“In all these vital measures for fighting a war on terror, the Democrats in Washington follow a simple philosophy: Just say no.”
-- President George W. Bush (10/30/06)
Despite their rhetoric, Democrats do not have a plan for victory in Iraq and the war on terror. When it comes to putting together the tools necessary to prevail in this conflict, the Democrats’ policy is to “Just say no.”
Democrats Just Say No to Terrorist Tribunals
162 Democrats voted against the Military Commissions Act of 2006 that created a new judicial system to prosecute terrorists, provide basic fairness in prosecutions, protect American troops on the battlefield, and satisfy international treaty obligations and applicable U.S. laws. The bill passed the House by a vote of 250-170.
Democrats Just Say No to the PATRIOT Act
124 Democrats opposed reauthorizing the USA PATRIOT Act to improve communication and cooperation among the intelligence, defense, and law enforcement communities, increase law enforcement's ability to conduct terrorist surveillance, update our laws to reflect new technologies and new threats, and increase penalties for terrorists and their accomplices. The bill passed the House by a vote of 280-138.
Democrats Just Say No to Terrorist Surveillance
177 Democrats voted against the Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act, which updates our electronic surveillance laws for the Internet and cell-phone era to improve our ability to monitor terrorist communications, keeps track of our enemies' conversations is one of the most important things we can do to prevent another 9/11, and ensures that we have the tools we need to monitor terrorist activities and help us stop attacks before they happen. This legislation passed the House by a vote of 232-191.
Democrats Just Say No to Preventing Terrorists from Obtaining Valid IDs
152 Democrats voted against the original passage of the REAL ID Act of 2005 which helps prevent terrorists from obtaining valid identification by instituting uniform standards for state-issued identification cards. Prior to the passage of this act, lax state standards made it easy for terrorists to obtain valid state identification. The 9/11 Commission recommended that Congress establish uniform standards for state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards. According to the 9/11 Commission's report, the 9/11 hijackers had among them 13 state-issued driver's licenses and 21 state-issued identification cards.
