DIANNE FEINSTEIN-- EARNING HER KEEP

Many California progressives are always complaining that we only have one senator, Barbara Boxer, and that the other one just takes up space and apologizes for the Regime. Today Feinstein earned her keep for a change. The Senate is debating her bill today, S.214, Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007. Among the co-sponsors are the Judiciary Committee's chairman (Patrick Leahy) and ranking Republican (Arlen Specter), as well as the most progressive member (Russ Feingold) and the most reactionary members (Ken Salazar and Mary Landrieu). Howard Berman, John Conyers and Robert Scott have proposed similar legislation in the House (H.R.580).

The bills seek to overturn the secret, dead-of-night statute the Regime snuck into the Orwellian so-called Patriot Act that permitted them to fire and replace prosecutors at will and without reason or oversight. Unless McConnell successfully filibusters Feinstein's bill or if Bush vetoes it, it will amend the judicial code so that the Attorney General will be allowed to appoint interim U.S. Attorneys for only 4 months. If the nominee hasn't been approved by the Senate in that period of time an interim U.S. Attorney would be appointed by the district court. The Judiciary Committee already approved the bill 13-6.

So who were the six Evil-Doers? Easy to figure out-- all ultra right GOP hacks of the worst sort:

•     Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
•     Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
•     Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
•     John Cornyn (R-TX)
•     Sam Brownback (R-KS)
•     Tom Coburn (R-OK)

You want a look at the face of anti-American extremism? Just look at that list of fascists and haters of Democracy, Freedom and the U.S. Constitution.