,ie Iraq elections. They spin and say "the American people are losing support for the war", yada, yada, yada.

In actuality, they have NO IDEA what the American people really think, or if they do, they think if they repeat this garbage enough, people might actually believe it.

Fools.

[aShepard]

Rush is reading this in the air now!

[Soul Seeker]

Yes! Rush got the E-Mail I sent, maybe others as well, about Robert's release here. I sent it over commercial break few minutes ago. I hope this gets wide coverage. Senator Roberts did well here.

[marlon]

"Every time they pull one of these stunts they should be required to scrub the presidents personal bathroom at the White House with their own tooth brushes."

Probably not nearly the punishment it would have been in the past administration!

[Wristpin]

Now hold on here a second!

Dirty Harry has probably nearly 100 staffers and doesn't have the resources to type a letter to the Vice President of the United States?!!!

Secondly...A hand written "copy" without a date or serialization shows up and is supposed to be taken as authentic?

Somehow, I think Lucy Ramirez is playing around again.

[conservativebabe]

Way to go!

[Mike Darancette]

It stands to reason that he would file a letter like this away for future use--assuming he didn't actually write it yesterday.

No secretary to tell tales whey you hand scrawl communications.