Haha, what?
The Los Angeles Times reports:
The Republican-led House failed to pass an extension of expiring sections of the Patriot Act on Tuesday, an unexpected setback for GOP leaders that shows the difficulty they face in controlling their majority and its “tea party”-inspired members.
Time is short: Key provisions of the terrorist surveillance law expire at the end of the month. A coalition of veteran conservative Republicans and new GOP lawmakers joined many Democrats in blocking passage of the measure, which many tea party activists see as federal government overreaching into private affairs.
B-b-but now The Terrorisms will win! [LAT]
{ 57 comments }
The Egyptians let their Patriot Act expire and look what happened to them!
Did the Chinese buy them too?
Wut? Okay. Just for tonight I'll stop dropping nails on the sidewalk near the Rascal repair shop.
Hahaha no it's alright if you keep doing that…the olds in the teaparty are the Palin+corporate profits+war+American Talibani+Jesus faction. Seeing as how most scooter jockeys seem to be fat and old along with stupid and hideous (the Newt Gingrich factor) you might be doing them a favor. Make them walk their ass around the block a few times, anyway.
I predicted the TP crew would be more trouble for Mainstream Repugs than Dems. Shockingly, I may be right; this one time.
Yes between this and backalley optometrist Rand Paul making the Turtle run off in tears bashing Henry Clay it's been a good week for us, er them. We can't let them know we enjoy the discord they're currently sowing on the right, I fear or it will stop. Oh and those ladies in Wyoming who's impassioned speech blocked that child molesty wingnut from passing his abortion bill? Amazing, priceless and I cannot wait until one has the balls to call Jebusing the capitol or indefinite detention what it really amounts to: ACTUAL FASCISM (barring that, I'll just enjoy a rousing game of kick the Limbaugh).
Always makes my day!
A better name for the Patriot Act would have been W, Jr. and Dick "Wad" Cheney just made America their bitch act.
Along with Freedom Fries, this Patriot Act annoyed the hell out of me. Also.
" W, Jr. and Dick "Wad" Cheney just made America their bitch act"
Unless you can turn it into a catchy acronym, no one wants to pass it.
By adding "job-killing" somewhere, right?
Silly teabaggers, you should have followed Bachmann and voted for extension. Don't you know that any curtailment of unlimited executive power could potentially harm Our Lady of Tea's ability to persecute the Unsaved when she takes control of the oval office in 2013?
Ha ha — the Republican House leadership decided to forsake their pledge of transparency and ram a bill through, using some process that allows no amendments as long as 2/3 of the House vote for it. No debate, no posting the bill online for three days — and for some reason, in the same way that the bad guys in some movie trust the dumb night watchman to do the dumb thing every single time, and instead he remembers to do the thing he's supposed to do, they screwed themselves. The teabaggers remembered running against this type of behavior. Who knew? Sure is funny though.
"…in the same way that the bad guys in some movie trust the dumb night watchman to do the dumb thing every single time, and instead he remembers to do the thing he's supposed to do…"
You just reminded me of Watergate, which has animated every revenge tantrum thrown by Republicans against Democratic Presidents since it happened.
Frank Wills was the security guard who saw the tape on the door. Thanks, again, Frank, for ending "Four More Years" two years early!
The Tea Baggers haven't been corrupted enough yet! Quick Boehner, throw 'em some tobacco lobby checks, that'll cork their cry-holes.
Democrats + Teabaggers = D-Baggers?
As soon as it expires, they strike. Do you want that blood on your hands?
Well, damn! Even though a blind squirrel finds an acorn every now and then whoduh thunk the Teabaggers would ever get something right?!
Then we have the irony of the Baggers workin so hard to get elected – to rid our gubmint of them commie librulz, then passing the commie librul legislation for them…
DON'T TREAD ON ME!!!!
I know! Defeating the Patriot Act was something we couldn't accomplish back when we had a Democratic "majority." I'm confused. Nothing makes sense anymore in this topsy-turvy world.
Also OMFG please don't trot John Ashcroft out for another book tour. Please.
I, for one, will opt to read the dead guy's book instead.
I'm begging you.
It's gonna be entertaining to watch the GOP corporate crook/ facist wing try to keep it together with the teabags, whose hate of browns and gov't in general is pure and unsullied by greed or corruption. Many of them may be like kids whojust pretend to believe inSanta Claus just to get more presents. But other teabaggers will be angry when they find out it's all fairy tales (told by closeted fairies).
