Posted on 02/16/2002 7:27:55 AM PST by TLBSHOW
Today, ladies and gentlemen, you cannot shout "Freedom!" in a crowded election. That's what this phony campaign finance reform bill will mean if it becomes law, which is why there is a huge debate going on inside the Bush White House over whether the president should veto or sign the bill. It appears right now the president is going to sign the thing - and this is what's troubling.
Mr. President, remember the brilliant address you made to the nation explaining our course of action in fighting world terrorism? I say the same kind of approach is called for with this deceptively named campaign finance reform bill. You enjoy an amazing level of trust with the American people. They trust you. They believe in your honesty and integrity. You could explain to them just why this bill is unconstitutional, and why it ought not ever see the light of day. The First Amendment has just been amended here in wanton violation of the Constitution.
Folks, when John McCain was running for president in the Republican primary, I said, "If Russia passed a new law that restricted free speech and competitive elections in the way that the McCain-Feingold bill does, and then claimed it was reform, our state department and human rights groups would denounce it as repression of the Russian people. The New York Times and Washington Post editorial pages would rail against these efforts as anti-Democratic - which they are." This bill is un-American, wrong and against freedom, and I say this knowing that it would make me even more powerful than I am now. Think about that.
President Bush has demonstrated that he has the resolve and the courage and the principle to face down the evil of terrorism. He's shown that he is committed to doing what's right regardless of what the European Union, congressional Democrats or even the media has to say about it. He's doing the right thing. He's following his instincts. Well, let me suggest that this assault on the Bill of Rights requires no less resolve and courage by the president to prevent a severe blow to our liberty.
To me, this is gut-check time, Mr. President. One of the major reasons you were supported over McCain back in the primary season in the year 2000 was your stand against this very bill. Stand up for free speech. Veto this bill.
ALL social programs should be given back to the states. Let the Feds fight the wars and guard our borders, and he ain't even doing that .... he wants to give illegals resident status!!!
I take it back; he gets a 4!!
I am suspect of any liberal who says he's in favor of putting a cap on money spent toward campaigns........they have an idea in their heads about who this bill will be affecting, and it's not THEM! If Daschole is in favor of this bill, that already tells me all I need to know. There's something more than odious in the bill.
My gut instinct is he was guilty of some impropriety concerning the Keating scandal, how much, we probably never know.
I think he is becoming profoundly evil. I wish he would seek professional help, and stop listening to the kudos from the ultra liberal left.
It's sad to watch his decline, as I used to have the utmost respect for him when I watched him in the House.
I think he is becoming profoundly evil.
May I so bold as to correct you? I think he's been evil all along . . . it's just that he hid it much better before. Now, since he lost his presidential goals, he has nothing to lose by showing his true colors.
You are exactly right!
Roe v. Wade is a greater constitutional travesty than "campaign finance reform". Setting aside the issue of morality, Roe is bad law: it was a judicial usurpation of an issue that should be left to the states.
Rush misses the entire point: there is no constitution left. The federal judiciary has destroyed it. There is no system of federalism, no separation of powers, no moral code as the underpinning of the law; indeed, rule of law no longer exists.
This is precisely the reason why money is crucial in politics. The leviathian federal government intrudes into every facet of our lives and the buying of influence is the only means of portection as the hedge of law has been uprooted.
There should be a veto; however, all the discussion misses the point that the constitution has already been destroyed and liberty in large measure circumscribed by an activist judiciary and a congress that knows no limits.
However that said, I have to add this. It was the DUTY of the House members to abide by the Constitution and those who helped pass this bill should take responsibility for their actions.
They voted to pass it. Now they look to GW to veto it. SAVE ME! SAVE ME!
Isn't that pretty cowardly??
One other point while I'm thinking about it. On Fox's Special Report with Brit Hume, Mort and Mariah thought this bill would help the Republicans in the short run.
Cut below from anti-bush website.
In April 1999, ®TMark constructed GWBush.com, a website that at first glance appeared to be that of Republican Presidential candidate George W. Bush (his website is GeorgeWBush.com). ®TMark's first version incurred Bush's wrath, and his lawyers sent a threatening letter. The domain's owner, Zack Exley, then took down the site and attempted to sell his domain to the Bush camp.
By the time ®TMark's second version of GWBush.com was published, with much more content, the Bush campaign had complained to the Federal Elections Commission.
These attacks resulted in a major international news story, which was then magnified by Bush's televised response to a reporter's question about the site: "There ought to be limits to freedom," Bush said--a gaffe that has yet to disappear from public memory. (Click here for audio.)
The Bush campaign's intimidation tactics raised the eyebrows of several constitutional lawyers, who offered to support GWBush.com in potential copyright and electoral procedure lawsuits, arguing that although there ought indeed to be "limits to freedom", restricting free speech and limiting citizens' access to the political process was not the proper place to draw the line.
Shortly after the publicity's peak, Exley, the owner, struck out on his own with a value-added GWBush.com.
That's because the smell from the White House was so overwhelming, we were unable to detect the less offensive ones.
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