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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
You're technically right that only a small number of Democrats, relatively, voted for the bill. That was also true for the Military Commissions Act.
But just as was true then - and it's even more true now that they are in the majority - this would not have happened without the full participation of the Democratic leadership. They control the bills, what gets voted on, how long Congress stays in session, all of it. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi were ordered by the President to stay in Washington and so they did, keeping the sessions opened and allowing this bill to be enacted.
They could have obstructed, filibustered, done all sorts of things to prevent its enactment. They did nothing. Once they knew it would pass, enough of them voted against it to enable those who want to defend them to point to their little meek votes against it as though they are not to blame. Sorry, but they just are.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
219 Democrats and one Republican join in favor of the legislation, which passed by a narrow margin
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Salon headlines in your mailbox
