Re: Read Gore's Speech

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John Stewart - 16 Nov 2003 02:33 GMT

A litle historical perspective on who voted for the Patriot Act (aka HR
3162)

The makeup of the 107th US Congress at the time

US Senate
Democrats - 50 Republicans - 50

House of Representatives
Democrats - 212 Republicans - 221 Other - 2

How they Voted

Senate
98-Yea 1-Nay 1-Did not Vote

Yea Democrats - 48 Republicans - 50
Nay Democrats - 1
Did Not Vote Democrats - 1

House of Representatives

357-Yea 66-Nay 9-Did not Vote

Yea Democrats - 146 Republicans - 210 Other - 1
Nay Democrats - 62 Republicans - 3 Other - 1
Did Not Vote Democrats - 4 Republicans - 5

Sorry to cloud the debate with actual facts, but one can conclude the
following.

A majority of Democrats in both houses supported the Patriot Act.
It was not unanimously supported by the Republicans.

(Opinion mode on)
While it may be a flawed and very scary piece of legislation, it was not
the Republican power grab that Mr. Gore suggests. Rather it is an ill-
considered, flawed piece of reactionary lawmaking that should have been
appealed long ago. And if Mr. Gore is so opposed to the Patriot Act, and
not just spewing so much political rhetoric, why has he not filed suit
against it? Just my 2 cents worth.

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Mark Schynert - 17 Nov 2003 01:33 GMT

<snip>

> (Opinion mode on)
> While it may be a flawed and very scary piece of legislation, it was not
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> not just spewing so much political rhetoric, why has he not filed suit
> against it? Just my 2 cents worth.

He wouldn't have any standing to file suit (though, ironically enough,
he would have standing to file a constitutional claim that his right to
travel and/or right to privacy was infringed by the random strip-search
at the airport--not that such a suit would have merit). Merely being
aggreived at the unconstitutional nature of a law is not normally
sufficient to allow one to have grounds for a suit challenging it. Now
if identity cards had been part of the Patriot Act, every last one of us
would have had grounds to file suit, since it directly affects all of
us. Again, whether such a suit actually has merit is quite another
issue--the standing to make a claim is only the first hurdle of many in
a constitutional challenge.

Mark Schynert

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Al Superczynski - 17 Nov 2003 08:53 GMT

>Sorry to cloud the debate with actual facts...

That's always a risky proposition..... ;-p

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Gray Ghost - 29 Apr 2004 04:10 GMT

Re: I Strangled My Dog Then f.cked it

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Re: Read Gore's Speech