Senate Hearings: GOP Bashes Gays, Defends Spying on Americans
18th May 2006
by gordo
Arlen Specter displays the ‘06 Republican Party platform
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to send a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage to the full senate. The amendment stands virtually no chance of passing, but Republicans plan to push this and similarly hopeless measures in order to rally the base of the Republican Party for the upcoming elections.
At one point, the committee’s hearings on the proposed amendment turned testy, with committee chair Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) engaging in a shouting match, followed by Senator Feingold walking out of the hearing:
“I don’t need to be lectured by you. You are no more a protector of the Constitution than am I,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, shouted after Sen. Russ Feingold declared his opposition to the amendment, his affinity for the Constitution and his intention to leave the meeting.
“If you want to leave, good riddance,” Specter finished.
“I’ve enjoyed your lecture, too, Mr. Chairman,” replied Feingold, D-Wisconsin, who is considering a run for president in 2008. “See ya.”
Among other objections, Sen. Feingold raised the issue of Sen. Specter’s decision to hold the vote in a small room to which public access is restricted.
Perhaps Specter became angry because he knows that he is not as vigilant or as aggressive a defender of the constitution as Senator Feingold. It was Senator Specter who refused to have Attorney General Alberto Gonzales swear an oath before testifying about the NSA domestic wiretapping program. Gonzales later admitted that some of the answers he gave the committee were not true.
Meanwhile, General Michael Hayden appeared before the senate intelligence committee to defend his actions as head of the National Security Agency. Hayden has been nominated to be the next director of the CIA.
Sen. Carl Levin had to press Hayden on the issue of his involvement in developing the NSA’s domestic wiretapping program. After much pressing by Sen. Levin, Hayden finally conceded that he had helped to design the program.
Among Republicans on the intelligence committe, there seemed to be less concern for the constitutional rights of Americans. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) alluded to the 9/11 attacks as he defended domestic surveillance: “I am a strong supporter of civil liberties. But you have no civil liberties if you are dead.”
So as the election season heats up, the GOP is making it clear that they will not attempt to defend their performance over the last two years. Instead, they will again invoke the spectre of 9/11, and they will bring up issues like immigration and gay marriage that they have ignored since the last election.
May 18th, 2006 at 3:12 pm
The GOP is really desperate trying to cover up Hayden hearing.
(notice suddenly they do that Gay bashing even pulling “something happens in Iraq’ trick again.)
They are trying to move Hayden out of the top headline with false events.
May 18th, 2006 at 7:13 pm
Squashed–
Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to view the Hayden hearings. I’ll try to find time to see the reruns on the C-Span website later tonight. If not, I’ll have to continue to rely on the little that the media is telling us about them.
May 18th, 2006 at 8:24 pm
All I heard w.as that he “faced tough questions” today. Like that was helpful