Blogosphere (both left and right) Unites in Pursuit of Masked Senator

[jAZ]

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001428.php

Blogosphere Unites in Pursuit of Masked Senator

By Paul Kiel - August 28, 2006, 1:04 PM

Who's trying to stop the government from telling its citizens where their tax dollars are being spent? Help find out.

Just before the August recess, the Senate was set to vote on a bill introduced by Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) that would create a public, searchable database of all federal grants and contracts. Envisioned as a Google-like website, it would provide free, immediate access the information, which can be alarmingly difficult to obtain.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously passed the measure July 27th, and S.2590 seemed to be speeding on its way to full Senate passage when, in the dark of night, an unknown Senator placed a "secret hold" on the bill. According to Senate courtesies, the bill will never come to a vote as long as the hold continues.

So who's the culprit?

Since he/she is unlikely to fess up, bloggers from the left and right have united in the effort of eliminating suspects one by one. The only way to do this is to call your Senator's offices up and get an answer. Over at Porkbuster.org, they're keeping a tally; 27 Senators have responded to readers and bloggers and said they weren't responsible for the hold. GOP Progress (via Wonkette) got that total up to 33.

We think TPM readers should get in on the act. If your Senator has yet to respond (see the Porkbusters tally), give his or her staff a call and politely ask if the Senator was the one who placed the secret hold. And let us know how it went (email us at comments (at) tpmmuckraker dot com).

[jAZ]

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001440.php

Coburn: (Ted "Bridge to Nowhere") Stevens Blocked My Bill

By Justin Rood - August 29, 2006, 11:27 PM

Twelve days ago, at a town meeting in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) accused Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) of obstructing his porkbuster-database bill with an anonymous hold.

That's according to an Aug. 18 article in the Fort Smith (Ark.) Times Record:

One of the senators most criticized for his personal projects, Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, has a hold of his own on Coburn’s bill to make public the spending patterns of the government. Called the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, the legislation calls for the creation of a database open to the public where citizens can track government spending.

“He’s the only senator blocking it,” Coburn said of Stevens.


Coburn's office was not available for comment this evening.

The article has gone largely unnoticed in recent days, as hundreds of bloggers and blog-readers (at TPMm and elsewhere) have called Senate offices in an effort to determine who placed the "secret" hold on Coburn's bill. The piece does not turn up in a Nexis search, although it is in Google.

Stevens has been the odds-on favorite since the hunt for the Holder Who Dare Not Speak His Name began.

But did he really do it? Well, he had a motive: As the paper and others have noted, Stevens and Coburn have clashed before -- in particular over Stevens' now-legendary "bridge to nowhere." Coburn attempted (and failed) to block the $233 million boondoggle. And revenge certainly fits the senior Alaskan's m.o. "Stevens can play rough," the Seattle Times noted in June. "Despite denials from his staff, he retaliates - and doesn't mind waiting years to do so."

Stevens' office has so far refused to comment on the hold. Ninety-five other senators have confirmed they were not responsible.

Thanks to TPMm Readers MP, GC for the tips.

[|Zach|]

The readers of ZachIsHere.com will work tirelessly to get to the bottom of this.

After they are done surfing for boobies.

[Amnorix]

Stevens is vermin.

[Adept Havelock]

Stevens is vermin.

Isn't that a little harsh....to vermin? At least vermin serve some purpose in nature.

[oldandslow]

Isn't that a little harsh....to vermin? At least vermin serve some purpose in nature.

I'm with adept...nature has a place for vermin.

Stevens, on the other hand....

[HerculesRockefell]

Redstate claims Byrd has put a hold on the bill too

http://www.redstate.com/stories/congress/ted_stevens_weaslier_than_france

[jiveturkey]

Redstate claims Byrd has put a hold on the bill too

http://www.redstate.com/stories/congress/ted_stevens_weaslier_than_france
We're going to need to order a 2nd set of nut hooks.

[oldandslow]

Can we put them both out to pasture???

[Adept Havelock]

Can we put them both out to pasture???

Works for me. On second thought, Thunderdome would be more entertaining.

[Eye Patch]

Mystery Solved

The mystery senator who blocked a floor vote on a popular bill to create a public, searchable database of all government spending has now been outed.

Alaska Republican Ted Stevens admitted to placing what's known as a secret hold on the bill, saying he's concerned the plan could create more bureaucracy and calling for a cost-benefit analysis before granting his approval.

But the Congressional Budget Office has already reported the costs of the project and what's more, Stevens never raised his concerns when the bill was unanimously voted out of his Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. In fact, Stevens didn't attend that hearing or any other hearing on the bill.

[Baby Lee]

Redstate claims Byrd has put a hold on the bill too

http://www.redstate.com/stories/congress/ted_stevens_weaslier_than_france
Stevens and Byrd?

It's a COOT OFF (http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/29413/The_Daily_Show_Coot_Off.html) !!!!

[patteeu]

Question for the "Bush Lied" folks: Did TPMMuckraker lie when they said:

According to Senate courtesies, the bill will never come to a vote as long as the hold continues.

While technically true, this statement gives what some might call a misleading impression that a secret hold can prevent a bill from coming to a vote as long as the lone holder refuses to allow it. The truth is that the Senate leadership can bypass a hold like this by going through a series of parlimentary proceedures. Senator Frist, who supports the bill, has stated that he would initiate these proceedures, if necessary, to bring the bill to a vote. Apparently, the process is somewhat cumbersome and it takes 6 days (senate business days, not regular days) to accomplish though, so Senator Frist's preference was to talk privately with the holder and get them to voluntarily lift the hold.

Senator Stevens (and Byrd for that matter) is a tool and deserves much criticism for his pork-style political approach, but there's much less to see here than meets the eye.

I wonder if the people at TPMMuckraker have ever accused the administration of lying about WMD?

[Cochise]

Man. This is something that we desperately need, IMO.

Thanks a lot, Stevens and Sheets :rolleyes:

[Baby Lee]

Question for the "Bush Lied" folks: Did TPMMuckraker lie when they said:



While technically true, this statement gives what some might call a misleading impression that a secret hold can prevent a bill from coming to a vote as long as the lone holder refuses to allow it. The truth is that the Senate leadership can bypass a hold like this by going through a series of parlimentary proceedures. Senator Frist, who supports the bill, has stated that he would initiate these proceedures, if necessary, to bring the bill to a vote. Apparently, the process is somewhat cumbersome and it takes 6 days (senate business days, not regular days) to accomplish though, so Senator Frist's preference was to talk privately with the holder and get them to voluntarily lift the hold.

Senator Stevens (and Byrd for that matter) is a tool and deserves much criticism for his pork-style political approach, but there's much less to see here than meets the eye.

I wonder if the people at TPMMuckraker have ever accused the administration of lying about WMD?
I see what you're trying to do.
But I think "[a]ccording to Senate courtesies" covers all that. As in "the could bring it to a vote, but never will because that would be rude."

[patteeu]

I see what you're trying to do.
But I think "[a]ccording to Senate courtesies" covers all that. As in "the could bring it to a vote, but never will because that would be rude."

I think it covers all that too. I wouldn't call it a lie. I do think that some people might have been misled into thinking this would effectively kill the bill, but I don't think that makes it a lie.

[Garcia Bronco]

****...somebody shoot them

[oldandslow]

Bird pulled his hold after being outed...

now if someone can get to Stevens...