
Excessive bipartisanship and other matters
The last thing Washington needs is more harmony between the two parties
By Glenn GreenwaldTopics: Democratic Party, Washington, D.C., Politics News
(updated below – Update II - Update III)
One of the strangest prongs of conventional Beltway wisdom is the lament that there is not enough bipartisanship. The opposite is true: many of the most damaging acts inflicted on the country by Washington are enacted on a fully bipartisan basis — the most destructive political act of this generation, the invasion of Iraq, was fully bipartisan, as were most of the post-9/11 civil liberties abuses and other Bush-era initiatives– and, at least in certain areas, the harmonious joining together of Republicans and Democrats continues unabated:
Senate votes to extend Patriot Act
Democrats retreat from adding new privacy protections to the law
The Senate voted Wednesday to extend for a year key provisions of the nation’s counterterrorism surveillance law that are scheduled to expire at the end of the month.
In agreeing to pass the bill, Senate Democrats retreated from adding new privacy protections to the USA Patriot Act.
The Senate approved the bill on a voice vote with no debate. It now goes to the House. . . .
Supporters say extending the law enables authorities to keep important tools in the fight against terrorism. It would also give Democrats some cover from Republican criticism that the Obama administration is soft on terrorism. . . . Some Democrats, however, had to forfeit new privacy protections they had sought for the law. . . .
“I would have preferred to add oversight and judicial review improvements to any extension of expiring provisions in the USA Patriot Act,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “But I understand some Republican senators objected.”
A mountain of evidence has emerged over the last several years documenting pervasive, systematic abuse of the Patriot Act powers. The proposed safeguards were extremely modest and would have provided minimal oversight on how those powers were exercised. Leading Democrats such as Dianne Feinstein spent all years ensuring that the proposed reforms were weakened to the point of virtual meaningless. But as weakened as they were, “some Republican senators objected” and might have called Democrats “soft on terror,” so that was the end of that. The domestic surveillance law that Democrats spent years assailing as dangerously overbroad when out of power is renewed in full now that they are in power. That’s the Beauty of Bipartisanship, and the last thing we need is more of it.
* * * * *
I’m not able to write much today due to travel-related events, so I’ll just add a few other items:
(1) Newsweek‘s Ben Adler purported to respond to the post I wrote several days ago about Newsweek‘s internal deliberations over the word “Terrorism.” Time constraints prevent me from addressing this, except to say that it’s hard for me to believe that Adler actually read what I wrote, since the points he claims I overlooked were ones I expressly addressed, and the aspects of their discussion which he claims I omitted were ones I explicitly included. Moreover, Adler’s denial that Newsweek was reluctant to use the term Terrorism for Joseph Stack is strange, given that the whole point of their deliberations, as the magazine’s editor defined it, was to have “a discussion over here about the aversion so far to calling the Austin Tax Wacko a terrorist,” and the very first response, from Managing Editor Kathy Jones, was to explain what she called her “rule of thumb” “handy guide” that the word is only for foreigners protesting “the American government,” but not used for Americans. Adler’s response is one of those which negates itself, and I’m content to allow readers here and elsewhere to compare what Newsweek actually said to what Adler now claims they said and decide for yourself (see also: this insightful objection to Newsweek‘s discussion from The Atlantic‘s Ta-Nehisi Coates).
(2) I was on Rachel Maddow’s show last night discussing the term “Terrorism” and the Joseph Stack case, and that can be seen here:
(3) Also yesterday, I was on Dylan Ratigan’s show, along with Josh Marshall, discussing various matters, and that can be seen here:
(4) This morning at roughly 8:00 a.m., I’ll be on Democracy Now with Amy Goodman. Live video stream and local listings are here, and the video and transcript will be posted shortly thereafter.
UPDATE: The segment I did on Democracy Now this morning is here.
UPDATE II: I’m now being deluged by Newsweek responses. In addition to the above-linked response from Adler, there is now this so-called “Open Letter to Salon’s Glenn Greenwald” by Newsweek Managing Editor Kathy Jones, as well as two separate accusatory emails I received earlier today from Newsweek.com Editor Devin Gordon (see that exchange here). On one level, I really wish I had time to answer these now, but because I’m traveling, I don’t. On another level, these don’t really merit much of a response. I’m more than content to allow readers to read what Newsweek employees now claim they (and I) said and compare it to what we actually said.
UPDATE III: I’ll just note one more point about Newsweek. For all their strident claims now that they were merely discussing the reluctance of others to use the term “Terrorism” for Stack, and not their own reluctance, note that they did not, in fact, use the term anywhere in their article about Stark’s attack. By contrast, they classified their piece on Nidal Hasan’s Fort Hood attack — which targeted a military base — as “Terrorism” and used the term in the body of the piece. Newsweek can claim now that they were merely distantly observing the practices of unspecified “others” when it comes to how the term Terrorism is applied, but it just so happens that those descriptions comport with their own conduct.
