Bill Frist only hates filibusters some of the time.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist signaled yesterday that he and other White House allies will filibuster a bill dealing with the interrogation and prosecution of detainees if they cannot persuade a rival group of Republicans to rewrite key provisions opposed by President Bush.
Frist’s chief of staff, Eric M. Ueland, called the dissidents’ bill “dead.”
[…] The sharp rhetoric of last week was replaced yesterday by softer language from both the Bush administration and the three Republican senators leading the opposition to its proposals: Warner, John McCain (Ariz.) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.).But Frist struck a more jarring tone, telling reporters that the trio’s bill is unacceptable despite its majority support.
[…] The disagreement centers on the Geneva Conventions, which say wartime detainees must be “treated humanely.” Bush backs language saying the United States complies so long as CIA interrogators abide by a 2005 law barring “cruel, inhuman, or degrading” treatment of captives. Warner and his allies say they are concerned that Bush’s approach would invite nations to interpret the Geneva Conventions in lax ways that could lead to abusive treatment of captured U.S. troops.The Warner contingent also opposes Bush’s bid to allow detainees to be convicted on secret evidence they are not allowed to see.
Observers have been biting nails for weeks over whether the McCain-Graham-Warner trio would knockle under to pressure and present some watered-down “compromise” that gives the president ninety-five percent of what he wants. Many observers have speculated that the entire kabuki exercise is designed to produce just that result. As Anonymous Liberal points out in the link this is still a bill written by very conservative Republicans. That the president cannot accept the bill’s meager intrusion on unitary executive rights does not by itself make the legislation good. Rather we should leave our code of conduct exactly where it has stood through the existential crises of the twentieth century, and anybody who has broken the law in mistreating detainees should be prepared to go to jail.
Needless to say the Democrats could not write a better result than the president’s legislation going nowhere and the half-awful “compromise” bill falling to a Republican filibuster threat. Given the state of our Republican leadership, nothing could serve America’s interests more than to put these bills off until the Democrats take one or both houses of Congress. Let Congressional hearings shine some light on the behavior of our government for the last six years and then make legislation based on informed understanding rather than our current state of half-light and demagoguery.
Punchy
I find it sickening that the chumps–almost (exclusively?) without exception–pimping this Bush bill have never served in the military, and the ones blowing the “stop” whistle are the ones that have. That speaks volumes as to the insidious nature and content that the fine print on this bill must contain.
And I’m convinced this bill has much less to do with redefining interrogation techniques as it does giving retroactive immunity to each and all executive branch members running afoul of current laws and treaties. That seems to be the most important aspect–hell, we’ve been torturing for years–but dammit, here comes an election and some accountibility. Better “pardon” everyone now before the House Dems start reading our emails and demanding answers.
Blue Neponset
What are the odds that Frist will invoke the
nuclearconstitutional option against himself?Pb
Fillibuster your heart out, Frist, and don’t let those Republican obstructionists tell you different! After all, I don’t want to see either one of these bills get passed. If we didn’t need to make these changes throughout WWII or since, then we don’t suddenly need to make them now.
Anderson
Tim F., as a connoisseur of Arlen Specter’s spinelessness, you shouldn’t overlook Jack Balkin’s post on how Specter has come out against stripping habeas rights from our perpetual detainees.
How long can that last?
Keith
I agree with you 100% on that one. Bush is waaaay too animated/angry/stubborn on this just because he wants CIA operatives to know what they can/can’t do. It seems pretty obvious that his administration has authorized war crimes in the heat of their cowboy, gloves-off post-9/11 mentality, and they don’t want to face the consequences for it. They tried to pin what they could on the infamous Low-Level Operatives (in this case soldiers), but it is too far-reaching (both horizontally & vertically) to cover all bases with the bad apple argument.
ET
I want some TV news person to get Frist on camera responding to a question like “So Sen. Frist, aren’t you glad you didn’t git rid of the filibuster?” or “So Sen. Frist, I guess you like the filibuster now?” or “Sen. Frist, what makes this legislation filibuster-worthy but judicial nominees not?”
Punchy
The Phil E. Buster that Frist tried to deep-six was only for judges anyways. He never tried to 86 the filibuster for bills. Still, it’d be great question to ask him, just to watch him squirm and spew stupid shit.
After watching Allen go Courtney Love on some reporter for a dumb question, I’m guessing that ought be the modus operandi for reporters now–ask a Republican a tough, precise question, and watch them go whack-job in their response.
Tsulagi
Hey, what happened to that principled up or down vote thingy? Oh, that’s right, when it doesn’t work for you it’s tossed faster than a Contract with America.
You have to laugh at Frist. He’s done his damndest to prove to The Base he’s just as stupid as Bush, just as corrupt (insider trading), and will sell his soul just as fast to fellate the Save-Terri crowd. He wants to run for prez so bad, but the base just isn’t buying him. Maybe because he can pronounce “nuclear.” Too much education.
Yeah, let Frist use that evil/good filibuster. Then if the Repubs now opposing Bush’s garbage cave showing they’re just spectering toughy talkers, then the Dems should pick up the filibuster. No way this latest Bush dump on the Constitution and human decency should become law. Not in the U.S.
sglover
The most damning benchmark for Frist’s judgement is his apparent delusion that he’s actually got a shot at being president. The man combines the charisma of Lieberman with the manliness of Specter, the judgement of Santorum, and the integrity of DeLay. His primary bids ought to be flat-out hilarious.
Tim F.
When GOP sites hold their primary polls I am often the only one who votes for Frist, usually two or three times. Go Frist go.
Sojourner
It’s all a game, folks. The “maverick” Repubs will put together a bill that appears to protect the Geneva Convention but doesn’t. They’ll get a lot of positive press from the idiot MSM, Bushie’s butt will be covered, and the Dems will continue to look like losers – which, if they allow this to happen, will be absolutely true.
Overlooked in all of this is the fact that the citizens of other countries aren’t as stupid as we are, and won’t fall for this nonsense. So the U.S.’s moral authority will continue to be in the toilet while Americans continue to brag about our superior, “Christian” ethics.
Good g-d, will we ever again have real leadership in this country?
Zifnab
So… wait. Bill Frist is now… filibustering… his own party? I am so terribly lost and confused.
RSA
Not to mention that when I see snapshots of him on political blogs, I sometimes wonder whether they’re of him or a Spitting Image puppet. He’s got just the right features for it (like some Democrats, to be equally unfair).
Tsulagi
Talk about an optimist. (Just kidding)
I’m a little surprised Frist is even thinking filibuster with all the irony that in itself entails along with fighting for the right to fry balls. Some of the lesser Christian patriot warriors now counted on might get a little squeamish reconciling that with Jesus. You know, that whole do unto others….
I would have thought Frist would just go for what he could get now before elections. Frist and Hastert then appoint Bush loyalists as conference chairmen to reconcile the House and Senate versions. Bush gets back more of what he wanted in conference.
Then Bush proclaims the final version was his idea all along. While Abu Gonzales writes executive finding #xxxxx “clarifying” what Congress meant, but adding even that is subordinate to Bushy as wartime president. Ahh, the sweet smell of Republican neo-democracy in the morning.
Sine.Qua.Non
“Killing the Bush Bill” is the best result all together. No change needs to be made to the Conventions. They are what they are and they have satisfied this country for a long damned time. Kill it and put it to bed.