Political Reincarnation

Joe McCarthy 1954 - Ted Cruz 2013

Senate approves Bush's secret spy program

I am embarrassed to be represented by two U. S. Senators who today demonstrated a total disregard for the U. S. Constitution:

The Senate overwhelming voted Tuesday evening to legalize President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program and grant amnesty to the phone companies that helped out with the domestic spying.

Democrats voting for the bill:

Evan Bayh (D-IN), Tom Carper (D-DE), Robert Casey (D-PA), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Jim Webb (D-VA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

All Republican senators, including John McCain and Mel Martinez (FL) voted for the bill, except for Lindsey Graham (SC) who did not vote.

• Senate Approves Telco Amnesty, Legalizes Bush's Secret Spy Program

Goodbye, Larry, we hardly knew you (thankfully)

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Republican Senator Larry Craig announced his [intended] resignation Saturday after being caught in an undercover sting allegedly soliciting sex with a man in an airport bathroom.

"It is with sadness and deep regret that I announce that it is my intent to resign from the Senate effective September 30," Craig said at a news conference in Boise, Idaho, the state he represents.

Try as I may, I find little compassion in my heart for a man who did everything within his power to destroy better men and women than himself. Hating oneself is one thing: transferring that hatred to others, whose only fault is living their lives as genuine human beings, is another.

When Larry Craig was not busy hanging out in restroom stalls, he was projecting a wide stance against gays and lesbians, their families and the people they love. His espoused policies perpetuated civil discrimination and a repressive atmosphere in which a group of men and women are denied basic human rights, some young people are driven to suicide, and still others are beaten to a pulp.

Craig adopted a strong anti-gay agenda as a cover for his innermost secrets, prowling for sexual kicks in such a sleazy fashion that the discretion of his restroom Romeos was practically guaranteed. Who would tell?

A liar, a coward, a hypocrite without a soul, Larry Craig covered his reprehensible activities by an even greater sin - bashing others.

He is caught. Time to pay the piper.

Today's screamer

Ginny Brown-Waite [Florida 5th Congressional District], speaking today against the House resolution on the Iraq troop surge, states:

"As a matter of fact, the Orlando Sentinel, certainly not a conservative newspaper, has said that this is an empty measure."

Then, just for laughs, she repeats, "Believe me, the Orlando Sentinel is, by far, not a very conservative newspaper."

That's a screamer. By far. Anyone living in Central Florida will get the humor. When I want the Republican talking points, I watch Fox News or read the Sentinel online.

I suppose the Sentinel may not look very conservative to someone who calls Social Security a "Ponzi scheme," and refers to Islam as a "hateful and frightening religion." Congresswoman Brown-Waite also stated in a Tampa Bay Fox 13 interview, "Not every Muslim is a terrorist, but every terrorist is a Muslim. Except for Tim McVeigh ... and except Eric Rudolph, too." - Wikipedia

To be fair, the congresswoman's vote to continue Bush's failed war policy may not be "about the war" at all, as the GOP game plan confirmed this week. Her vote may be aimed at balancing the score with "liberals" - even in her own party - who opposed or failed to act on her House Resolution 1265. You remember, the one providing for "the removal of the remains of any United States servicemember or other person interred in an American Battle Monuments Commission cemetery located in France or Belgium, and for the transportation of such remains to a location in the United States for reinterment." - American Hero's Repatriation Act of 2003

Why? Because Belgium and France did not support Bush's invasion of Iraq. There's always a price to pay for crossing the decider-in-chief, ya know.

In today's speech, Brown-Waite didn't let up: "What I see here is this liberal leadership pandering to the vitriolic left wing of the Democrat Party,'' she proclaimed before the vote.

Uh, that "vitriolic left wing" would be the 60 to70 percent of Americans who disagree with her position. But then, the Orlando Sentinel is "not conservative," so the majority of Americans must be extremely liberal - maybe even "vitriolic."

She continues, "The President knows all well my strong reservations about some of the policies in Iraq. But, Mr. Speaker, it has not been a perfect war."

Oh? Then, by all means, the answer to a "not perfect" war must be to fall back on "more perfect" sloganeering: Stay the course. Open debate in a free society aids the enemy ("in their final throes," still). Non-escalation equals surrender. Democracy at home demoralizes troops in the field. Non-binding resolutions are toothless and empty.

