Feingold, Russ Feingold

I read a good article from MSNBC on Russ Feingold's censure motion and a meeting involving Bush and Russ. The Senate Judiciary Committee will be holding a hearing on Friday discussing the domestic wiretapping and Feingold's call for censure.

Mr. President, meet your Censurer

Feingold had to leave early from Tuesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on how to legalize the National Security Agency surveillance program — he had an appointment at the White House to meet with the man he wants to censure.

Then there's Sen. Biden, the Senate's top used-car salesman, who thinks that ignorance is strength. That would be Bush's strength, not the Democrats.

Specter opposes censure, as does Judiciary Committee Democrat Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, who said at Tuesday’s hearing, with exasperation in his voice, “The idea of censuring the president — we don’t know what he did.”

I don't believe that Feingold introduced the censure solely for political gain, the Senator has stood on principle too many times in his career to do that. The article had this interesting to say...

Friday’s censure hearing sets up what both Feingold and Senate Majority leader Bill Frist want: a roll call vote on the Senate floor on censuring Bush.

This would force all 100 senators — and especially the potential Democratic presidential hopefuls — Sens. Biden, Evan Bayh, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton — to go in the spotlight and make their choice: either condemn Bush for taking an action which the president argues is necessary to defend the nation from al Qaida attacks — or give Feingold a potential weapon to use against them in the event that he too seeks the Democratic presidential nomination.

And here is the issue at question according to Arlen Specter (R-PA)...

Specter’s view is that Bush has violated the 1978 FISA law by ordering the surveillance program but he adds, “It may well be that the program is within the president’s inherent (constitutional) authority. But it seems to me that determination has to be made in accordance with tradition by a court, by judicial review.”

For more information on Russ Feingold, check out my other blog, Iowa for Feingold.