Time Running Out? I Hope So...

In an odd turn of events, the House and Senate are no longer marching lock-step behind the President. The President has been urging Congress to pass two pieces of legislation. The first would undermine our commitment to the Geneva Conventions, while the second would legalize warrantless wiretapping. The problem is, both pieces of legislation that the President supports are so deeply flawed that even conservative GOP members are speaking out against them. The President is upset that Congress has fallen out of line, and today he urged in his press conference that Congress get his legislation passed quickly. He said, "Time is running out. Congress is set to adjourn in just a few weeks. Congress needs to act wisely and promptly so I can sign good legislation."

Obviously, the reason that time is running out is that the November elections are a month and half away. If the Democrats pick up a significant number of seats in the House, any chance of ramming through legislation goes out the window. So of course the President will want to lean hard on Congress to push his legislation while the GOP still has the majority of both houses. Unfortunately for the President, Senators Graham, Warner, and McCain are all supporting a bill that doesn't give the President what he wants. Even former Secretary Colin Powell, who fell on his sword out of loyalty to the administration, has written a letter opposing President Bush's attempt to weasel out of the Geneva Conventions.

Senator Graham wrote a letter to Secretary of State Rice that makes some excellent points, and I recommend reading it.

In case you are interested, Senator Frist's proposed legislation is S.3861. His legislation gives the Administration everything it wnts on a silver platter, including section 949d (e), which allows secret evidence to be used against prisoners, and narrowing the meaning of torture in section 7. Senator Warner's competing bill, S.3901, is marginally better, although it still isn't a great piece of legislation.