US Senate to defy Rules of Gravity! Spitting Into the Wind now OK! UPDATED

The US Senate has been quite complacent lo these past couple of years since the Democrats took over the Leadership(?) of the Senate.  FISA? check.  

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards a terrorist organization? check.  

No Change of Course in Iraq? check

Impeachment of Officials for lies, torture, myriad other illegal dealings?  No Check Here

Today, the US Senate may (note the word MAY) look to request a Federal Investigation into the changing of wording regarding an earmark installed into a 2005 Highway Funding bill, after the bill had been passed and before it was sent to President Bush.

From CNN:

The Senate may seek a federal investigation into a 2005 earmark on a highway funding bill that was mysteriously altered after Congress approved the measure but before President Bush signed it.

Mysteriously, they say?  Sounds like Republican par for the course to me, but perhaps I’m just a bit biased these days.

Lets have a closer look.

The $10 million earmark, originally designated for improvements to Interstate 75 in Lee and Collier Counties in Florida, was changed to direct the money to build an interchange in Lee County, an apparently violation of congressional rules.

“This wasn’t an ordinary earmark,” Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, said, defending the decision by Democratic leaders to invite the Justice Department to probe internal congressional practices. “It was the specific circumstances here that are highly unusual.”

My emphasis.

Again, note the wording.  Invite the Justice Department to probe, etc, etc.  

Because, of course, the Justice Department is part of the Executive Branch of the Government these days, and we know they don’t have to do what the at-one-time co-equal branch of Government known as the Congress requires them to do.

The Senate is expected to vote Thursday whether to direct the Justice Department to investigate “allegations of impropriety” and to “ascertain if a violation of Federal criminal law has occurred.” No lawmaker has acknowledged making the change.

“If there’s something untoward done, whether it’s morally wrong, criminally wrong, let’s take a look at it,” argued Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada.

snip

It was unclear if the Justice Department would be bound by a Senate vote to seek an investigation. Democratic lawmakers argued that the department would be required to launch the investigation, but Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, argued that the department would not necessarily have to launch the probe.

So.  Spitting Into the Wind has become a procedure that is currently all the rage in Congress.  

They can CALL for an investigation into anything they wish, they can hold HEARINGS all they want, but because Republicans say that THEY don’t have to do what Congress says, its all just Spitting Into The Wind, isn’t it?

It would seem that at that time in 2005, Representative Don Young – R (Alaska) was the Chairman of the House Transportation Committee and the author of the Highway Funding bill in question.

Strangely enough, Rep. Young was the recepient of $40,000 for his campaign from local Lee County, FL business leaders and this somehow has raised a red flag to Democrats that perhaps it was at his direction that the wording of the bill was changed to cut Collier County out of the bill and leave only Lee County as the receipient of all that lovely earmark money.

What are the odds that the vote to REQUEST the Justice Department investigate this situation will actually pass?

What are the odds that if the vote were to hypothetically pass that the Justice Department wouldn’t tell the Senate to Kiss Their Collective Executive Branch asses?

So go ahead.  Tug on Supermans cape.  The laws of physics have been suspended as well.

UPDATE: (Hat Tip to Youffraita)

I am amazed! It passed the Senate.  See the update link at TPM in Youffraita’s comment below.