Protesters to converge on Berkeley for Marine debate

The City Council chambers will be the focus of all-day protests, and not just from the usual assortment of liberal activists. Pro-military groups will also be out in force as the famously left-leaning body considers whether to rescind its statement Jan. 29 calling the U.S. Marines and their Shattuck Avenue recruiting station "uninvited and unwelcome intruders."

The 6-3 vote on that item caused a nationwide backlash against the city, prompting Republicans in Washington and Sacramento to introduce legislation to take away money for things like school lunches and police communications equipment.

Just about every City Council meeting in Berkeley includes protesters who show support or disdain for whatever is on the agenda. And there are those who come regularly to boo and hiss at their elected enemies, seemingly just for sport.

But Tuesday, the city is likely to host the mother of all meetings in its recent history. Councilman Gordon Wozniak, who opposed the council's actions two weeks ago on the recruiting station, said he received 26,000 e-mails on the subject in the past 10 days (24,000 supporting the Marines, 2,000 against), and he is just one of nine council members.

"On a hot issue, we sometimes get a couple hundred e-mails," Wozniak said. "I've never seen anything like this. I'm getting one every five minutes. It's huge."

In a warm-up for the meeting, Tuesday's protests could bring upwards of 500 people from both sides. And hundreds of union members are expected at the meeting to protest a separate item seeking to regulate a local steel foundry.

Sacramento-based Move America Forward and a handful of other pro-military organizations are set to bring in several hundred protesters in front of council chambers starting at 5 a.m. On the other side, Code Pink, a women's peace organization, was planning to camp out for 24 hours to argue that the U.S. Marines should get out of town.

Meanwhile, union workers are protesting a move to put restrictions on Pacific Steel Casting, which many in Berkeley blame for a persistent odor and health problems in some neighborhoods.

To accommodate Tuesday's expected crowd of protesters and media, the city will broadcast the meeting outside on speakers.

Move America Forward is already unhappy with what council members are not planning to do -- rescinding four other items the council passed that are seen as a swipe at the Marines. Those items asked the city attorney to investigate whether the Marines are violating city law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation; urged people to "impede" the recruiting work of the Marines in Berkeley; and gave Code Pink a free parking space and sound permit in front of the recruiting station once a week to protest.

The proposal by council members Betty Olds and Laurie Capitelli to rescind the item sending the Marines a letter asking them to leave is No. 25 of 28 items on Tuesday's agenda, and could come up for debate near midnight. What's more, pro-military supporters will have to sit through another item likely to make them seethe: urging Canada to provide sanctuary for U.S. military war resisters.

"Our organization has taken a stand that the council needs to apologize and rescind all the resolutions," said Danny Gonzalez, communications director for Move America Forward. "We can only hope that one of the council members has the sense to make a change and reevaluate their stance on all the issues."

By only rescinding the one item, the council, in effect, is still "attempting to get the Marines to leave," Gonzalez said.

"They're just trying to get the heat off, and that's not going to work," Gonzalez said. "It's empty; it's not a genuine apology."

Code Pink is going to the meeting to thank the council for its actions against the recruiting station.

"We're so pleased the council is taking a strong stand for peace, and we intend to be there in full force to let them know we support them," said Zanne Joi, a Code Pink activist. "We trust the council will not be swayed by this vicious right-wing attack."

Joi said the reaction by people across the country angry that the council asked the Marines to leave town shows that the tide of public sentiment has long since turned against the war in Iraq.

"This violent reaction of the pro-war forces shows how threatened they are by a small group of people working against recruitment," Joi said. "They claim the Marines fought for our freedom of speech, and how dare we use our freedom of speech against them."

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/reids-move-delayed-rap-on-berkeley-2008-02-11.html

Reid’s move delayed rap on Berkeley

Senate Democrats left two days of legislative business officially open last week, hobbling GOP efforts to bring up a bill punishing a liberal California city for scolding Marine Corps recruiters. Republicans said Democrats clearly wanted to avoid being forced to choose between the Marine Corps or Berkeley, Calif., known for its liberalism and fervent anti-war positions.

