Censure

By Bob Geiger
http://www.democrats.com/node/10982

In a move that many Progressives will find incredibly disappointing, Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold has announced that he will not run for president in 2008, choosing instead to focus on his work in the United States Senate.

"I want you to know that I've decided to continue my role as Wisconsin's Junior Senator in the U.S. Senate and not to seek the Democratic nomination for President in 2008," said Feingold in a statement.

By John Nichols, The Nation

When Russ Feingold first argued that the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program was in clear violation of federal law and the spirit of the Constitution, and that the Senate must censure the president for his wrongdoing, the maverick senator was condemned by the White House, ridiculed by Republicans and given the cold shoulder by most Democrats.

But, now, the Wisconsin Democrat who in March proposed that the Senate censure Bush for flagrantly disregarding the law has a federal judge on his side. And the question becomes: When will Democratic and Republican members of the Senate join Feingold in demanding that the administration be held to account for its assaults on basic liberties and the rule of law?

Statement on Muslims condemned
http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/14/stories/2006081415741400.htm

LUCKNOW : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav said on Sunday that the UPA Government should bring a censure motion in Parliament against U.S. President George Bush for terming Muslims as `mafia'.

Stating that the Samajwadi Party had condemned the statement, he said it was wrong to blame the entire community for the misdeeds of some.

http://www.metrotimes.com

Whenever News Hits writes about U.S. Rep. John Conyers and his tireless efforts to raise hell over President George Bush's manifest misdeeds, we inevitably get a call or two berating us for not spending time talking about the Detroit Democrat's own foibles.

For instance, there were some holiday turkeys donated by a charity and intended for the poor back in 2004 that Conyers staff members, ahem, "lost." And it doesn't help that his wife Monica, a Detroit City Council member, isn't always a model of decorum. There's that bar brawl she was in, and her attempt to get a tunnel named in honor of her husband.

Voters turn down outdoor dining on Shore Road
By Jim Kanak
http://www.seacoastonline.com

OGUNQUIT — Voters Tuesday rejected a proposed zoning ordinance that would have allowed outdoor dining in the limited business district, and supported a call to censure President George W. Bush. There was a modest turnout of 354 voters in the primary election/special town meeting.
The proposed zoning ordinance change went down by a 226-124 count. “I’m not surprised by the outcome,” said Selectmen Chairman John Miller. “I could see quite a lot of opposition because of the lack of control. People didn’t know there wouldn’t be noise or music.

By David Swanson

Eli Pariser introduced Russ Feingold this morning, who was cheered with "Run, Russ, Run!" as he arrived, and who received four standing ovations just during the introduction and many, many more during his speech. When Pariser mentioned Feingold's vote against the Patriot Act, his vote against the war, and his plan to end the war, the crowd rose and cheered.

By FRANCIS X. QUINN, http://www.journaltimes.com

AUGUSTA, Maine - Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin brought his anti-war message to the Democratic State Convention on Saturday, receiving a rousing reception from hundreds of delegates who approved an impeachment resolution targeting President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

Reiterating a regular theme that has propelled him to prominence as a potential candidate in the 2008 presidential field, Feingold urged fellow Democrats to challenge the president on domestic and foreign policy.

Feingold stirs Democratic convention with criticism of war
Associated Press

AUGUSTA, Maine Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold brought his anti-war message to the Maine Democratic Party's state convention today, in Augusta, Maine.

He received a rousing reception from hundreds of delegates who approved an impeachment resolution targeting President Bush and Vice President Cheney.Feingold urged fellow Democrats to challenge the president on domestic and foreign policy.

By Brian Gray, http://www.themonroetimes.com

NEW GLARUS -- If Saturday's listening session is any indication, voters in Green County support a Sen. Russ Feingold campaign for president in 2008.

"Someone mentioned that if Hillary Clinton isn't the nominee in 2008 you will be," one member of the audience told Feingold as others applauded vigorously.

Feingold, D-Middleton, smiled at the comment.