Brown-Waite concludes, "In the South, we have a wonderful saying and it goes like this: "Git 'er done. Our soldiers want to get it done and come home. And our President wants the same thing. And this Congress should also demand the exact same thing. Let's get out there and "Git 'er done." - Brown-Waite speech supporting the Iraq troop surge


Way to go, Ginny. Like the Cable Guy, you're "gettin' er done" (although, technically, neither he, nor you, nor that "wonderful saying" is genuinely Southern - not that there's anything wrong with playing Southern for laughs).

It all comes down to what you want to get done - cooperation for solutions, or obstructionism for political points. By far.

GOP's unconscionable game plan: Take war out of Iraq debate

WASHINGTON - "This is a rather toothless 97 words," [Florida Rep. Adam] Putnam began in his floor speech, calling the proposal "a narrow, nonbinding resolution that misses the bigger picture." Minutes later, he changed his view. "The majority would have us consider a resolution that puts us one day closer to handing militant Islamists a safe haven the size of California."

So which one is it: toothless or catastrophic?

"The debate should not be about the surge or its details," Republican Reps. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan and John Shadegg of Arizona wrote to colleagues in a letter intercepted by Democrats.

"This debate should not even be about the Iraq war to date, mistakes that have been made, or whether we can, or cannot, win militarily. If we let Democrats force us into a debate on the surge or the current situation in Iraq, we lose."

To help Republicans with the task of conducting an Iraq debate without talking about Iraq, Putnam [House Republican Conference Chairman] set up a "war room" in the Longworth office building to provide research and debate material, parliamentary experts, and a "rapid response system."

Putnam, host of the war room, had only begun to fight. He called a news conference in the Capitol basement with [Majority Leader] Boehner and distributed orange juice made with fruit his family had grown in Florida.

Sipping the juice, he repeated his dueling points: (a) "This is just the first step to defunding troops in harm's way," and, (b) "This week's resolution is really just a stunt."

• Putnam, GOP taking war out of the debate

There you have it. By their own words, Republican leaders reveal how far they will go to avoid a substantive debate on the real issue - the war and its consequences.

While they held the majority in Congress, they refused to provide oversight to a runaway president and his disastrous war policies. Now in the minority, they continue to play the same old political game.

Enslaved to their own political and ideological interests, Republicans are incapable of serving the interests of the American people and our troops in Iraq.

Their cynical strategy of obstructionism - even as soldiers are dying - is unconscionable. We must hold them accountable.


Update, 9:04 p.m.: More of that Good Ol' Republican gamesmanship . . .

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republicans quickly retracted a news release Thursday that accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of violating copyrights of C-SPAN, the cable channel that televises House and Senate proceedings.

The GOP took Pelosi to task because her new blog used video of this week's Iraq war debate, but then backtracked after learning C-SPAN had no copyright for the footage.

GOP forced to retract its criticism of Pelosi

Anything to avoid the issues, boys.

Putnam clings to failed Iraq policy

Text of the Resolution opposed by Rep. Putnam

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), that ...

(1) Congress and the American people will continue to support and protect the members of the United States Armed Forces who are serving or who have served bravely and honorably in Iraq; and

(2) Congress disapproves of the decision of President George W. Bush announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.

Adam Putnam, as Chairman of the House Republican Conference, is third in line in the House Republican leadership. He represents special interests of Florida's 12th Congressional District.

Today Congressman Putnam spoke on the Iraq Resolution. My comments follow excerpts from that speech.

*****

Putnam: "After all the tough talk we heard from the other side, this is a rather toothless 97 words."

Yes, congressman, so toothless it's giving you and your Minority Party conniption fits. Rather than wasting your time criticizing Democrats for their timidity, though, why don't you spend a couple of minutes trying to think of an occasion during the past four years that you dared to raise a serious question on Bush-Cheney's failed policy in Iraq. Talk about a toothless wonder!

Putnam: "Now, the majority has surely studied its constitutional law, and knows that the most direct way it can affect the current strategy is to cut off the funds necessary to win the war. So why are we not having - this week - a real up-or-down vote on troop funding?"

Congressman, why are you, like all the apoplectic Republican leaders on the losing side of the Iraq issue, so desperate to have Democrats cut funding? Whatever the ultimate outcome in Iraq, you will blame them for losing the war anyway. Give it up. The American people have already decided that George Bush - with your unwavering support - lost Iraq a long time ago.