Follow Glenn Greenwald on Twitter: @ggreenwald. More Glenn Greenwald.
You Might Also Like
More Related Stories
-
R.I.P. Michael Hastings
-
How Obamacare shortchanges low-wage workers
-
Civil rights groups sue NYPD over Muslim spying
-
Bill Ayers: Obama has committed war crimes
-
How cash secretly rules surveillance policy
-
Kansas secretary of state compares immigration protesters to the KKK
-
SNAP out of it, conservatives!
-
Is Cindy McCain actually a gay "hero"?
-
Ai Weiwei on his incarceration: "They never looked away from me, 24 hours a day”
-
Billion-dollar bioterror detection program under new scrutiny
-
GOP's war on women has a new face: Marsha Blackburn
-
Is there a "liberal bias" in academia?
-
War against Issa heats up, as Cummings releases IRS transcript
-
No, Brazilian riots are not an "overreaction" to fare hikes
-
Former intern sues Atlantic Records
-
Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests
-
Hacktivists strike north of the border
-
House hearing in celebration of NSA spying
-
Idaho GOPer fears gay employees will come "into work in a tutu"
-
Bachmann: Karl Rove is not with the GOP base
-
GOP lawmaker: Extreme abortion ban justified because of masturbating fetuses
Featured Slide Shows
Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)
close X- Share on Twitter
- Share on Facebook
- Thumbnails
- Fullscreen
- 1 of 11
- Previous
- Next
-
The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.
-
In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.
-
This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.
-
Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.
-
An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.
-
Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.
-
Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.
-
People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.
-
On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.
-
The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.
-
Recent Slide Shows
-
Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)
-
The week in 10 pics
-
Photos: Turmoil and tear gas in Instanbul's Gezi Park - Slideshow
-
10 summer food festivals worth the pit stop
-
- Share on Twitter
- Share on Facebook
- Thumbnails
- Fullscreen
- 1 of 11
- Previous
- Next
-
The week in 10 pics
-
10 summer food festivals worth the pit stop
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
9 amazing drive-in movie theaters still standing
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
Netflix's April Fools' Day categories
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
Related Videos
More Related Stories
-
R.I.P. Michael Hastings
-
How Obamacare shortchanges low-wage workers
-
Civil rights groups sue NYPD over Muslim spying
-
Bill Ayers: Obama has committed war crimes
-
How cash secretly rules surveillance policy
-
Kansas secretary of state compares immigration protesters to the KKK
-
SNAP out of it, conservatives!
-
Is Cindy McCain actually a gay "hero"?
-
Ai Weiwei on his incarceration: "They never looked away from me, 24 hours a day”
-
Billion-dollar bioterror detection program under new scrutiny
-
GOP's war on women has a new face: Marsha Blackburn
-
Is there a "liberal bias" in academia?
-
War against Issa heats up, as Cummings releases IRS transcript
-
No, Brazilian riots are not an "overreaction" to fare hikes
-
Former intern sues Atlantic Records
-
Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests
-
Hacktivists strike north of the border
-
House hearing in celebration of NSA spying
-
Idaho GOPer fears gay employees will come "into work in a tutu"
-
Bachmann: Karl Rove is not with the GOP base
-
GOP lawmaker: Extreme abortion ban justified because of masturbating fetuses
Most Read
-
Why Sarah Palin actually matters again Joan Walsh
-
Lynda Obst: Hollywood's completely broken Lynda Obst
-
GOP plan to appeal to millennials: "Make abortion funny" Alex Seitz-Wald
-
To my daughter on Father's Day: Sorry I used to be a sexist Mo Elleithee
-
Why didn't anyone help? Mary Elizabeth Williams
-
The best of Tumblr porn Tracy Clark-Flory
-
Study: Reading novels makes us better thinkers Tom Jacobs, Pacific Standard
-
Rahm Emanuel is losing control of his city Mark Guarino
-
Jon Stewart who?: John Oliver's "Daily Show" is almost too good Willa Paskin
-
The most popular Tumblr porn Tracy Clark-Flory

Popular on Reddit
links from salon.com

2826 points2827 points2828 points | 362 comments

204 points205 points206 points | 5 comments

37 points38 points39 points | 19 comments
From Around the Web
Presented by Scribol
- Marc F. Bernstein: The Federal Government's Role in Education: School Vouchers?
-
Man Faces Felony Charge For Allegedly Sending Death Threat To Cruz -
Bobby Jindal Has Had It With All The Self-Reflection That He Demanded - Blake Fleetwood: 'Stupid' Spending on the Military and Health Care Is Leading to National Suicide
- Earl Ofari Hutchinson: The FBI Walks a Perilous Line Between Surveillance and Outright Spying
-
Heritage Foundation Challenges CBO Immigration Reform Estimates With Controversial Study -
Exclusive: Confidential Administration Document Details Plan To Sell Obamacare Through Social Media -
37 Photos Of Presidents Bro-ing Out - Your Treasury Secretary's Signature No Longer Looks Like A Cupcake
- Michele Bachmann Would Like To Know If The NSA Targets The President's Political Enemies


Comments
675 Comments