By Betty Clermont, Staff Writer, Atlanta Progressive News
http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com

(APN) ATLANTA – US Senator Menendez (D-NJ) is “looking closely” at signing on to US Senator Russell Feingold’s (D-WI) bill to censure President Bush, Senator Menendez told Atlanta Progressive News during an in-person interview.

Menendez told Atlanta Progressive News that many US Senators are looking closely at the bill, S Res 398.

By Matthew Rothschild, http://progressive.org

On May 11, John Kerry became the fourth Senator to sign on to the censure bill.

Senator Feingold introduced the bill, and the two other co-sponsors are Barbara Boxer and Tom Harkin.

Kerry's office declined to issue a statement about why he chose to sign on now.

But in a post at dailykos.com on Thursday, Kerry gave some indication:

"Enough is enough. Yes, Congress needs to end the days of roll-over and rubber stamp. . . . But something far more fundamental is out of whack in Washington. Every day we learn something new about this Administration's attitude - and too many people greet each story with a yawn as we learn that President Bush has announced he can disobey more than 750 laws enacted on his watch. Since when do we accept that any President has the power to set aside statutes passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution? We're dealing with a group of people who believe our traditional values are a luxury we can no longer afford."

By MIKE GLOVER, Associated Press

JOHNSTON, Iowa - Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold energized Democratic activists in Iowa Saturday, touting his "moderate, responsible" effort to censure President Bush and arguing that his brand of hard-hitting activism has been ratified at the polls.

"My message and the way I've conducted myself in Washington was tested in Wisconsin in 2004," Feingold said, in an interview with The Associated Press. "I had three Republicans spend $11 million attacking me for having voted against the USA Patriot Act, voting against the Iraq war."

By Brad Freidman

(Okay, it was lunch, but the title didn't scan as well that way)

I Get a Chance to Talk to the Senator about [CENSURE and] Democrats in FOXholes and about our Electoral System Mess...

URL: http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002724.htm

By FREDERIC J. FROMMER

WASHINGTON Apr 20, 2006 (AP)— Sen. Russ Feingold's call for censuring President Bush appears to have paid dividends for the senator's political action committee.

Feingold's leadership PAC, the Progressive Patriots Fund, pulled in $282,000 last month, according to a report filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission. In February, the PAC raised $105,000.

Feingold, D-Wis., announced in March that he introduce a resolution to censure Bush over the administration's eavesdropping program.

http://www.tomharkin.com/

Tom Harkin: Why I Fully Support Bush Censure

We have a President who likes to break things. He has broken the federal budget, running up $3 trillion in new debt. He has broken the Geneva Conventions, giving the green light to torture. He has repeatedly broken promises – and broken faith – with the American people. And now, worst of all, he has broken the law.

To: George Bush,

Due to the recent revelations by disgraced aide to Dick Cheney, L. "Scooter" Libby, that George Bush authorized the leak of CIA Valerie Plame's name to reporters, thus by compromising her safety, the safety of many Americans working undercover and reinforcing the lie that Saddam had WMD, the leadership and members of Gold Star Families for Peace call for the resignation of George Bush and Dick Cheney.

Published on Monday, March 13, 2006 by The Nation
by John Nichols

U.S. Senator Russ Feingold will ask the Senate today to officially censure President Bush for breaking the law by authorizing an illegal wiretapping program, and for misleading Congress and the American people about the existence and legality of that program.

If the Wisconsin Democrat's move were to succeed, Bush would be the first president in 172 years to be so condemned by Congress.

Democrats object as Frist tries to get Senate vote on Feingold resolution
By Tom Curry, MSNBC

WASHINGTON - A short, but sharp partisan skirmish broke out on the Senate floor Monday when Majority Leader Bill Frist tried to schedule a vote for Monday night or Tuesday on Wisconsin Democrat Sen. Russ Feingold’s resolution to censure President Bush.

Frist said Democratic senators ought to be on the record voting for or against the Feingold resolution.