Yet you support the madness still. Perhaps if you had exercised proper oversight of the war when Republicans had an iron grip on Congress, you'd still be in the majority. So sit down and shut up. If in two years Democrats haven't done a better job than you did, I'll join you in protesting their lack of progress.

Putnam: "Actually, the Congress has had one up-or-down vote on the new strategy for victory - well, it more was like up-only, when the Senate unanimously confirmed General David Petraeus as commanding officer in Iraq."

Even a small child would recognize that statement as utter nonsense. In confirming General Petraeus's military appointment, the Senate in no way relinquished Congress's constitutional responsibilities. George Bush was not granted dictatorial powers to use our troops as his personal army, ignoring the will of Congress and the voice of the American people.

Putnam: "Today, al-Qaeda operates in over 60 countries with members in the hundreds and supporters in the hundreds of thousands, maybe millions."

Right. But al-Qaeda terrorists were not active in Iraq until George Bush created the perfect environment for them. "Bring'em on," indeed. How many thousands of new terrorists has your colossal blunder and mismanagement of the war created?

Meanwhile, where is Osama bin Laden? Is he in Iraq now and, like Bush and Cheney, searching for WMD's? That would make as much sense as your pretension of "taking the war to Iraq" because terrorists from Afghanistan attacked us on 9/11. You're not only failing Logic 101, you're flunking geography as well.

Putnam: "The consequences of failure in Iraq read like a far-fetched war game, but I assure you they are quite real -- the inevitable incursion of Iranian and Syrian combatants into the country, the threat to peaceful Arab states, and the further emboldening of Hamas and Hezbollah."

You said it. And that end result became possible the day George Bush embarked upon his invasion of a country that did not threaten US security. If I, along with many other observers, could at the time sit in Lakeland, Florida (your congressional district, far removed from the military geniuses in the White House) and predict the consequences of blowing the doors open to hell, where was your head - and where has it been for four long years? Why should I trust your judgment on anything - especially Iraq? Why should Congress give an idiot free rein to further "surge" the catastrophe he created?

And why, congressman, don't you have the guts to put the blame for failure on those who created and implemented the failed policies - not those who were right all along, and those who have inherited the monumental, perhaps impossible, task of stopping the Middle East from spinning further out of control?

Putnam: "So we have arrived at one of those muddy historical crossroads: will we continue to take the fight to the enemy or will we fall back and hope the enemy does not pursue?"

Name one Iraqi involved in 9/11. There are none, so stop the lies. We invaded their country, remember?

Putnam: "Time was, politics stopped at the water's edge - but no longer it seems."

That time was before the Bush gang and their echo-chamber in the Republican Congress cynically and shamefully politicized foreign policy in every way imaginable - even to impugning the patriotism of anyone with the good sense to question Bush's irresponsible policies.

In your arrogance before last November's elections, you foolishly believed that Republican power was not only absolute, but permanent. How sad for this country that, since 9/11, your party has behaved, for crass political advantage, with flagrant disregard for truth and integrity.

And, with your speech today, the game, as you call it yourself, continues - while better men and women than you continue to shed their blood for your mistakes.

Putnam: "This week's discussion should be about the way through, not the way back."

You're 32 years old, congressman. Men older - and younger - than you are dying every day in Iraq.

Make "the way through" more than idle rhetoric: Put your ass where your ideology is.

Republicans still playing a cynical game

"They were right," admitted Rep. Adam Putnam of Florida, the third-ranking Republican in the House, when asked the difference between what Democrats are doing and the tactics used by the previous Republican majority to undercut criticism of the war.

"It was a game and we got beat. ... It was clearly a ploy, and I think we paid a price for stuff like that in November."

No, congressman, it was not a game. "It" was the nation's business and you failed.

Admitting past sins -- while pointing them out in the new Democratic majority -- seems to be one step to sobriety and voter sympathy in the long run-up to elections in 2008. Two other steps in the program are retrenching behind themes of fairness and fiscal conservatism that helped Republicans take power in 1994.

Fairness and responsibility - concepts the Republicans failed to grasp in all the years they controlled Congress.

But, now they see the light. On with the game. Right, congressman?

"We can talk about the fiscal restraint piece of the Republican brand," said Putnam, chairman of the House Republican Conference. "It becomes more comfortable ground for us to stand on. They're the ones that have to balance" competing interests.

