[promoted to the Front Page by BooMan]
I am disgusted and outraged at the lack of ability that Harry Reid has to keep our flimsy little caucus together on key votes. This was BIG. And we could have won. Very discouraging.
The Cantwell-Kerry amendment to the budget resolution failed, 49-51. Guess what? Three Dems (DINOs) voted against. Landrieu I can sort of understand (Louisana is oil). Akaka and Inouye I have no idea. What– Alaska and Hawaii have to stick together since they’re not part of the contiguous 48? As the most recent states, they have a pact of solidarity? This makes no sense. This was a huge opportunity, especially as 6 Repubs (Chafee, Snowe, McCain, Smith, Collins, and Coleman) voted for the amendment (against drilling). If we acted like a party for ONCE, at least on a BIG vote like this, we can get stuff done, even with only 44.
I am very discouraged by this. Also by my jackass Senator Specter, who could/should have voted for the amendment. He keeps giving us little bits of false hope that he has a pair, but then pulls shit like this to keep pissing me off.
AAARRGGGHHH. I am bummed.
Here are phone numbers for Akaka: 202 224 6361 and Inouye 202 224 3934. They suck.
This is total bullshit.
And Specter got the endorsement of your union.
Tsk. Tsk,
It is bullshit, and I called his office from 12 noon yesterday until 2:30 today trying to get through. No luck until the vote was over. WaPo in their pre-vote story quotes a woman at the Sierra Club saying that it would come down to one vote. It did. Specter and the three DINOs ruined it.
I’m so depressed. Do you think there’s any hope at all? Did you see this new diary at Kos? Arctic Refuge Plan B
it was two votes right? Remember Dick ‘Big Nuts’ Cheney?
OK smart guy… two votes. Three “Democrats” voted no. I really don’t understand the Hawaiians. Or, Specter. I don’t want to let him off the hook, either. But I haven’t checked out the diary on Kos that is mentioned above, maybe there is some insight over there…
we’ll get to the bottom of it.
What did Hawaii just get? A rebuilt brand new USS Arizona?
…years, that oil will be flowing from refineries directly into the tank of your all-wheel-drive Behemoth, Leviathan or Gargantua and you’ll wonder why you ever had such a silly attachment to pristine wilderness, caribou and tundra. If the people of ancient Lebanon hadn’t chopped all those cedars, where would they be today?
One interesting theory is that Hawaii is dependent on tourism, tourists fly on airplanes, airplanes use oil, so… cheaper oil is good for Hawaii. But I mean, come ON! This is a bogus ‘fix’ for the oil industry anyway. Won’t even be flowing for at least 7 years.