John Doe provision passes Congress – plus the Democrats’ latest attempt to undermine the President

Audrey Hudson reports the awesome news:

Congress yesterday sent President Bush legislation that heightens airport and seaport security and includes a “John Doe” provision to protect airline passengers from retaliatory lawsuits for reporting potential terror activity.

The measure that implements the remaining major September 11 commission recommendations passed the House yesterday 371-40. It had cleared the Senate 85-8 late Thursday night.

[…]

The Republican-drafted John Doe protections “are a huge win for our conference and, more importantly, for the safety and security of the American people,” said House Republican Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio.

“I’m pleased Democratic leaders have finally agreed with us.”

The John Doe provision is the first Republican-backed amendment to become law since Democrats claimed the majority this year.

Rep. Peter T. King, New York Republican and ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, led the effort, along with Sen. Joe Lieberman, Connecticut independent, and Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican, to include the language after it was blocked by Democrats last week.

Oh the not-so-awesome news front, take a look at the stunt Sen. Chuck Schumer is trying to pull:

New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer, a powerful member of the Democratic leadership, said Friday the Senate should not confirm another U.S. Supreme Court nominee under President Bush “except in extraordinary circumstances.”

“We should reverse the presumption of confirmation” Schumer told the American Constitution Society convention in Washington. “The Supreme Court is dangerously out of balance. We cannot afford to see Justice Stevens replaced by another Roberts, or Justice Ginsburg by another Alito.”

Schumer’s assertion comes as Democrats and liberal advocacy groups are increasingly complaining that the Supreme Court with Bush’s nominees Γ’β‚¬β€œ Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito Γ’β‚¬β€œ has moved quicker than expected to overturn legal precedents.

Senators were too quick to accept the nominees’ word that they would respect legal precedents, and “too easily impressed with the charm of Roberts and the erudition of Alito” Schumer said.

“There is no doubt that we were hoodwinked” said Schumer, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee and heads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Jules Crittenden calls this a “Severation of powers.” John Hinderaker asks: “Is this a coup? If not, what is it?

I’d say if you consider how Democrats have routinely questioned the President’s right to claim executive privilege, the President’s right to commute sentences and pardon people, the President’s right to make recess appointments, the President’s right to fight back against political smear campaigns (think Joe Wilson), the President’s right and obligation under the Constitution to protect the American people at home and abroad in a time of war, and now this threat over the nomination of USSC justices? That certainly sounds like an attempted coup to me.

The Democrats have declared war on this President. Republicans, especially the ones in Congress – even wishy washy Senators like Arlen Specter – need to fight back and fight back strong against this blatant abuse of power on the part of Bush-hating Democrats, who are not pulling any of these stunts because they really think the President has actually engaged in misconduct. They’re doing it because in December of 2000, George W. Bush “stole” the election from their man Al Gore, and they’ve absolutely despised him for it ever since, and done everything they can to weaken him.

It’s one thing for the opposition to do things like this in peacetime. It’s another to do it in a time of war. But as the Democrats have shown us far too often the last six years, nothing is off the table when it comes to political revenge, even if it means trumping up charges of the President doing something “illegal” in order for them to gain traction, and worse, even if it means sacrificing the security of this country on the alter of playing politics. They don’t care whether or not it’s really true, because they know that accusations alone are all it takes to put doubt in the minds of the American people.

Simply put, the Democrats are out of control, and it’s high time that Republicans stand firm against the antics of the party that can’t wait until January 2009 in order to celebrate the ‘full’ Democrat control they think they’ll have. I just hope that those Representatives and Senators who are thinking about distancing themselves from the President the closer it comes to next year’s election remember that these presidential rights are worth fighting for, no matter what their personal feelings are about the president, and no matter their political ambitions.

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