• GOP admits some sins, now accuses Democrats

Update - Feb. 9, 2007 - The Republicans' water boy continues his "game" with more trash talk:

Rep. Adam Putnam of Florida, the No. 3 Republican leader, called Pelosi's desire for a large transport plane "an extravagance of power that the taxpayers won't swallow." [....]

But (White House spokesman) Snow on Thursday said the negotiations over Pelosi's transport have been conducted solely by the House sergeant-at-arms and the Pentagon.

• White House defends Pelosi access to Air Force transport plane

More on the story . . . .

• House security chief: Pelosi didn't ask for plane
• DeLay sees Putnam as 'worthy successor'
• WSJ raises questions about 2003 Putnam trip
• Top GOP job pushes and pulls Putnam

Putnam ascends Republican ranks

WASHINGTON - House Republicans elevated Rep. Adam Putnam on Friday to the third-ranking post of their leadership team, assuring the quick climber from Bartow a prominent profile in the GOP's quest to regain the majority in 2008.

The 32-year-old father of four joins Sen. Mel Martinez, whom President Bush this week tapped as general chairman of the Republican National Committee, at the top of the GOP structure.

Putnam supports giving legal status to illegal immigrants already in the country as well as tough border enforcement measures. Martinez, a critic of the enforcement-only approach espoused by many in the GOP, will be the national party's top spokesman, amplifying Florida's influence on this issue and others.

As chairman of the Republican Conference, Putnam will be the chief communicator for the minority leadership, shaping the party's public message and overarching policy priorities as the GOP works to reclaim power.

Some members of the conservative Republican Study Committee griped that the party had not adequately received the message voters sent last week: that the GOP had strayed from its base. Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said conservatives would continue to agitate for change.

Lakeland Ledger story here.

Go vote

I voted for Democrats and independents (and, in one case, neither), but no Republican. Here are my predictions, not my votes:

[Update, Nov. 8: Election results indicated in green]

Local - Polk County (Florida) Commission

• Dist. 2: Robert Connors (D) Lost
• Dist. 4: Jean Reed (D) Won

State (Florida)

• Governor: Jim Davis (D) - wishful thinking? Lost
• Atty. Gen.: Skip Campbell (D) Lost
• CFO: Alex Sink (D) Won
• Comm. of Ag.: Charles Bronson (R) Won

National

• Senate: Bill "Space Cadet" Nelson (D) Won
• House, Dist. 5: Ginny "Screw the French" Brown-Waite (R) Won
• House, Dist. 12: Adam "Rubber Stamp" Putnam (R) Won

US Congress totals

• Dems should gain 5 Senate seats Won! Webb's win in VA will make a gain of 6, and a clear majority!



• Dems should gain 25 House seats Won! Plus extra seats for a comfortable margin. Meet Speaker Pelosi!

These numbers reflect an attempt to restrain my enthusiasm for change. I've been disappointed too many times by voters. If Democrats win control of the House but not the Senate, that makes for improved government when compared to the rubber stamp Congress of recent years.

And, even if Democrats were to win big and gain control of both houses, their power would be limited. Republicans in Congress would block progress on many fronts, and the White House would continue with two more years of political demagoguery and executive incompetence.

With Democrats holding even the slimmest majority, Republicans would also seize the chance, as usual, to blame them for every imaginable national problem -- including losing Iraq because "they have no plan." Who can forget that for thirty years Republicans have blamed Democrats like Kerry and Cleland for losing Viet Nam, while they have honored slackers like W. and Vice, who supported that war in theory but pursued healthier personal priorities throughout the war years?

So, I'll try to be content with a Democratic House to put the brakes on the Bush administration and provide some level of oversight until 2008, when moderates and progressives will have the opportunity to win the presidency and add to their numbers in Congress. Somebody will have to clean up the Republican mess.

WSJ Raises Questions About 2003 Putnam Trip

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jerry Lewis and seven fellow members of Congress jetted to Europe in July 2003 on official government business and dined in restaurants from Warsaw to Lisbon.

Instead of paying for the meals out of their government allowances, they were treated by a parade of defense contractors and lobbyists, most of which sent personnel to Europe to host the meals, according to foreign-service officials and the companies. The meals gave Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp. and others private access to legislators who control billions of dollars in government contracts.

