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March 15, 2006BELTWAY BLOGROLL
In The Blog's Eye: Feingold's Folly ... Or Fortitude
In the eyes of conservative bloggers this week, Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin is the laughingstock of the Senate for trying to get his colleagues to censure President Bush. But in the eyes of liberal bloggers, he is the only Democratic senator with a backbone.
The debate about Feingold has been raging ever since he announced Sunday that he would introduce a resolution of censure aimed at Bush for secretly authorizing terrorism-related spying within America without first getting warrants. Liberal bloggers quickly jumped on the idea, urging readers to ask their senators to support the move. One diarist at Daily Kos even compiled very Beltway-like "talking points" for readers to use when they call Senate offices.
Feingold also made another foray into the blogosphere to tout his censure drive. "Censuring the president is not something that should be taken lightly," he wrote at Daily Kos. "But the president has BROKEN the law and there needs to be action and accountability."
Feingold's backers initially dominated the conversation online, but that changed after he filed the resolution on Monday and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., decided to call Democrats out on the proposal. When Frist tried to put Feingold's censure resolution to a vote, Senate Democrats balked. In the process, conservative bloggers started ridiculing the idea -- and praising Frist for trying to force Democrats onto the record. The resolution even merited a condemnation of "Feingold's grandstanding" at the Republican National Committee blog.
The battle has occupied much of the attention of both lawmakers and bloggers, even in the House. A similar attempt to censure Bush led by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., never took root there, but House Republicans are all over the story now that a potential presidential candidate from the other chamber has thrown his weight behind it. Several House members addressed the issue in speeches and press releases yesterday, and the Republican Conference promoted the activity in a series of e-mails to bloggers.
The controversy has sparked some great commentary in the blogosphere. Check the excerpts in the extended entry.
Americablog: "Feingold is sadly right. Bush is at the helm of one of the greatest failed presidencies in American history and the Democrats continue to cower in fear. So long as Democrats continue to value their jobs more than the best interests of their party and their country, they will continue to sit back, do nothing, and enjoy their hefty paychecks and their honorific titles."
Captain's Quarters: "If anyone expected the Democrats to make significant gains against the GOP, which has seen its popularity buffeted by scandals the past few weeks, that analysis obviously excluded the capacity for Democrats to shoot themselves in the foot. Only an idiot would attempt to make a president the enemy during wartime, especially for an action that he performed in defense of the country."
The Huffington Post: "Feingold for president. I know, I know -- it's nuts. Jewish, twice-divorced, Republicans salivating to turn him into McGovern, can't get the moderates and independents he needs to break 40 percent. Anything else? Okay, now that the Beltway wisdom has spoken, let's try take two. He's authentic, unafraid, says what he believes. ... He doesn't just pay lip service to bipartisanship; he actually has a track record. He wants to save democracy from the Washington sewer it has become. He's got deep roots in the midwestern progressive tradition. He's a good fiery speaker."
Ezra Klein: "Props to Feingold for his introduction of a measure to censure the president. Having the executive unilaterally declare himself unbound by the laws Congress passes to constrain him is, I think, worthy of official rebuke. Having him then decide to not mention his unlimited authority to anyone but instead to simply ignore and contravene statutes he dislikes probably merits substantially harsher penalties, but in the current climate, I'd be perfectly pleased with a censure."
MyDD: "Today, Russ Feingold is the leader of the Democratic Party."
PoliPundit: "Republicans are making a mistake on the censure resolution if they do not let it come to the floor. ... Given that Democrats will have to vote against it, it will be seen as an overwhelming victory for the President when it is voted down 80-20. And the 20 Democrats that would vote for it commit political suicide unless they are from Massachusetts."
Power Line: "Those with a sense of deja vu may recall the similar episode of Congressman Jack Murtha's resolution calling for immediate termination of the Iraq mission. The Democrats hailed Murtha's "courage" and welcomed the headlines that followed--did you know that Murtha is an ex-Marine?--but considered it dirty pool when the Republicans actually wanted to vote on Murtha’s proposal.
Right Wing News: "[W]e have a pretty clear split between both parties that needs to become an issue in the 2006 elections. Republicans believe that we need to act aggressively to defend Americans from terrorists who want to harm us, and Democrats believe that the president should be impeached for acting aggressively to defend America from terrorists."
Posted by | 07:16 AM
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