Posted on 01/17/2007 11:54:49 PM PST by Aussie Dasher
The ethics bill before the Senate not only cracks down on lawmakers, but also subjects politically active ministers and neighborhood groups to the same rules as K Street lobbyists.
Under the legislation, grass-roots organizations that attempt to "influence the general public" to contact members of Congress would have to register as lobbyists and file financial reports -- or face a $200,000 fine. The requirements could apply to a preacher who goes on TV or radio and tells listeners to call their congressman in support of a particular issue, such as a constitutional amendment against homosexual "marriage."
But late last night, in the session's first display of the muscle that even a minority party has in the upper chamber, the entire ethics bill was jeopardized when Republicans blocked a procedural vote. Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, had refused to allow a vote on an amendment to give the president authority to strip spending "earmarks" from bills.
Republicans retaliated by voting in near-lockstep against a parliamentary motion needed to vote on the entire bill. The motion won a 51-46 majority, far short of the two-thirds majority needed. No action is now scheduled on the bill, though negotiations between the two parties continued into the night.
The vote capped a day of squabbling over the ethics bill, in which the Senate's Democratic leaders clashed repeatedly with Republicans on numerous details, starting with the measure to broaden the scope of lobbyist rules. Democratic backers of the measure say it will expose phony grass-roots organizations, sometimes called "astroturf," that front for monied special interests.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
Hmmmmm....
Your free speech/press. How much do you value it?
Why am I not surprised? Is it because I see our government trampling on our freedoms and not listening to their constituents?
Fabianism, both sides.
You know what's next, Talk Radio.
After such a dim measure the grass roots likely will start expressing themselves with bullets......
Normally I would call such a statement an exaggeration but free speech is the glue that keeps our free nation civil.
If they think they can pass this and the majority won't notice an immediate change they may be correct but the long term implications will be disastrous.
When it comes to free speech the Liberals have always engaged in hate speech.
"Nice try, but they'll need a constitutional amendment for a line-item veto. I believe they had a supermajority when they passed the line-item veto under Clinton, but they passed it as a simple law, because they did not want to endanger their pet projects. Shameful..."
That is not what they are proposing. They are proposing a law that allows the President to send individual earmarks back to Congress for a vote...basically, they strip the pork form the bill and force Congress to vote on the port specifically....
That is not a veto.
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