more on Patriot II Passed in Stealth During Saddam Capture

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

From: Benjamin Kuipers <kuipers () cs utexas edu>

Dave,

I hope your IP list can help get this outrage the attention it deserves.

Meanwhile, a long-term prediction.  While this "trick" of slipping 
controversial legislation into larger bills to avoid careful examination is 
not completely new, this Republican Administration appears to be using it 
much more aggressively and effectively than ever before.

The lesson will be learned and used against them in the future, when the 
shoe is on the other foot.  At which point, Republicans will complain about 
how terribly they are being treated.  Consider two recent examples.

The Republican-dominated Senate stifled over a hundred of Clinton's 
judicial nominations in committee, preventing them from reaching a vote in 
the Senate, and causing a judicial crisis due to unfilled seats on the 
federal bench.  But recently, when Democrats prevented *four* of Bush's 
nominees from reaching Senate floor, Republican's cried to high heaven 
about it.

Republicans now complain about "Bush haters", after unleashing an 
unprecedented torrent of abuse on the Clintons.

It seems safe to predict that this legislative trick, too, will be OK when 
Republicans use it to get what they want, but will be portrayed as 
outrageous if it is ever used by a future Democratic administration.

In fact, all of these behaviors *are* outrageous.  Neither Democrats nor 
Republicans should be using them.  But it is totally hypocritical to use a 
dirty trick when it is to your advantage, and then try to take a high moral 
position when it is used against you.  Republicans have dragged political 
civility to a new low, and should be held responsible for the consequences.

Ben Kuipers 

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