Same Old Senate for Sale.

“I don’t know,’ said Senator Mike DeWine, Republican of Ohio…’People are not really talking to me directly about lobbying. I think they’re concerned about some of the, quote, scandal, but I don’t have anybody come up to me and say there’s a lobbying problem. It doesn’t get that specific.‘” As such, one day after voting down an independent ethics office 67-30, the Senate passes a watered-down “lobbying reform” bill 90-8 that, for all intent and purposes. seems to be merely cosmetic. “The Senate measure toughens disclosure requirements for lobbyists and requires lawmakers to obtain advance approval for the private trips that were a central feature of the Abramoff scandal. But it does not rein in lawmakers’ use of corporate jets, and it fell far short of the sweeping changes, including a ban on privately financed travel, that some lawmakers advocated in January…’It’s very, very weak,’ said Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona.“

Five Republicans and only three measly Democrats voted against the phantom reform bill: McCain, Feingold, Kerry, Graham, DeMint, Inhofe, and the “unlikely duo” of Obama and Coburn. (The West Virginia Dem delegation — Byrd and Rockefeller — abstained.) Still, “Mr. McCain predicted that there would be more indictments growing out of the investigation into political corruption, and said that such a development would lead Congress to revisit the issue again.“

Specter v. S.P.E.C.T.R.E.

The Specter hearings into the illegal NSA wiretaps begin, and, so far despite Specter’s tough talk on Sunday, they’ve been pretty much a sideshow. For one, as they did with Big Oil, the GOP ensured by a 10-8 party-line vote that Gonzales didn’t have to testify under oath. For another, Gonzales has been falling back on the ridiculous Article 2 defense and saying little of import as of yet. Still, at least Republicans like Specter and Lindsey Graham are joining Feingold and others in calling out the administration’s dubious rationale for the Imperial Presidency, so perhaps these hearings may be of some service yet. Update: As the NYT points out, we’ve been here before. Update 2: Dahlia Lithwick is not amused.

The “Little Triumvirate.”

“This was a huge ‘Congress getting into the ballgame’ week,’ Mr. Graham said. Mr. Warner said wryly, ‘You know, Congress is a co-equal branch.'” Well, make no mistake: They’re no Clay, Calhoun, and Webster. Still, the NYT takes a gander at the self-named “Little Triumvirate” of John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and John Warner, three “Gang of 14” members who’ve become the locus of GOP discontent with Dubya in the Senate.

Hard Time Killing Floor Blues.

Republicans…they never stop surprising me. The nation discovers that, contrary to our most basic principles, the CIA has a series of secret, illegal gulags around the world, and how do GOP leaders respond? They want to know who told the press. (Mind you, this is after stonewalling investigations into prewar intelligence and the Plamegate leak for many a year.)

To be fair, not all GOP Senators are with them on this. Said Gang of 14 member Lindsey Graham (R-SC): “Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees. The real story is those jails…I’d like to know why we’ve got secret prisons and what oversight precautions we have.” And Trent Lott (R-MS) believes that a Republican is likely responsible for the leak, after hearing about the prisons from Mr. Torture himself, Big Time Dick Cheney. “‘Every word that was said in there went right to the newspaper,’ Lott said. ‘We can’t keep our mouths shut.‘” But, perhaps Catkiller knows this, and suspects one of his probable primary opponents? (LA Times story via Quiddity.) Update: Wheels within wheels…Was the leak investigation letter accidentally leaked? Regardless, Pat Roberts has put the kibosh on a congressional investigation…for now.

Cheney’s Tortured Logic.

Much to the consternation of the Dubya White House, a handful of GOP Senators, including Gang of 14’ers John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), are trying to establish congressional oversight over prisoner treatment at Guantanamo and elsewhere. McCain’s proposed amendments include restricting interrogation techniques to what’s in the Army field manual, stopping the practice of “extraordinary rendition,” forcing the government to register all detainees with the Red Cross, and prohibiting “cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody no matter where they are held.” For his part, Graham’s amendment appears just to rubber-stamp the current Dubya policies…but apparently even that’s too much legislative oversight for Cheney, Rummy, and the rest of the admin whip-hands, who are trying to enlist their Senate allies to offer up a watered-down, smoke-and-mirrors version instead. For shame.

Buyer’s Remorse.

“Frist called her “a superb judge” who applies the law ‘without bias, without favor, with an even hand.’ Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), one of the 14 negotiators, called Brown “an extremely talented and qualified judge” who will ‘advance the cause of conservative judicial philosophy.'” As Janice Rogers Brown moves through the Senate, some Dems and left-leaning groups start rethinking the benefits of last month’s nuclear compromise.

Everything in Moderation?

Christie Todd Whitman may refuse to name names, but Episcopal minister and former GOP Senator John Danforth got the general point across last Wednesday in the NYT: “By a series of recent initiatives, Republicans have transformed our party into the political arm of conservative Christians.” It’s gotten to the point where even Rick Santorum feels he may have to modulate his right-wing schtick in order to get re-elected in 2006.

A tip for Santorum: Being a moderate these days means occasionally taking tough stands against your own party, as Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is proving with his compromise Social Security plan. “Graham’s plan would raise Social Security taxes for high-income earners, and reduce their eventual retirement benefits.” So, naturally, “the free-market group Club for Growth, meanwhile, is running TV ads in South Carolina attacking Graham for proposing tax increases.”

Bait and Switch?

“We’ve now got this huge fight over a sideshow,” Graham said during a meeting with Washington Post reporters and editors. “It’s always been a sideshow, but we sold it as the main event.” To the White House’s consternation, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) argues for sidelining Dubya’s private accounts in favor of a Social Security compromise. Well, let’s make sure they’re well off the table before we talk.

Time to Face the Music.

“‘The large deficits and apparent inability of Republicans to constrain spending has made it impossible for sensible folks to advocate’ big tax cuts, said Kevin A. Hassett of the conservative American Enterprise Institute. ‘Sooner or later. government has to pay for everything.'” In the face of rampant Dubya deficits, the GOP strains toward a moment of clarity and takes further tax cuts off the table for the time being. (Indeed, to the dismay of Grover Norquist, some Republican Senators, including Lindsey Graham (R-SC), are even considering raising taxes.) Reality bites, doesn’t it?

The Waiting Game.

“‘We’re at the height of the Roman Empire for the Republican Party…[but i]f we continue to lose 90 percent of the African American vote — and I got 7 percent — if we continue to lose 65 percent of the Hispanic vote, we’re toast…Just look at the electoral map.'” With or without a second term for Dubya, Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Chuck Hagel see trouble ahead for the GOP. Notes Hagel: “The Republican Party has come loose of its moorings.“