Letters to the Editor
-
Not a protector of the Constitution?
Perhaps both of these senators should read the oath they took the last time they were re-elected. They swore to "support and defend" the Constitution. A US senator swears the following oath:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
-
Oath
'So help me God' is not part of any official oath of the United States.
-
Senate oath
That's true, but this is how the oath is posted at www.senate.gov
-
Oath
It is true that George Washington added, "So help me God." But the Senate's website (www.senate.gov) includes those four words in the text of the oath.
-
Oath
I looked, you're right. Can't even trust the Senate of the United States to preserve religious freedom.
-
Missing the point, pageiger...
The comparison "no more...than" has a literal meaning. You are confusing the semantic meaning with a rhetorical usage of the comparison. I can say that an apple is no more of a fruit than an orange. That doesn't mean that apples aren't fruits. It just means that apples and oranges are both fruits, and neither is more of a fruit than the other.
There is a rhetorical usage of the comparison where neither object applies, in a "pot calling the kettle black" fashion. But Specter's point was not that neither of them were protectors of the Constitution. He was trying to say that Feingold's opinion didn't have any greater weight than his own.
Which is funny, because then Specter proceeded to hypocritically ignore Feingold's opinion right after claiming that they were on equal footing.
-
I Heart Feingold
...for backbone like this. Go, Russ.
-
Who is protecting the Constitution?
Although I'm not surprised that our 'representatives' and those who have sworn to uphold the Constitution neither represent us nor uphold the Constitution, I was still shocked by the exchange quoted here. 'You are no more a protector of the Constitution than am I...'. Should they be admitting that to us?
Isn't there anybody in Congress, the Supreme Court or the Executive branch who really is trying to protect the Constitution and therefore protecting our rights as citizens? Our country really is backsliding, and soon we'll all be living in the '50s again...the 1850s.
-
Miss Manners would do
If it wasn't obvious when Dart Vader Cheney told Senator Leahy from Vermont to "go fuck yourself" after Leahy raised an inconvenient point with our evil VP, it certainly is obvious now that civility in the senate is a thing of the past.
For years I listed to such innane expressions as, "my esteemed colleague from, the distinguished gentlement from, my good friend," etc. ad naseum, whenever these guys (and they were all guys) referred to one another on the senate floor - even when they couldn't stand each other. Now the gloves are off, and good for Russ Feingold not wanting to participate in waving the bigotry flag. Poll numbers are down so gay bashing is a campaign tactic once again. Specter is such a spectre.