Here Come the Threats and the Empty Posturing

Hold on a minute...we're going to call a do-over with our Farm Bill post just like the House did a little while ago...

The House overwhelmingly rejected President Bush's veto of a $290 billion farm bill Wednesday, but what was to have been a stinging defeat for the president became an embarrassing episode for Democrats.

Only hours before the House's 316-108 vote, Bush had vetoed the five-year measure, saying it was too expensive and gave too much money to wealthy farmers when farm incomes are high. The Senate then was expected to follow suit quickly.

Action stalled, however, after the discovery that Congress had omitted a 34-page section of the bill when lawmakers sent the massive measure to the White House. That means Bush vetoed a different bill from the one Congress passed, leaving leaders scrambling to figure out whether it could become law.

Democrats hoped to pass the entire bill, again, on Thursday under expedited rules usually reserved for unopposed legislation. Lawmakers also probably will have to pass an extension of current farm law, which expires Friday.

"We will have to repass the whole thing, as will the Senate," said Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y. "We can't let the farm bill just die."

Republican leaders called for a farm bill do-over. The White House, almost gleefully, seized on the fumble and said the mixup could give Congress time to fix the "bloated" bill.

It's a setback, to be certain, but what is needed now is a little bit of legislative statecraft and sleight of hand to GET the farm bill BACK on track and get it passed. Was the bill sabotaged? Who knows? But the President simply doesn't matter anymore. That's why so many Republicans are voting for the Farm Bill this year.

Sebelius Wields the Veto Pen

Via Think Progress, there's word out of Kansas that voter ID is unacceptable:

A bill requiring Kansas voters to show photo identification in 2010 elections was vetoed today by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

The measure — HB 2019 — was similar to a measure she threatened to veto during last year’s legislative session. Last year’s measure failed, but this year’s version passed through the efforts of the Republican majorities in the House and Senate. Sebelius is a Democrat.

In her veto message, the governor said the bill created a roadblock that prevents citizens from voting.

“Additionally, no elected official should support enacting new laws discouraging or disenfranchising any American who has been legally voting for years,” she wrote.

During debate, the bill’s advocates said the measure would help prevent voter fraud. The governor said Kansas already has secure, fair elections.

“HB 2019 seeks to solve a problem of voter fraud which does not exist in our state due to the tireless efforts of our local election officials,” the governor added.

Or virtually anywhere else, for that matter. Voter fraud is a Republican invention, not a reality.

House Fails to Override Veto

Probably just a symbolic attempt, but nonetheless:

HR 2082 was the bill that was designed to ban waterboarding. The full description was: "To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2008 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes."

[A waterboarding ban was part of that.]

These three Democrats voted to uphold Bush's veto and joined the Republicans, and they had previously joined three other Democrats in voting against the legislation in December:

Nay OH-10 Kucinich, Dennis [D]
Nay GA-8 Marshall, James [D]
Nay CA-35 Waters, Maxine [D]

I tried to find an explanation for the votes, but I couldn't locate one. Perhaps they're just being "consistent" in their desire to not vote for any program that funds or supports the intelligence community. I don't think they are "FOR" waterboarding. I think they want to draw attention to themselves by voting against their party and against funding the intelligence community. And that's, umm, to put it mildly, brain-dead and immature.

Either way, this is another example as to why we need to have BETTER DEMOCRATS in the Congress. Kucinich, Marshall and Waters aren't the kinds of Democrats we need. They are self-centered, self-important, and in it for themselves.

I don't know--instead of grandstanding and all that, instead of being difficult, can't you just vote with the Democrats once in a while?

We'll see your veto and raise...

The Democratic Congress saw the Resident’s recent veto of the war funding resolution and raised the bet by passing an even more restrictive package last night; one that only funds the short term and would require the Useless Tool™ to return to Congress and justify further funding in approximately 60 days.

Another veto is promised, but Congress remained steadfast and defiant, passing the legislation 221 to 205.

Now the Senate must pass a place-holder bill and then committees from each chamber will get together and hammer out the final language of the bill that will be presented to the president.

I gotta admit – the Mom in me is getting a thrill in watching the Congress check the chump. When my kids screwed up, they lost something they had or they didn’t get something they wanted. When the first veto was affixed – on Mission Accomplished Day, no less – I said that every future bill should be more and more restrictive.

I said a while back that he should have to ask my mother for the money to fund this fuck-up. And while he’s at it, he should just try telling her that it’s gonna be his way or not at all. She would put her wallet away and say “fine.” And the discussion would be over. Continue to quibble and find yourself performing some unpleasant task. (I always suspected she kept one in reserve to make a point.)

What I found really interesting was the separate bill to mandate withdrawal of all combat forces from Iraq that failed.

Democrats mustered 171 votes for far tougher legislation that would all but end U.S. military involvement in Iraq within nine months. The 255 to 171 vote against that measure meant that nowhere close to a majority backed it, but the fact that 169 Democrats and two Republicans voted for it surprised opponents and proponents alike.

"I didn't think I was going to get anywhere near 171 votes," said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the withdrawal bill's chief author. "This is proof that the United States Congress is getting closer to where the American people already are."

The American people are not going to suddenly, at some point over the summer, have an epiphany and rally support for a failed war effort, launched on lies for the vainglorious ego-fluffing of a small, pathetic failed man with Daddy Issues.

That 171 number is like the number of casualties and war dead – it can only go one way.

A Perfect Specimen of Stubborn

The Useless Toll™ is in Kansas today – and Tony Snow took the opportunity to bluster and blow about the next Iraq funding bill that is being hammered out in the House of Representatives right now, and threaten another veto. You know, because the last one was so successful...

While White House officials have previously made clear their displeasure about the new House bill, this is the first time any administration official threatened another veto. House leaders said there could be a vote as early as this week on the new measure.

Snow expressed hope that the administration and Congress could still work out a deal, noting that Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten was supposed to meet Wednesday with Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.)

aWol needs to realize that he ain’t getting his way here. His day is done and we are not going to let our congress back down to his punk ass on this. Every bill he gets needs to be taking something away from him and applying stronger benchmarks and shorter timelines. Fuck him. The arrogant, hubris-driven intellectually incurious, mentally defective, amoral toad needs dealt with. We elected this cast and crew to put his poisonous ass in a bell jar. The sooner that reality sinks in across the board, the better off we'll all be.

The Constitution sets my bearing in the first three words: It is We, the People, asshole – and when we get cranky about illegal wars and stuff, we can be a right pain. Shoulda realized that it’s never a good idea to whack a hornets nest, and it’s just flat-out stupid to poke the bear at the same damned time. But that’s exactly what the stupid sumbitch did. So constrain him by any means necessary.

Yeah, George. Veto another one. I double dog dare you to keep vetoing. For the love of Harry Truman, veto, veto, veto. Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Please veto these bills.

In fact, I think for the next one, he should fly to a carrier and do it on the flight deck. I'll kick in ten bucks for the banner.