George Allen - Karl Rove's mouthpiece

By: Rob
Published On: 1/25/2006 2:00:00 AM

Nice to see that this so-called conservative is fine with an all-powerful government that spies on its citizens without legally required warrants.  George "Virginia is my stepladder" Allen on Bush's domestic spying program:

On Sunday, some Republicans echoed Rove's anti-terror themes, arguing that Bush should have broad power even if the 2001 congressional resolution did not expressly authorize or otherwise notify lawmakers of the domestic spying.

Sen. George Allen, R-Va., who is considered a possible 2008 presidential contender, said there are many security measures he doesn't know - and shouldn't know - because it could risk alerting the enemy.

"Neither did I know what sort of intercepts or communications of financial assistance or other things that I don't know about," he said.

Allen cited in particular the new bin Laden tape which surfaced last week as evidence that the terror cells might exist in the U.S. and might be preparing to attack should law enforcement officials let their guard down.

The problem with the President's domestic spying program is the failure to obtain legally required warrants from the secret FISA court.  Critics - including Allen's fellow GOP Senators like Sen. McCain and Sen. Specter - don't want to stop surveillance of suspected terrorists.  They just want the President to follow the law and the Fourth Amendment - you know, uphold the Constitution per his oath of office.  So, Sen. Allen's worries about keeping the program a secret and bringing our guard down are simply irrelevant ... but keeping with the Karl Rove spin.

Thanks for the misleading misdirection, Senator Allen.  You really took that strawman apart!  Next time, hopefully our Senator-until-a-better-job-comes-along will actually address the real controversy,  not engage in Rovian spin.

Comments



In short, it seems t (F. T. Rea - 4/4/2006 11:31:38 PM)
In short, it seems to me there aren't more than two basic reasons for Bush’s spies NOT to go to the FISA courts, as the law clearly calls for. Either the judges aren’t trusted to keep secrets, or the eager spies already know the judges would frown on their requests.

Bush can dress up in a flight-suit and wrap himself in the bloody banner of 9/11, he can change the fear code from yellow to orange, but he’s still not above the law. This administration is out of control. Nixon's ghost needs to be driven out of the White House.

Now it’s up to the bold Democrats to push the fence-sitters aside and do their duty -- restore the rule of law. This is a time for leadership. The days of waiting for Bush to make the fatal mistake are over. This is a time for action. 

And, if Virginia’s junior senator, George Allen, is fool enough to stand too close to Bush’s peculiar interpretation of the law, he does do at his own political peril. The rats leaving the sinking ship will trample him if he stays close too long. 



Allen's opponent, Ha (Kirk - 4/4/2006 11:31:38 PM)
Allen's opponent, Harris Miller, hit him the other day on this:

http://www.miller2006.org/release_20060123a.jsp

"George Allen endorsed the government's eavesdropping on Americans' private conversations just two days after Karl Rove advised Republicans to make this an issue in the November election," Miller noted. "George Allen and Karl Rove want to turn America's national security into a partisan issue, instead of uniting our nation to find ways to best protect ourselves. Virginia needs a Senator who will fight full time to protect America's homeland without threatening the rights of law-abiding Americans."

That got picked up on a Washington Post blog -- looks like this will be an issue in the November election.