Instead of adjourning at the end of a day as usual, the Senate “recessed” twice, a move that, under Senate rules, slows the process of adding new bills to the calendar. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) did not adjourn until last Friday, effectively pushing back floor consideration on the GOP bill until Tuesday — the same day that the city council is likely to tone down its call for Marine Corps recruiters to leave town.

“The only reason to recess is to block something, and the thing that got blocked by Reid’s stall tactic was the Semper Fi Act,” said spokesman Wesley Denton, referring to the bill introduced by his boss, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).

“Democrats have chosen not to defend the Marine Corps, but to pander to anti-war protesters and Berkeley officials that are actively trying to impede military recruitment.”

But Reid’s office says that recessing was done to give the majority the flexibility to map out broader floor strategy on a range of bills for the coming week.

Reid spokesman Jim Manley said the decision to recess resulted because of discussions over whether to start the process of bringing to the floor a short-term extension of an electronic surveillance law. The Senate is expected to vote Tuesday on amendments to a bill overhauling the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

“Democrats are working to provide the intelligence professionals with the tools they need to protect the nation from terrorism, while Republicans have done everything in their power to block the Senate from finishing the debate over the warrantless wiretapping program,” Manley said. “And all that Sen. DeMint can do is complain that we recessed instead of adjourned last week? We should be the ones complaining.”

The process of recessing is very unusual in the 110th Congress. The only times the Senate went into recess were on Sept. 12 and before and after a number of quick “pro forma” sessions held late last year and in early January, in a tactic to keep President Bush from making recess appointments.

When the Senate adjourns, a legislative day officially comes to an end. To bypass committee consideration of a bill, a senator can request that a bill be placed on the Senate calendar two legislative days after it is introduced.

Once a measure is on the calendar, a senator can request the Senate to approve a bill by unanimous consent, or force at least one member to object to its passage.

But on Feb. 6 and Feb. 7, Reid and Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) closed the chamber’s doors by recessing until the next day, a move that, unlike adjourning, does not change the legislative day.

That tactic effectively delayed an effort by DeMint and five other conservatives to bring forward a bill, introduced on Feb. 6, that would strip Berkeley of $2 million worth of earmarks inserted into the $516 billion omnibus spending bill Bush signed into law at the end of 2007. According to three GOP aides, DeMint signaled on Feb. 6 that he would request that the bill be placed on the legislative calendar before the decision was made to recess, rather than adjourn, for the night.

“Berkeley needs to learn that their actions have consequences,” DeMint said.

The California Democrats who sponsored the earmarks, Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Barbara Lee, say they will fight for the funding, which includes a lunch program at a Berkeley school district, ferry service and a new endowment at the University of California-Berkeley.

“Senator DeMint may not like what the Berkeley City Council has to say, but to punish the children, police, first responders and university for something they had nothing to do with is just plain wrong,” said Natalie Ravitz, a spokeswoman for Boxer.

Republicans introduced the bill to reprimand the city for its decision to tell the Marine Corps in a letter that a recruiting office was “not welcome” in the city and that the recruiters were “uninvited and unwelcome intruders.”

The council also voted to make it easier for the anti-war group Code Pink to protest against the recruiters, assigning a parking space once a week for six months in front of the office and relaxing noise restrictions so that the activists can more easily interrupt the Marines’ activities.

The votes lit up conservative blogs around the country and provided fodder to right-wing talk show hosts who have long disdained Northern California. Republicans are eager to push the bill because they believe it forces Democrats — especially presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) — to make the choice between Code Pink and the Marines.

“It’s embarrassing for them,” said a Republican leadership aide.

By adjourning last Friday, the measure will be placed on the calendar on Tuesday, the same day that the Berkeley City Council meets to decide whether to rescind the letter.

Democrats could argue that the city council’s action will make the Senate bill irrelevant, effectively limiting national attention to a single day.

Nevertheless, Democrats say that the bill is nothing more than an effort by the GOP to create a distraction amid a heavy legislative agenda.

“Talk about failing to see the forest through the trees,” Manley said.

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"...But on Feb. 6 and Feb. 7, Reid and Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) closed the chamber’s doors by recessing until the next day, a move that, unlike adjourning, does not change the legislative day.

Where was McCain?