At the time, Mr. Lewis headed a House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee in charge of defense spending. He now chairs the House Appropriations Committee itself, which decides where a big portion of government money is spent.

One problem: The hitherto undisclosed free meals likely violated House rules and possibly federal law, experts on congressional ethics say. House rules, designed to prevent private interests from unduly influencing legislators' work, bar members -- with some exceptions -- from accepting such meals on congressional trips abroad. [....]

The Lewis delegation traveled in late July and early August during Congress's summer recess. In addition to Mr. Lewis, the Republicans in the delegation were Joe Barton of Texas, Ken Calvert of California, Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey, John McHugh of New York and Adam Putnam of Florida. The Democrats were Mr. Mollohan of West Virginia and Lucille Roybal-Allard of California.

In response to written questions, a spokesman for Mr. Putnam says in an email that the lawmaker "didn't know/remember who paid for the dinners," but that he "fully complied with the regulations governing per diems." [....]

The House Ethics Committee says to date there haven't been any investigations or action taken against members who break the rules by accepting the free meals. A spokesman for the ethics committee says it isn't responsible for day-to-day oversight of codels and per diems. But "if an infraction of the rule were brought to our attention, that would be another matter."

• Story--Congress's Rules Are Often Ignored
• Apr 06--DeLay sees Putnam as worthy successor
• Nov. 17--Putnam pushes for GOP House position
• Hat tip--Polk County News Blog

Voters right to throw the bums out

"Throw the bums out" is a political solution often heard but seldom seen. Once elected, politicians who manage to stay out of prison have little to fear on Election Day, since incumbents are routinely returned to office in overwhelming numbers.

The November elections could, at long last, bring a different result. The majority of voters no longer approve of the direction the country is headed.

The rich have become the filthy rich while everyone else is working harder but falling farther behind. Housing costs have skyrocketed while household incomes have fallen over the past six years.

Insurance premiums and health care costs have driven many to live without adequate coverage and essential care.

The party in power has enacted massive tax breaks for big business and the wealthy, kicking more costs of government services down to the local level. The rising tide promised in "trickle-down" economics is a slow drip for most of us.

An ill-conceived and poorly-executed war in Iraq, based on false premises and financed with borrowed money (much of it from China), is claiming precious American lives, undermining our values and weakening our national security as it drains resources from domestic needs and adds to the financial burden of future generations.

After reaching all-time highs over the summer, fuel costs are falling just in time to influence the fall elections. One does not need a degree in political science to grasp the concept of timing, special interests and political payoffs. Corporate officers understand the laws of supply and demand, but they practice the laws of politics with equal vigor. They don't need a call from the White House to play hardball politics any more than Florida sugar interests needed a call from the governor's office to trash Jim Davis.

Many voters are convinced that our government is owned not by the people, but by an alliance of the rich and other special interests, including religious extremists whose goal is to use the power of government to impose their own personal and religious beliefs upon every American.

Obviously, if we keep electing the same people to office, we will get the same result. The Republican Party controls the administrative and legislative branches of government in both Tallahassee and Washington. At each level, they have created more problems than they have solved.

Republicans are now running scared, and deservedly so. The last thing they want is voters bringing them to account for their monumental failures, scandalous behaviors, and attempted cover-ups of crime and corruption.

As their fears of an informed electorate increase, the Republicans’ reliance on fear-mongering to mislead voters increases accordingly. To paraphrase FDR in his first Inaugural Address, the only thing they have to use is fear itself.

Scaring the voter may have worked in the 2002 and 2004 elections, but Americans should not be deceived again by the same tactic. We owe it to ourselves, our children and our country to study the issues and the candidates carefully, and then to vote.

Those who are happy with the status quo should vote for Republicans. Those who are dissatisfied should vote for someone else. And, if “someone else” won’t do a better job, we have the duty to throw the bums out again, and again, until we get it right.

As Thomas Jefferson stated more than 200 years ago, "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government; ... whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights."

-----

Guest editorial I wrote for Lakeland Free Press, Oct. 3, 2006.

Perfect storm is brewing

Mid-term elections are normally snoozers. But the rules may be different this year. A perfect storm of voter anger over scandal, high energy prices and the war could spell trouble for incumbents and possibly even cost President Bush his congressional majorities.