NEW YORK, NY: New York Senate Democratic Candidate Jonathan Tasini today released the following statement on the proposal by Sen. Russ Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, to censure President George W. Bush.

“I support Sen. Russ Feingold’s proposal that the U.S. Senate censure George Bush for his illegal wiretapping of American citizens. Feingold is right when he asserts that the Bush Administration, ‘repeatedly misled the public prior to the public disclosure of the National Security Agency surveillance program by indicating his administration was relying on court orders to wiretap suspected terrorists inside the United States.’

Wisconsin Democrat Asks Senate to Rebuke the President for NSA Wiretaps
By ED O'KEEFE, ABC

March 12, 2006— - In an exclusive interview on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold called on the Senate to publicly admonish President Bush for approving domestic wiretaps on American citizens without first seeking a legally required court order.

"This conduct is right in the strike zone of the concept of high crimes and misdemeanors," said Feingold, D-Wis., a three-term senator and potential presidential contender.

http://www.newsmax.com

Sen. Russ Feingold said Sunday that Congress needs to censure President Bush as a possible first step towards impeachment for authorizing the wiretapping of terrorists based in America, adding that Bush's alleged lawbreaking was "much more serious, clearly, than anything Bill Clinton ever did."

"This conduct is right in the strike zone of the concept of high crimes and misdemeanors," Feingold told ABC's "This Week." "What the president did, by consciously and intentionally violating the Constitution and the laws of this country with this illegal wiretapping, has to be answered."

Feingold Says Congress Must Condemn the President's Violation of the Public's Trust Through Illegal Wiretapping Program

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold has announced that he will introduce a resolution in the U.S. Senate on Monday to censure the President of the United States. Feingold's resolution condemns the President's actions in authorizing the illegal wiretapping program and then misleading the country about the existence and legality of the program. Feingold calls the resolution an appropriate and responsible step for Congress to take in response to the President's undermining of the separation of powers and ignoring the rule of law.

By the Institute for Policy Studies, http://www.ips-dc.org

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By DAVE LINDORFF, www.counterpunch.org

Many readers have responded to my last article about the media blackout of Rep. John Conyers' (D-Mich.) introduction of two bills to censure George Bush and Dick Cheney, and a third bill that would create a Select Committee to investigate impeachable crimes by the administration, saying I should let people know who the other seven members of Congress are who have agreed to co-sponsor the call.

INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES - WASHINGTON, D.C.
Contact: Joia Jefferson Nuri - Cell 240-603-7905 joia@ips-dc.org

Defining The Issues Series: Should President Bush Face Censure?
Wednesday, January 18, 2006, 12:30pm-1:30pm

Here's a letter from the Department of "Defense" in response to a Freedom of Information Request from Congressman John Conyers and many other Congress Members. It includes this line:

By David Swanson, www.blackcommentator.com

Can you imagine having an opportunity to address the United Nations Security Council about a matter of great global importance, with all the world's media watching, and using it to… well, to make shit up – to lie with a straight face, and with a CIA director propped up behind you, I mean to spew one world-class, for-the-record-books stream of bull, to utter nary a breath without a couple of whoppers in it, and to look like you really mean it all? What gall. What an insult to the entire world that would be.

From Pennsylvania State Senator Jim Ferlo

Dear Congressman John Conyers,

I am a proud supporter and most appreciative of your leadership effort to proceed with legislation that would both censure President Bush and Vice-President Cheney and initiate formal proceedings to ascertain the appropriateness of formal impeachment actions by the House of Representatives. I fully endorse House Resolutions 635, 636, and 637.

By Theodore Fuller, Roanoke Times (Virginia)

Fuller is a professor of sociology at Virginia Tech.

Most of us who are old enough to remember Watergate remember that the key lesson from that crisis was that, in the United States, no one -- not even the president of the United States -- is above the law. President Bush's willful decision to approve spying on U.S. citizens without a court order indicates that he has forgotten that crucial lesson.