Pubdate: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA) Copyright: 2004 Seattle Post-Intelligencer Contact: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/408 Note: By Seattle Post-Intelligencer Editorial Board Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) CONGRESS: GO HOME, STAY HOME? In the frantic atmosphere before its long summer vacation, Congress was up to much mischief last week. With much important work left undone, both chambers focused mostly on partisanship and pandering. If this is all they've got, perhaps they'd best not bother to return after Labor Day and let the voters sort things out in November. The Republican-led House put reefer madness over states' rights, rejecting an amendment to a funding bill for the departments of Justice, State and Commerce. The amendment, supported by Democrats and conservative Republicans, would have, sensibly enough, barred the federal government from interfering with states' medical marijuana laws. Washington is among nine states in which voters have approved such laws. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., played to the crowd back home, accusing the amendment of "sending the message to young people that there can be health benefits by smoking marijuana." (Gasp!) Another amendment to the same budget bill would have curbed the USA Patriot Act's permission to law enforcement to require book dealers and libraries to surrender records of individuals' purchases and Web site visits -- absent traditional subpoenas or search warrants. But the Bush administration raised veto threats and -- perhaps only coincidentally -- new threats of terrorist attacks. Republican leadership held the voting open until there were enough votes to defeat the amendment. A particularly gullible Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., changed his vote, which helped defeat the amendment, after he said he was shown Justice Department documents asserting that terrorists have communicated over the Internet via public library computers. Accountability fared poorly in the Senate, as well. Friday's much-anticipated special report hammering prewar U.S. intelligence did not address the administration's role in the use of that tainted intelligence to paint the threat posed by Iraq. That phase of the report probably will not come out until after the election. Also in the Senate, attempts to decorate a class-action lawsuit bill with numerous unrequited pieces of legislation led to a ban on all amendments and the bill's defeat Thursday. There may be merit in restricting so-called venue shopping through state courts, but a substantive debate must wait. Republicans in both chambers are threatening votes on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages. An amendment would require two-thirds votes in each chamber, so this is more about using a vote to bash incumbents than changing the Constitution. The only merit in all this mischief is that it gives voters -- less than four months from a major national election -- a gauge of the effectiveness and credibility of the majority party, the Republican leadership in both houses of Congress. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake