Twelve Republican Senators showed sense and spine in joining all 47 Democratic Senators in rebuffing Trump’s abuse of power. South Dakota’s Senators John Thune and M. Michael Rounds are not among the Republicans exhibiting those qualities.
I will vote today for the resolution of disapproval. This is a vote for the Constitution and for the balance of powers that is at its core. For the Executive Branch to override a law passed by Congress would make it the ultimate power rather than a balancing power.
This is not a vote against border security. In fact, I agree that a physical barrier is urgently needed to help ease the humanitarian crisis at the southern border, and the administration already has $4.5 billion available within existing authority to fund a barrier – even without an emergency declaration.
I am seriously concerned that overreach by the Executive Branch is an invitation to further expansion and abuse by future presidents. We experienced a similar erosion of congressional authority with President Obama’s unilateral immigration orders – which I strenuously opposed. In the case before us now, where Congress has enacted specific policy, to consent to an emergency declaration would be both inconsistent with my beliefs and contrary to my oath to defend the Constitution [Senator Mitt Romney, press release, 2019.03.14].
With their craven nays today, Senators Thune and Rounds have sacrificed any moral authority to gripe and moan about abuses of Executive power. Maybe we can get Dusty to primary Milquetoast Mike next year so we can have a Senator with sense and spine.
After 8 years of criticizing the Obama administration, Pretty Boy Thune can’t find the spine to stand up to Benedict Donald. I would write to him and Smiley, but you just get the standard, “Thank you for contacting my office,” B.S. And, if you use words that even Trump uses, the whole note is rejected. HYPOCRITE doesn’t even start to cover it.
Neither Thune nor Rounds have any understanding of the Constitution or their place within its framework.
Here (along with Noe_ — no “m,” get it?) are three answers to Senator Heinert’s question: “Why do we always have to be last?”
President Obama never declared an emergency that wasn’t an emergency. President Obama never declared an emergency in response to a political failure in Congress.
This aspect of policy—allowing the Executive Branch to act without the normal deliberation and authorization of Congress to respond to urgent threats—lends itself to evaluation by popular sentiment. An emergency isn’t a tax cut, subject to statistical analysis and debates about economic theory. An emergency leaps out at every reasonable observer—House on fire! Kid drowning in the pool! Call 911!
A majority of Americans see no emergency here. Even the Trump Administration doesn’t see a problem requiring immediate action.
Dana P
They always have to get a “but Obama” shot in their statements, don’t they? (Dusty did the same)
I’m glad Mittens did the right thing here. Rounds and Thune? I never expected the “loyal to the constitution” (gag) guys that they are, would ever do the right thing.
jerry
Rounds knows that his place on the river is probably gonna get some high water again, so will need to be like his daddy trump did and fleece FEMA for some more cash. I get it.
But for Thune to just be Thune, is really just the same old. Neither one of these hacks have done much if anything for South Dakota in the last couple of years, but sit back and watch farm closures.
Rorschach
Thune and Rounds have quit even pretending to be anything other than yes men. We have 2 rubber stamps in the senate, but a house member who hasn’t yet surrendered his conscience and his integrity. I hope Dusty continues to resist the constant pressure to put party before country. He has my respect. Our senators are lost causes.
Flipper
“Fact-based vertebrates”! Bravo!
Roger Cornelius
Dusty has done more to establish his independence. Off topic but just as important is that Dusty voted with the entire congress, 420 members, to make the Mueller report public when it comes out.
Senator Lady Lindsey Graham voted to block the Mueller report in the senate until Hillary’s emails can be investigated.
marvin kammerer
thune & rounds are the same structure they were when first elected.they had wet noodle backs then &even if they dry out they will have no backbone.thune waits behind golden-boy of the senate & waits for orders not having a thought of his own while little mike picks his teeth waiting to see what thune does!
Robin Friday
Speaking of the spelling of our dear governor’s name, I noticed today that KELO’s captions were spelling it “Gnome” this evening (yes, really) on six o’clock news. I have never been sure if these “captioners” were human or robotic, but maybe they know something we don’t?
leslie
Sounds like Dusty is trying to short circuit this house effort to reign in soon to be impeached Trump and his criminal famil and administration by introducing a bill to fund the wall and firm up this deplorable base.
leslie
By eliminating NEPA and ESA requirments in wall building
leslie
He said: “ I spent 8 years fighting Obama[executive action]” BECAUSE SHILL BILLIONAIRE WATER CARRIER REPUBLICANS OBSTRUCTED EVERY OBAMA INITIATIVE!! Dusty is now carrying water and not telling the truth. Yuk
Debbo
#2 is really good at standing tall– in a photo op behind Chinless Wonder McTurtle.
Rounds is good at making a fool of himself and SD by saying bribery is a family value.
SD, you have Much Better Choices who will actually act on your behalf in positive ways.
jerry
Nebraska and South Dakota will need that emergency money pronto, we do have a huge disaster on our hands. “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Thursday night it was increasing its releases at Gavins Point Dam near Yankton to levels not seen since the historic 2011 Missouri River flood.
The Corps’ announcement marked the fifth time it raised the flows in two days because of flooding. A major blow came Thursday with the breach of Spencer Dam, located south of Spencer, Nebraska, which plays a major role in controlling the Niobrara River’s flow into the Missouri River near Niobrara, Neb.
“Water releases from Gavins Point Dam will be increased to 90,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) … as unregulated inflows from the Niobrara and other watersheds continue to spill into the reservoir,” the Corps said in a release Thursday night.” This is a bad one with more flooding to be expected.
jerry
“In Norfolk, about 8,000 residents were asked to evacuate because of concerns with the levee system. Norfolk Public Safety Director Shane Weidner described the evacuation area as running from Eisenhauer Road south to the Elkhorn River and from 7th Street to Victory Road.”https://www.yankton.net/community/article_f8637fcc-46cb-11e9-8d13-d388f1b32cac.html
leslie
Today’s Thune script:
“[The nonpartisan parliamentarian] is applying a pretty tight filter” against any Senate amendment not germane to Pelosi’s resolution terminating Trump’s declared “emergency”. Despite McConnell’s begging Trump not to declare; and the Senate fears the precedent a parlimentary appeal would create!
Now Trump threatens Democrats with “very bad, very bad” violence from cops, military and bikers against Democrats for investigating. Wow. And again Dusty, with Wall legislation, swoops in to save … who? Remember Round’s $26B bill to build the wall. SD is paying a HUGE price to keep this criminal in the presidency.
Slate, Politico, Breitbart
leslie
Oh and more pressure on trump… 420-0 house vote resolving to publish Mueller report. Trump is a beached whale. Did you know a whale’s aorta is large enough for a child to crawl through. Wonder how healthy Trump’s heart?
cibvet
The SD senate invertebrates stick with their liplock on turtleboys backside.
mike from iowa
Robin F, what difference if her name is spelled phonetically? It matches the way wingnuts govern.
Taxcuts for the koch bros. Yeah, that sounds about right.
Former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden and former National Counterterrorism Center director Matthew Olson agree: Trump’s emergency declaration is bogus.
Paladn
I really do not understand why people in South Dakota are so surprised about the votes of Thune and whats his name. Thump’s supporters basically elected both of them and will continue to do the same. Thune only sees himself as the chief mogo of the Senate, VP and, for God’s sake, a Presidential candidate that he is afraid to challenge Thump or anyone of the Republican party.
What’s his name has yet learned to think — no one in his office has yet begun to gather enough guts to conflict with the White House.
jerry
Thune and Rounds are traitors, call them the way they are.
“Twenty-five Republicans — 12 in the Senate and 13 in the House — took their oaths seriously in opposing an unconstitutional power grab. The rest? If Trump told them to amend the Constitution and toss out the Bill of Rights, they’d likely do it. After all, Article I means nothing to them, so why should any other portion of the Constitution? This marks the inevitable result of a party that has sacrificed its principles and decency for . . . what? For the right to sit in the Senate, doing nothing? For fear that they cannot justify themselves to the mob Trump has drummed up? Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post March 14, 2019
They are what they are and those that vote for them, are what they are as well, Non-Americans.
Robin Friday
Yeah, Mike, it just made me chuckle, not sure why. Gnomes are not altogether good creatures, right?
leslie
Just for grins compare Dusty’s Republican/USD/Butina-Erickson bio with another rep about the same age, say Rock Star Ro Kanna, D. CA. Wiki. You deserve who you elect. (Will Rogers)
Jerry, our too-comfortable Senators need to hear more language like that, in public and in the press.
bearcreekbat
I posted a lengthy comment today in an older DFP thread about Dusty Johnson’s vote. I think readers might find it relevant to this particular thread as well. For anyone interested, here is a link to that comment.
Oops! We apparently patted Rep. Johnson on the back for having a brain and integrity too soon. From KBN tv:
“On Wednesday, Johnson announced that he’s introducing the Furthering American Security by Tempering Environmental Regulations (FASTER) Act. The measure would waive environmental reviews required by the National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act in order to expedite building a border wall.”
I suppose rabid trumpelstilskins were attacking and Dusty crumbled under the pressure. Damn.
moses6
The man in the empty suit,When he talks he is as dry as dust.that is Thune.Slick Mike thinks Trump worries about his family while paying off a porn star.Can we do better than these suck ups.
After 8 years of criticizing the Obama administration, Pretty Boy Thune can’t find the spine to stand up to Benedict Donald. I would write to him and Smiley, but you just get the standard, “Thank you for contacting my office,” B.S. And, if you use words that even Trump uses, the whole note is rejected. HYPOCRITE doesn’t even start to cover it.
Neither Thune nor Rounds have any understanding of the Constitution or their place within its framework.
Here (along with Noe_ — no “m,” get it?) are three answers to Senator Heinert’s question: “Why do we always have to be last?”
President Obama never declared an emergency that wasn’t an emergency. President Obama never declared an emergency in response to a political failure in Congress.
President Obama never invoked emergency powers on an issue that majorities of Americans in multiple polls said was not an emergency.
An emergency is the kind of thing we all recognize and act with alacrity to resolve.
The most recent Politico/Morning Consult poll found 53% opposing the emergency declaration and 38% supporting. Majorities can be wrong… but on emergencies? Is there any comparable situation where a President has declared a national emergency and a majority of Americans have opposed that declaration?
This aspect of policy—allowing the Executive Branch to act without the normal deliberation and authorization of Congress to respond to urgent threats—lends itself to evaluation by popular sentiment. An emergency isn’t a tax cut, subject to statistical analysis and debates about economic theory. An emergency leaps out at every reasonable observer—House on fire! Kid drowning in the pool! Call 911!
A majority of Americans see no emergency here. Even the Trump Administration doesn’t see a problem requiring immediate action.
They always have to get a “but Obama” shot in their statements, don’t they? (Dusty did the same)
I’m glad Mittens did the right thing here. Rounds and Thune? I never expected the “loyal to the constitution” (gag) guys that they are, would ever do the right thing.
Rounds knows that his place on the river is probably gonna get some high water again, so will need to be like his daddy trump did and fleece FEMA for some more cash. I get it.
But for Thune to just be Thune, is really just the same old. Neither one of these hacks have done much if anything for South Dakota in the last couple of years, but sit back and watch farm closures.
Thune and Rounds have quit even pretending to be anything other than yes men. We have 2 rubber stamps in the senate, but a house member who hasn’t yet surrendered his conscience and his integrity. I hope Dusty continues to resist the constant pressure to put party before country. He has my respect. Our senators are lost causes.
“Fact-based vertebrates”! Bravo!
Dusty has done more to establish his independence. Off topic but just as important is that Dusty voted with the entire congress, 420 members, to make the Mueller report public when it comes out.
Senator Lady Lindsey Graham voted to block the Mueller report in the senate until Hillary’s emails can be investigated.
thune & rounds are the same structure they were when first elected.they had wet noodle backs then &even if they dry out they will have no backbone.thune waits behind golden-boy of the senate & waits for orders not having a thought of his own while little mike picks his teeth waiting to see what thune does!
Speaking of the spelling of our dear governor’s name, I noticed today that KELO’s captions were spelling it “Gnome” this evening (yes, really) on six o’clock news. I have never been sure if these “captioners” were human or robotic, but maybe they know something we don’t?
Sounds like Dusty is trying to short circuit this house effort to reign in soon to be impeached Trump and his criminal famil and administration by introducing a bill to fund the wall and firm up this deplorable base.
By eliminating NEPA and ESA requirments in wall building
He said: “ I spent 8 years fighting Obama[executive action]” BECAUSE SHILL BILLIONAIRE WATER CARRIER REPUBLICANS OBSTRUCTED EVERY OBAMA INITIATIVE!! Dusty is now carrying water and not telling the truth. Yuk
#2 is really good at standing tall– in a photo op behind Chinless Wonder McTurtle.
Rounds is good at making a fool of himself and SD by saying bribery is a family value.
SD, you have Much Better Choices who will actually act on your behalf in positive ways.