Lieberman's primary defeat indicates many Americans are fed up with the war in Iraq. McKinney's loss shows that voters have no patience with egocentric elected officials. DeLay and Ney are ethical rats scurrying to jump ship before voter disgust sinks their party.

All of these developments may be bad for incumbents but healthy for the body politic.

If this indeed turns out to be the year of political discontent, so be it. Elections are for sending messages. And sometimes the only message they seem to hear up in the D.C. Swamp is "Your services are no longer required."

• Ledger editorial, Aug 11, 2006

Bye bye, Joe Lieberman

I never liked you anyway.

Before you stood in the well of the Senate in 1998 and whined your way through a sanctimonius speech on sin, I hardly knew you. You told us you "felt lonely out there" as you stood alone for truth and honor. Whatever. I saw you as another self-righteous politician willing to overlook greater sins as you joined a Republican mob intent on destroying a Democratic presidency, the country be damned.

Yeah, I voted for you in 2000, but not because I liked you. I voted for you because Al Gore, in a misguided attempt to distance himself from Bill Clinton, stuck your name on his ticket. Don't kid yourself -- my vote was for Al, not for you. You saw religious significance in Al's choice of running mates. I noticed that your faith in winning came in second to your personal ambition when you refused to strike your name from your own Senate campaign in Connecticut.

As your admiration for the wisdom of George Bush blossomed, you grew to see yourself as America's senator, unbeholding to the lowly, "partisan" voters of your state. Like your kissin' buddy, you found it annoyingly easy to deny the obvious. And like spitballer Zell Miller, you haven't left the Democratic Party -- the party left you. But of course. The party is passe . . . "too partisan." You're way too big for the li'l old rules that apply to others -- especially the one about the candidate with the most votes winning.

Democrats outside your home state rejected your message in the 2004 presidential primaries, and now the voters of Connecticut have followed suit. The game is over, yet you insist it's only halftime. You claim to be a good Democrat. You might as well call yourself a Buddhist.

Move on, Joe. There are plenty of places for you, but one of them is not a campaign you've already lost.

Katherine Harris finally finds

a campaign manager who can't say no.

Campaigning for the U. S. Senate, the hands-down favorite of Florida Republicans holds up the possum she purchased at the Wausau Possum Festival, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2006, in Wausau, Fla. (AP Photo/Phil Coale)

• Marsupial Madness: Politicians seek votes at Possum fest

Congress continues to crawl

Republicans acquiesce to president's abuse of power

Jeff Parker Editorial Cartoons
Florida Today

• Rove twisting arms on Senate Judiciary Committee
• Will Congress dare to knock Bush off his high horse?
• The adulation of ignorance

House Republicans rearrange the chairs

Congressman "Opie" kisses his way to the top

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Adam Putnam of Bartow [Florida's 12th District] was elected today to the fifth highest GOP leadership post in the U.S. House. Putnam, a third-term Republican, was elected to chair the House Republican Policy Committee, the No. 5 position in the Republican hierarchy.

The post moves Putnam, 31, high up the ladder in the House Leadership after only five years in Congress. Putnam has been viewed as a rising star among Republicans. A seat on the powerful Rules Committee, a panel controlled by the majority leadership, has thrust him into the spotlight on the House floor, where he regularly leads debate on procedural rules for legislation. .... (See Putnam wins leadership post)

Kiss, kiss

WASHINGTON -- Republicans hailed the five-year, $39 billion budget-cutting bill [passed Wednesday on a party-line vote of 216-214] as an important first step to restoring discipline on spending. Democrats attacked the measure as an assault on college students and Medicaid patients, and said powerful Washington lobbyists had too much influence on it.

"The Deficit Reduction Act seeks to curb the unsustainable growth rate of mandatory programs that are set to consume 62 percent of our total federal budget in the next decade if left unchecked," said Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla. He said many such programs "are outdated, inefficient and excessively costly."

But Democrats attacked the measure, especially for its cuts to the federal child support enforcement program and for allowing states to reduce Medicaid coverage and charge increased fees for the Medicaid program for the poor and disabled. .... (See House bill)

Write a check

WASHINGTON -- In approving $40 billion in spending cuts Wednesday, Congress slashed federal funding to student loan programs by $12 billion and substantially raised interest rates on these loans.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow, said the bill helps rein in excessive government spending. Putnam focused on other cuts to Medicaid and welfare programs, dodging direct attacks on the student loan interest rates. .... (See Budget bill hikes rates on student loans)

Way to go, Big Red (that's W.'s term of endearment for his diminutive bud, ever since their 9/11 diaper-changing flight together aboard AF1). But the special interest boys don't care about the orange hair whatsohowever -- they're seeing nothing but green these days, and Opie is seen as a great investment in the futures market.


