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BUSH RALLIES GOP SENATORS
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ShareSeptember 28, 2006 10:16 AM
ABC's Z. Byron Wolf reports: President Bush met with Senate Republican leaders for just about precisely 45 minutes this morning -- topic number one, heading into the midterm elections, was the Senate's upcoming vote on legislation to authorize military commissions to try suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay. Despite difficult negotiations with Republican Senators over that bill last week, Bush received loud applause from the Republican Senators, audible down the hall, as he entered the meeting room.
The President spoke to reporters just off the Senate floor after the meeting. He called the session with Republicans "constructive." He congratulated the House of Representatives for passing its version of the commissions bill on a largely party line vote on Wednesday and said this to Senators: "I urge the Senate to get it to my desk," because the ability to try detainees is an important tool in the war on terror.
"People shouldn't forget that there is still an enemy out there," Bush said.
Bush took questions on a variety of issues from Republican Senators in the private meeting, according to Senate staffers at the event. Topics ranged from a narrow discussion of specific legislation (the Hamdan legislation -- The Bringing Terrorists to Justice Act) to a broader discussion of the war on terror and the upcoming elections, according to a staffer for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.
The Senate is considering the same language that passed the House, but it faces votes on four amendments offered by Democrats and one by Republican Arlen Specter, which would waive a section of the bill that restricts a detainee's right to appeal his or her conviction by tribunal. The vote on Specter's amendment should happen sometime today.
Bush was on the House side of Capitol Hill Sept. 14th, rallying support with House Republicans for his proposals both for the military commissions and to use the NSA to wiretap suspected terrorists, even on American soil, without a warrant. The latter bill is facing an increasingly difficult road to passage before the Congress adjourns Friday or Saturday until after the November elections. Two trips to Capitol Hill for private meetings this month is unprecedented: Bush's trips down Pennsylvania Avenue have been few and far between during his time in office.
In addition to the military commissions bill, the Senate also must pass a DOD Appropriations bill, which includes $70 billion for the military to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as a stopgap measure to keep the government running smoothly until Congress can come back after the election and vote for the rest of its appropriations bills.
September 28, 2006 in White House | Permalink | User Comments (3)
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You call it "legislation to authorize military commissions to try suspected terrorists". How did you leave out of this story the words "torture" (which this bill condones with a nod & a wink) & "habeus corpus" (which it trashes).
You (intentionally? following the GOP-lead?) miss the real story here.
Plus, the whole, trumped-up rationale that this is needed RIGHT NOW to enable trials to go forward is bull. Because they wasted 4 years with a process so illegal the Supreme Court had to strike it down (Hamdan), the administration now has to start over so it will be MANY MONTHS before the star chamber proceedings will occur (probably timed for a future election). Bush is in no hurry for actually justice. These mostly innocent Afgani's rounded up by Northern Alliance bounty hunters to settle old scores will continue to be used as political footballs, a diversion from any actual hunt for active terrorists.
McCain & crew turned out to be paper tigers. The Senate caved in to the House, as usual.
Posted by: GMan | Sep 28, 2006 3:28:17 PM
GMan, you have it dead on. This is just a bs propaganda article.
Posted by: X | Sep 28, 2006 5:14:20 PM
This is all theatrics. I don't know why ABC bothers with this article. Anyone involved knows what happened. The cable channels are much better at showing actual footage of Iraq, which is the issue today. Election posturing is a waste of this network's time.
Posted by: auditor | Sep 28, 2006 11:25:12 PM
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