Jon Stewart I think said it best, "You mean you guys are actually mean it this time?" I'll suspend well worn teabagger cyniscm for now but If these teabags continue to make life tough on the authoritarian right I may develop a tenuous respect for some of them. It would be nice to have a group of Republicans I can't just auto-mock for rambling about "Big Government" to get elected, getting to the capitol, being introduced to big lobbyist and spending decades whoring themselves out while passing vaguely fascistic legislation; first time for everything right?
You know who else let their Patriot Act expire?
The Nazis.
Why do the Teabaggers hate America?
My only sad is that I know this will be brought back up for vote, and in the meantime, the GOP leadership will bribe the hell out of their most fervent teabaggers and get the votes. Either that, or restructure the bill to make it easier for them to vote for.
But, for one day, we were one with the universe.
BTW, you guys keep your eyes on 2nd Congressional District Justin Amash of Michigan. This Palestinian-American is the real-deal teabagger who voted "no" on just about EVERYTHING in the Michigan House. I see he joined the Dems on this one.
Whut?
Seriously, my head barely wraps around it. Now if only these fuckers would get the goverment out of our bedrooms and health clinics as promised and start monkey wrenching this abortion banning nonsense.
Indeed! The white-male-teabag crowd doesn't want you listening in on their 1-800-FingerbangMyAsshole conversations, but it's okay to tell a woman "Oh, you were raped? Have his child now, otherwise you are a whore and a sinner."
Pardon me, gentlemen, but get the fuck out of my uterus.
There should be an oh snap here.
The pleasant surprise suddenly dissipates when you read that the White House is trying to get the extension anyway, and then it's back to "AHHH BLACK IS WHITE MORE ACID NOW!"
This is like, what, bill 5? They held ranks for the health care repeal before embarassing themselves with the rape redefine and now have split forces. Say what you will but they're making these 2 years fun already.
The Haitan Refugee exemption expiring is perfectly OK, but anything that helps us track and persecute US citizens, they hit the Hill to defend? Talk about jumping the shark.
This Administration has achieved its final goal. Out-wingnut the fucking teabaggers. Let me guess – for Obama's next hat trick, he proposes new provisions in the Patriot Act that require long-form birth certificates to receive public services! That will make Glen Beck think twice before interrupting him during the next Superbowl interview.
Ugh. I'm pissed.
I'm waiting to hear how all of this affects Sarah Palin.
The crazy it is hard to manage. No compromise means no compromise with members of your own party. Things that the GOP is belatedly realizing.
This ig great news. I can't help but think another manufactured crisis is already in the works to provide a rationale for revisiting the issue and passing an even shittier law.
With two federal holidays and an accompanying congressional recess, February is a short month for lawmakers. Just seven working days remain, Sensenbrenner said.
I would love to have that work schedule. Is Valentine's Day a federal holiday?
According to Rachel, they are also giving themselves every third week off for Constituent Work Weeks. If by "Constituent" you mean "golf," and by "work" you mean fucking off.
It must be confusing to be a teabagger these days. Do you hold true to libertarian principles and resist giving up individual freedoms and privacy even if that means you line up with Democrats? Do you reflexively oppose the Dark One in the Nonwhite House even if it means you are also opposing your own party? Who the hell was Henry Clay, anyway? Anything to do with claymation?
What a life they lead! Between O'Donnell and her endless cookie jar dipping and the nest feathering of the others by special interest groups, why should they have to break a sweat?
Barbara, the idea of Christine "dipping into her endless cookie jar" makes me want to stay home all day and "feather my own nest."
Ever check out their work schedule? "Morning Business" never starts before noon and often not until 2:00 pm. They want to whine about how hard they work, let them get into the office at 7:00 or 8:00 like the rest of us.
I believe they also only schedule business Monday through Thursday of the weeks they are actually "working."
Used to be Tuesday through Thursday, before Nancy came along.
Ugh… Tea Party candidates did something Obama said he would do but then didn't.
Feels like I'm taking crazy pills.
Why do tea baggers hate freedumb?
What will the NSA do with all those people who are listening to celebrities and/or phone sex calls right now if they can't get this extended? How can we be safe if we have to actually abide by the Constitution? Panic!!!