Friday morning updates:

• Putnam's Last-Minute Hustle Puts Him at Top of Policy Panel (Lakeland Ledger)
• Adam Putnam's Got Juice (St. Pete Times, "The Buzz" blog, with reader comments)

Buzzflash names its 'GOP Hypocrite of the Week'

So many Republican hypocrites, so little time

So another family values Republican who ran successfully for Congress now finds himself without a family, a bitter soon-to-be ex-wife, without custody of his children and dating Sonny Bono's widow, a Palm Springs Congresswoman, in the process of divorce herself from her second husband.

Whew, are we reading a script from a steamy novel, or is this reality?

Of course, it's reality, we're talking about Republicans! In this, case Florida U.S. Representative Connie Mack, who has been seen cooing and cuddling with Republican Congresswoman Bono in the back of the House of Representatives.

More . . . .

• GOP hypocrite of the week
• Divorce papers dispute date of Mack's residency
• Mack FuseAction image gallery

Absolute power corrupts absolutely

New tests fuel doubts about vote machines in Florida
... Republican apparatchiki not concerned

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 - A political operative with hacking skills could alter the results of any election on Diebold-made voting machines -- and possibly other new voting systems in Florida -- according to the state capital's election supervisor, who said Diebold software has failed repeated tests.

A spokeswoman for the secretary of state's office [political appointment of Jeb Bush] said any faults [Leon County election chief] Sancho found were between him and Diebold.

Bush touts 'watershed' Iraq vote
... a la Florida 2000

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 - In his final push before elections in Iraq, President Bush on Wednesday touted this week's election as a milestone for the Iraqi people and described how 2005 has been a historic year for the Middle East.

Bush accepts 'ban on torture' proposal
... long after everyone but Cheney knew he had little choice

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 - President Bush embraced Sen. John McCain's proposal to ban cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of terrorism suspects on Thursday, reversing months of opposition that included White House veto threats.

Bush secretly authorized NSA to spy on US citizens - without court-approved warrants
... fighting the 'enemy' here

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 - Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials.

Bush-Rumsfeld Defense Department illegally spying on US citizens
... Beware the Quakers bearing peace

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 - A year ago, at a Quaker Meeting House in Lake Worth, Fla., a small group of activists met to plan a protest of military recruiting at local high schools. What they didn't know was that their meeting had come to the attention of the U.S. military.

A secret 400-page Defense Department document obtained by NBC News lists the Lake Worth meeting as a “threat” and one of more than 1,500 “suspicious incidents” across the country over a recent 10-month period.

Senator Feingold finally has numbers on his side
... along with the US Constitution

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 - In Congress, where numbers are everything, the math on the Patriot Act suddenly seems to be moving in favor of Sen. Russell Feingold.

He was a minority of one four years ago, when the Wisconsin Democrat cast the lone Senate vote against the USA Patriot Act in the traumatic weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks. The law, he said then, gave government too much power to investigate its citizens. Ninety-nine senators disagreed.

Now add more than two dozen senators to Feingold's side, including the leaders of his party and some of the chamber's most conservative Republicans, and the balance of power shifts.

December 16 update ....

Senate rejects extension of falsely-named 'Patriot Act'
... as Republicans struggle fiercely to retain 'absolute power'

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 - The Senate on Friday rejected attempts to reauthorize several provisions of the USA Patriot Act as infringing too much on Americans' privacy and liberty, dealing a huge defeat to the Bush administration and Republican leaders.

In a crucial vote early Friday, the bill's Senate supporters were not able to get the 60 votes needed to overcome a threatened filibuster by Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and their allies. The final vote was 52-47.

Congressman 'Opie-Dopie' gets his ears boxed

LAKELAND -- U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow, was a strong voice in the debate on a controversial budget bill that barely passed in the House on Thursday night.

But he endured withering criticism from Democratic opponents on the floor of the House.

Most dramatic was the dressing-down that Democratic Congressman Marion Berry of Arkansas gave Putnam and others during debate on the bill.

He accused supporters of knowingly hurting the poor and working people.

