Where does JK stand on the Patriot Act and

[babylonsister]

the ports issue? Can someone enlighten me? I keep looking for crumbs, a statement, an opinion, a press release, and the silence is deafening! He's usually right on top of things, so why the silence (unless I'm misinformed and just missed it!). Thanks!

[kerrygoddess]

1. The Ports Issue

John Kerry Calls on Secretary Snow for Full Disclosure in Dubai Ports Deal
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=2018

And here's a couple of recent posts from Dr Ron and I about JK and Port Security during the campaign -

Flashback to the 2004 Election Cycle on Port Security: John Kerry Was Right
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=2028

The Debates: Kerry vs. Bush on the Ports
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=2058

[babylonsister]

5. Thanks, kg. I have been keeping up with what he has said in

the past, prior to the election, and everyone wants full disclosure. I'm a bit surprised he hasn't made a statement suggesting where he now stands. Maybe I'm too impatient!

[Mass]

8. I think he is taking the right position on this.

Asking for full disclosure both on port security and on how the deal was made, and not going into racist tunes as some do. The issue is a lot bigger than this single deal. If anything, they have not convinced me that this particular deal is a danger, but I am convinced that this is business as usual in the * administration: sweet deals for friends and dont care about consequences.

[kerrygoddess]

9. This one is from last week on the port deal

John Kerry Calls on Secretary Snow for Full Disclosure in Dubai Ports Deal
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=2018

[TayTay]

2. I do not know if he will vote for the revised bill

I haven't seen anything on this since December.

[babylonsister]

4. Weird he hasn't said a thing about the Patriot Act, isn't it. nt

[TayTay]

6. I think it wraps around a lot of issues.

I think, like Russ Feingold, he wanted most of the bill to pass. There were some onerous provisions in it. Some of those were changed, some weren't. (Didn't Sen. Feingold say there were 16 things he didn't like in the new PAtriot Act. The House Rethugs agreed to fix 3 things.)

I honestly don't know if this is enough for JK or not. It sounds like Arlen Specter is expecting a number of Dems to vote against cloture, but not enough to derail the bill. I haven't a clue as to who is voting against cloture right now.

[Mass]

7. Very few people have spoken at this point.

If anything, the people who have spoken generally said they would support the bill then try to improve it (Feingold excepted, of course).

Boxer, Kennedy, Harkin, ... have all been silent on this issue, which is fairly telling about the problem. The fact that Reid and Durbin did rush to say the compromise was acceptable for them do not help at all, of course, nor is the fact that many probably want to be seen as supporting the fight against terrorism.

[TayTay]

3. Vote tomorrow at 2:30

So, we shall see.

[Mass]

10. People are moving on that.

Apparently, Reid and Leahy intend to vote NO on cloture and YES on the final act, in order to protest the fact that Frist did not authorize amendments presented by the Democrats to come to the floor.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/28/AR2006022800132_2.html

...a few senators planned to use a second test vote Tuesday to protest the majority Republicans' refusal to allow amendments. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., for example, planned to vote "no" with Byrd and Feingold on Tuesday, but "yes" for the bill's final passage Wednesday.

I certainly hope many Democrats follow and particularly Kerry and Kennedy (the article posted by _dynamicdems says that Kerry said in CO he would probably vote YES on the bill itself).

[babylonsister]

11. Can't they just plan to vote for this again for a month or two

until the details are ironed out? I understand not voting for the Pat. Act would appear, well, unpatriotic! but if it's passed as is with a promise to amend, I don't see anything happening.
Call me skeptical but a vote would seem to negate the last two times final passage was put on hold.

What am I not getting here? In my mind passage as is would indicate that the Dems caved.

[Mass]

12. I have the same problem you have here.

I think Reid should have run with the amendment issue and called for a NO vote on cloture on this basis.

[karynnj]

13. It could be that they see this as the best compromise they will get

Durbin addressed a lot of the questions when he spoke on the Senate floor. It sounded like, while he would have preferred the original bill, he was satisfied that the current version was the best they are going to do.

I don't think the problem is appearing unpatriotic, but being realistic in terms of what can be negotiated.

[babylonsister]

14. I honestly feel sorry for most of the Dem Congresscritters;

we are frustrated with the appearance of almost nothing getting accomplished, I can't imagine how they must feel. :(