Nebraska and South Dakota will need that emergency money pronto, we do have a huge disaster on our hands. “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Thursday night it was increasing its releases at Gavins Point Dam near Yankton to levels not seen since the historic 2011 Missouri River flood.
The Corps’ announcement marked the fifth time it raised the flows in two days because of flooding. A major blow came Thursday with the breach of Spencer Dam, located south of Spencer, Nebraska, which plays a major role in controlling the Niobrara River’s flow into the Missouri River near Niobrara, Neb.
“Water releases from Gavins Point Dam will be increased to 90,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) … as unregulated inflows from the Niobrara and other watersheds continue to spill into the reservoir,” the Corps said in a release Thursday night.” This is a bad one with more flooding to be expected.
“In Norfolk, about 8,000 residents were asked to evacuate because of concerns with the levee system. Norfolk Public Safety Director Shane Weidner described the evacuation area as running from Eisenhauer Road south to the Elkhorn River and from 7th Street to Victory Road.”https://www.yankton.net/community/article_f8637fcc-46cb-11e9-8d13-d388f1b32cac.html
Today’s Thune script:
“[The nonpartisan parliamentarian] is applying a pretty tight filter” against any Senate amendment not germane to Pelosi’s resolution terminating Trump’s declared “emergency”. Despite McConnell’s begging Trump not to declare; and the Senate fears the precedent a parlimentary appeal would create!
Now Trump threatens Democrats with “very bad, very bad” violence from cops, military and bikers against Democrats for investigating. Wow. And again Dusty, with Wall legislation, swoops in to save … who? Remember Round’s $26B bill to build the wall. SD is paying a HUGE price to keep this criminal in the presidency.
Slate, Politico, Breitbart
Oh and more pressure on trump… 420-0 house vote resolving to publish Mueller report. Trump is a beached whale. Did you know a whale’s aorta is large enough for a child to crawl through. Wonder how healthy Trump’s heart?
The SD senate invertebrates stick with their liplock on turtleboys backside.
Robin F, what difference if her name is spelled phonetically? It matches the way wingnuts govern.
Taxcuts for the koch bros. Yeah, that sounds about right.
Former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden and former National Counterterrorism Center director Matthew Olson agree: Trump’s emergency declaration is bogus.
I really do not understand why people in South Dakota are so surprised about the votes of Thune and whats his name. Thump’s supporters basically elected both of them and will continue to do the same. Thune only sees himself as the chief mogo of the Senate, VP and, for God’s sake, a Presidential candidate that he is afraid to challenge Thump or anyone of the Republican party.
What’s his name has yet learned to think — no one in his office has yet begun to gather enough guts to conflict with the White House.
Thune and Rounds are traitors, call them the way they are.
“Twenty-five Republicans — 12 in the Senate and 13 in the House — took their oaths seriously in opposing an unconstitutional power grab. The rest? If Trump told them to amend the Constitution and toss out the Bill of Rights, they’d likely do it. After all, Article I means nothing to them, so why should any other portion of the Constitution? This marks the inevitable result of a party that has sacrificed its principles and decency for . . . what? For the right to sit in the Senate, doing nothing? For fear that they cannot justify themselves to the mob Trump has drummed up? Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post March 14, 2019
They are what they are and those that vote for them, are what they are as well, Non-Americans.
Yeah, Mike, it just made me chuckle, not sure why. Gnomes are not altogether good creatures, right?
Just for grins compare Dusty’s Republican/USD/Butina-Erickson bio with another rep about the same age, say Rock Star Ro Kanna, D. CA. Wiki. You deserve who you elect. (Will Rogers)
Jerry, our too-comfortable Senators need to hear more language like that, in public and in the press.
I posted a lengthy comment today in an older DFP thread about Dusty Johnson’s vote. I think readers might find it relevant to this particular thread as well. For anyone interested, here is a link to that comment.
https://dakotafreepress.com/2019/02/26/dusty-johnson-agrees-there-is-no-border-emergency/#comment-130906
Oops! We apparently patted Rep. Johnson on the back for having a brain and integrity too soon. From KBN tv:
“On Wednesday, Johnson announced that he’s introducing the Furthering American Security by Tempering Environmental Regulations (FASTER) Act. The measure would waive environmental reviews required by the National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act in order to expedite building a border wall.”
I suppose rabid trumpelstilskins were attacking and Dusty crumbled under the pressure. Damn.
The man in the empty suit,When he talks he is as dry as dust.that is Thune.Slick Mike thinks Trump worries about his family while paying off a porn star.Can we do better than these suck ups.