New Congressman Alan Grayson (D-Florida) Political Ad

Yes, he's from Florida, and I live in Nevada, but I'm a big fan of Alan Grayson. Sure, he looks a little like an appliance salesman from the 1960s. And he can get unusually boisterous in Congress. But he's usually right, and sometimes that place needs a little shaking up.  Unfortunately, the Greenlee Curse doesn't seem to apply only to my favorite TV shows getting cancelled, but possibly to favorite politicians too. Grayson and a few other favorites, such as Sen. Russ Feingold, are down in the polls. I'm hoping the curse just sticks to the TV shows (except Fringe! Don't take Fringe!)

Maddow and Feingold Talk Bush Era Law Breaking

My favorite pundit and my favorite Senator discuss the law breaking of (and possible justice for) the Bush Administration. How could I not post this?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Conyers: We'll Talk About Impeachment, Do Nothing

Dennis Kucinich, photo from source, Raw Story

Most political junkies (like me) have their "heroes" in the Congress. Most of them you'd sooner see as greeters in a Wal-Mart, but there are the good ones you try to give the benefit of the doubt. For me, some of the good ones are Russ Feingold, Charlie Rangel, Henry Waxman, and John Conyers. Conyers in particular talks tough about all the things that liberal lefty moonbat bloggers like me care about most.

But he has a disturbing pattern of charging ahead like a [fill in the name of whatever football position runs with the ball], only to come to a screeching halt. He drops the ball, and moves on to the next big issue. It's enormously frustrating. Case in point, he will hear Dennis Kucinich's motion to impeach President Bush. He'll talk about it. But he isn't going to do anything about it, no matter what is discussed. Huh?

[Excerpt]

Conyers may hold hearings, but plans no action on impeachment

All Rep. Dennis Kucinich wants is a chance to present his case. The Ohio Democrat has made a crusade of his efforts to impeach George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, only to be ignored and ridiculed by many of his fellow lawmakers. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Chris Dodd & Russ Feingold Fighting FISA Bill

Image from source, AOL News

Say what you will about the Congress in general and the Senate in specific, there are a few good ones in there still fighting for us. Chris Dodd and Russ Feingold are vowing to fight passage of the FISA bill, and good for them.

The question of why Democrats would cave on the new FISA bill is rich fodder for speculation. My favorite is the cover your ass theory, where discovery of exactly what has been done would implicate not only Republicans, but also a good chunk of Democrats.

In the days after September 11, 2001, any effort to fight George W. Bush's agenda was met with variations of the "unpatriotic" or "America hater" attacks. So, Democrats--by and large--went along. Some grudgingly, some willingly. And now that the mood of the country is considerably different, some of those actions could come back to haunt Democrats. Tough. The warrantless wiretapping and retroactive immunity for telecom companies defiled the Constitution and many other laws. The single greatest duty of Congress--not to mention the President--is to defend and uphold the Constitution. Suck it up guys. And good on you, Senators Feingold and Dodd. I hope you prevail.

[Excerpt]

Feingold, Dodd to Fight FISA

After Democratic Senators Chris Dodd and Russ Feingold issued a strongly worded statement opposing the FISA bill that passed the House of Representatives yesterday, rumors of a filibuster quickly began to circulate. But nowhere in the actual statement did it say that Dodd and Feingold would filibuster the legislation. . .

Read more at: AOL News

Russ Feingold: Lessons Not Learned

Photo from Wikipedia.com

Russ Feingold is one of my favorite politicians. He speaks his mind, regardless of how the political wind is blowing. Politicians are basically actors, and they're very good at showing us what we want to see. I don't get that vibe from Senator Feingold. He seems genuine to me, and I don't think I'm particularly gullible.

That said, Sen. Feingold is currently speaking his mind over at HuffingtonPost.com, about the recently passed spying legislation. It's good. I agree with him. The latitude I've personally been giving Congress is waning, the more I read about this. Check it out:

[Excerpt]

Lessons Not Learned

Six years ago, in the aftermath of 9/11, Congress rammed through the USA PATRIOT Act with little consideration of what that bill actually contained. Five years ago, Congress authorized a reckless and ill-advised war in Iraq. One year ago, Congress passed the deeply flawed Military Commissions Act. And late last week, a Democratic Congress passed legislation that dramatically expands the government's ability to conduct warrantless wiretapping, which could affect innocent Americans. It is clear that many congressional Democrats have not learned from those earlier mistakes, two of which happened when Democrats controlled the Senate. Once again, Congress has buckled to pressure and intimidation by the administration.

It should go without saying, but it's important to repeat: every member of Congress supports wiretapping terrorists. And no one thinks that the government should have to get a court order to listen to communications between suspected terrorists in foreign countries, even if those communications happen to pass through the U.S. The FISA bill Congress passed late last week was the latest example of the administration exploiting a legitimate problem to make an outrageous power grab - and unfortunately, it was also just the latest example of Congress giving in to the president's fear-mongering. . .

Read more at: HuffingtonPost.com