"I am amazed at you boys over there," Berry said to the Republican side of the House. "I wonder what you are going to be when you grow up."

Then to Putnam in particular: "You can be cute. You can be smart. And you may even pull this off, son. But I tell you one thing, you are young enough that you are going to have to live with it."

Berry is 63, Putnam 31.

MORE....

• Lakeland Ledger article: Putnam scolded by lawmaker in House
• National Public Radio report about the House debate, including comments by Putnam and Berry's criticisms: House lawmakers pass spending cuts
• Booman Tribune coverage: Local political editor drools over our GOP congressman's ties to Hastert
• BlondeSense commentary:
  Your Government at Work: Champions of the Rich, Enemies of the Poor and Middle Class
• FLA Politics image: A 'Howdy Doody looking Nimrod'?

My letter to Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee

Lakeland, Florida
November 1, 2005


Dear Senator,

I urge you to oppose all attempts to pass the Marriage Protection Amendment. The proposed amendment does nothing to protect marriage as it exists -- but much to destroy whatever hope gays and lesbians have to experience the same "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness" taken for granted by other Americans.

Last week religious leaders and social conservatives within the Republican Party celebrated their power to undermine a Supreme Court nomination. This week they are attempting to block a minority of citizens from attaining the basic human rights guaranteed by the U. S. Constitution.

Because they supported Republican candidates for Congress, the groups opposed to equality demand an entitlement to their choice of federal judges and to a Constitutional amendment that furthers their political views. They build such demands on reminders of the "twenty years or more" they have spent "fighting in the trenches" for their agenda.

Unlike their twenty-year wait, my wait to enjoy the rights promised by the US Constitution has been not for twenty or thirty or forty years -- but for my entire life. Along the way I have fulfilled a military obligation. I have been a law-abiding citizen. I have served my community and worked to build a better future for the country I love.

My ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War, and every war since, to protect our homeland. Every time they put their lives on the line, they did so alongside gays and lesbians -- patriots who also bled and died to ensure that "all men are created equal" applied to the minority as well as the majority.

So, I am not amused by the voices of prejudice and oppression who demand that my rights shall be ignored forever. I do not intend to disappear from the face of the earth because they are offended by my existence or my expectation of legal equality.

The opponents of same-sex marriage, or its legal equivalent, have never explained how the granting of equal rights -- whatever those rights are called -- deprives anyone else of his or her own rights and personal convictions.

Where are the proposals to deny straights their choice of marriage partners? Where are the proposals to force anyone, gay or straight, into a same-sex marriage? They do not exist.

Perhaps I've missed a big story out of Massachusetts, but indications are that legalized gay marriage has not caused the cancellation of traditional wedding ceremonies, the closing of churches, the breakup of heterosexual families or the abuse of a single child. In fact, Massachusetts has the lowest divorce rate in the nation -- half the rate of states in which legal rights for gays are most vehemently opposed. (Divorce Rates by State)

Senator, I appeal to you, before you support anti-gay legislation, to try putting yourself into the shoes of your fellow citizens:

What if you knew that you could never, for your entire lifetime, legally marry the person you love? You could never experience any relationship that resembles marriage? You could never expect the family security that even convicted criminals take for granted? You could never adopt children, even the biological children of your life partner?

What would you do? Would you live your entire life in shame or denial? Would you accept the morality espoused by Jerry Falwell, James Dobson and Pat Robertson over your own humanity, spirituality and life experience? Or would you demand your birthright as a human being and an American citizen?

The proponents of anti-gay legislation base their arguments upon religious doctrine and personal conviction, yet they would never, under any circumstance, accept an amended Constitution reflecting my religious beliefs and my personal convictions. How, under our Constitution, did their beliefs and convictions become superior to mine?

Senator, I hope that you agree with me that we are never safe in basing laws for everyone upon the religious views of some, whether those beliefs belong to me or to the people whose goal is to destroy my rights. All of us are better served -- even in the practice of religion itself -- by laws derived not from religion or personal prejudice, but from an acceptance of equality and a respect for our differences. That is what our country's greatest document demands, both in spirit and in letter.

I beg you to resist the voices of prejudice, demagoguery and political opportunism. Please do not allow the destruction of the American dream. Not only would a Constitutional amendment damage the lives of American citizens, it would destroy the very foundation upon which our country was established.