The kawnstootshun says we must spy on ever body so we can be frees
Wait a second… Michele Bachman voted FOR this, for freedom! Now her Tea Party voted AGAINST this! Where does she stand on this issue now? Has she flip-flopped? Will she pull a Marco Rubio and denounce the Tea Party? Will she call a press conference to explain her new position regarding the PATRIOT Act? I need to know! If we have a terrorist's phone number to wiretap, can't we look up the address and arrest the terrorist?
Also, does this mean we have to fight them over here now?
Teabaggers & Democrats Join To Defeat GOP Patriot Act
Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?
"Would have passed if the Frosh were Dems, 'cause the Dems are such pussies. " Comment stolen from one of my fb friends but worth repeating.
Hey now…instead of piling on remember the vast majority of Demos voted against this bill, too. I don't want to have to put things into perspective but I will: 26 Republicans voted against it. It's not like we had this torrent of supposed libertarians suddenly revolting against authoritarianism here. It was a small ripple but just large enough to help our congressional delegation who was going against the president kill the bill. This reminds me of wingnuts like Virginia Foxx trying to pretend democrats didn't support the civil rights act because a few liberal Republicans did. Sorry to say…but your friend is wrong and cynical here…why give so much credit to a measley 26 teabaggers and then bash the over 100 Democrats for whom politically it was MUCH TOUGHER to vote against this bullshit bill? Doesn't make much sense to me.
The recent two years of Democratic Majorities have convinced me that Dems are pussies. Nothing has happened to change my opinion yet. It does not require political courage for a Dem to vote against this oppressive Law's continuance.
Really? How about the Democratic House passing hundreds of bills the GOP senate fillibustered because of arcane procedural rules and parlaimentary tricks? The Democratic House most definitely was not pussy but due to the power of the Senate much of what they passed went unenacted. Look at the lame duck session, also. Now if you really want to talk about who's a pussy….only 26 Republicans voted against a bill they're supposed to be philosophically opposed to. Yes it is politically risky to go against your own president because either A) he loses credibility or B) You do. Since Republicans love to play divide and conquer politics they really went out on a limb here not to mention the 8 years plus bashing that happened every time a Democrat even ventured a criticism of the Bush Admin. Give this sliver some credit, that's fine but while you're at it don't rip the Democrats a new one for this when they deserve MORE credit; that's all I'm saying.
My memory is too good to give them any credit at this point. Believe me, I want to, but the Reid, Nelson, Lieberman brand of “partisan politics” is still fresh in my mind. They gave the store away on Health Care Reform, and more.
It's ironical–I'm pretty sure that the one-term blue dog Dem from Idaho, Walt Minnick, would have voted for the extension. The Bagger who defeated him last fall, Raul Labrador, voted against it. I'm fairly certain that this is one of the few times I'll be agreeing with Labrador.
Raul Labrador actually won that race! Holy Shit! Idaho is even stupider than I thought cause that guy is a total fucking turdball! Hell, I think Minnick even had the teabagger endorsement.
Any Dem who thinks they can be a blue dog and win more than one election in that assbackward state (I know I am from there) is about the dumbest person on the planet…the end.
Considering that the Patriot Act helped inspire toys such as this http://www.amazon.com/Playmobil-3172-Security-Che... it's a shame to do away with it.
For once (and probably only once) I can say thank God for the baggers…and fuck off Boehner!
Again, I know we're all jubilant here and want to give the teabaggers credit but you're really overdoing it, people. Am I missing something or is this sort of like the retarded kid who gets credit for tying his shoes correctly while his less retarded brother gets screamed at for not rewiring the house? 26 Republicans voted against this bill, 10 abstained. What was the final vote count? So in other words, you guys are going to bash Democrats for supposedly voting for this bill even though the vast majority opposed it? Politically, this wasn't exactly a risky vote for wingnuts because Obammar is in office, all it does is MAYBE stay for now the FEMA camp conspiracy theory. Let's keep this in perspective, people…a small splinter of the GOP joined with the majority social libertarians on the left to oppose this fucksandwich of a bill, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. Oh and the headline should be "Democrats and Suprisingly a Few Republicans Join to Defeat GOP PATRIOT Act"….there, fixed it.
For posterity: only eight of the Tea Bag Heroes voted against it, out of like 50. So who the fuck cares.
Comments on this entry are closed.