Put your happy thoughts here.
Sellouts:
1. Akaka
2. Inouye
3. Cantwell
4. Rockefeller
5. Byrd
6. Bingaman
7. Lieberman
8. Nelson (FL)
9. Nelson (NE)
10. Baucus
11. T. Johnson
12. Dorgan
13. B. Lincoln
14. Salazar
15. Conrad
16. Landrieu
17. Pryor
18. Carper
19. Kohl
20. Harkin didn’t vote. That’s okay.
Pluto posted a haiku over on My Left Wing:
singing songs of freedom in
small cages for sale
That’s brilliant.
Exactly my thought when I saw it. That is one of the best haiku I’ve ever seen, and completely apt for today.
…I live in Massachusetts.
It’s nice that the good Senators Kerry and Kennedy led the filibuster, but leadership means bringing the stragglers along with you. In that they failed as surely as I did in my admittedly futile attempts to convince my two arrogant Republican Senators to vote No.
I’m a punked Colorado fuckhead who voted for Salazar. You Pennsylvanians fight like hell otherwise Salazar and Casey will be swapping spit on the Senate Floor while hiding behind the illusion that they are Straight and Democrats!
Did we just witness the end of the “Democratic party”? (Where did it go??)
I think we now know who the real Democrats are. This was a fundamental issue.
And we can now conclusively state that you can’t. Trust. Any. Republicans. Ever.
…on cspan they are now blaming our budget and energy problems on democrats!
I live in California! Even with the Governator.
the Tubes’ White Punks on Dope…gee, that sounds appealing about now.
And just bought more music through the iTunes link…since I’m not going to need that money to send to the Democratic Loser Council and their ilk…
It’s a dark day in America…and tomorrow will be even darker as Bush solidifies his grasp on the hearts of Joe and Jane Average…
Not one dollar more. Not one vote more for anyone who does not stand for the constitution, the rights of workers, women, gays,minorities. Not one more vote for the lesser of two evils no matter how hard the Dems try to point at the scary Republican boogeyman.
I am very proud of everyone who worked to stop this abomination. You are all true patriots.
You and me both…..
Candidates that are progressive only…no more $ just because they put a “D” after their name. Now they have to prove it.
$ may go independent or green….or shopping.
for those of us without C-Span 2, is there a final vote on cloture and what is it?
72-25
Well, now I’m glad I was at class tonight instead of watching that unfold vote by vote.
25 votes against? What happened to the other 12 that C-Span had listed just before the vote?
I also wrote to one of Cantwell’s staff members whose e-mail address I have.
I think i’ll try to find a rerun of Law & ORder to watch …
I just called and asked for an explantion of her vote….she just help gut all our environmental protections.
And Jim Demint is now on cspan blaming dems for our deficit and energy problems!
Who has a list of the Democratic AYE votes?
To me, these people have done something as bad as anything Cheney or Bush could pull out of their asses.
When does the Civil War begin?
Go NJ boys! I’m a little bit despondent, and a bigger part of me is really looking forward to working my ass off for Menendez this year. I mean, he’s been in the Senate all of two weeks or so, he’s from Alito’s home state, and he’s known him personally for some time. I think it took some kind of cojones to vote against Alito given those circumstances. He’s earned my vote in November, and he’s earned my energy, time, and engagement making sure others vote for him as well.
Too happy?
…it’s clear now. The Dems should have filibustered Janice Rogers Brown and Priscilla Owen.
The GOP managed to get the best of both worlds with the nuclear option. They threatened. The Democrats blinked. No need to pull the trigger.
Now Brown and Owen are on the federal bench, Roberts and Alito are on the SCOTUS, and all the Democrats have is a bunch of dry powder . . . and none of the party discipline that they had actually managed to build on judicial appointees prior to last spring.
What a bunch of losers!
Oh, there’s plenty of party discipline. Every single Senator voted exactly as Reid instructed them to. I’m willing to bet that, if you compare this side-by-side with the Roberts vote, you find that a bunch of progressives and conservatives jumped columns. It’s a partisan strategy to try and prevent the grassroots from “pidegonholeing” a candidate – IE, understanding what that candidate stands for.
Do not support any Democrat that voted Aye for this. Do not raise money for them, do not donate to them, do not volunteer for them, do not vote for them. Do not donate money to the party. Donate only to specific candidates.
Demonstrate that ideology matters.
…we got Bayh and Obama. Somewhat of a minor coup.
But Cantwell, I don’t know…. that was a big surprise.
And HI may be more Republican than we care to think. Why would both senators vote aye?
It was easy for Bayh to vote no on cloture once it was clear it was going to lose.
Obama should have been out leading this thing along with Kerry & Kennedy. That we barely got him is in no way a coup. It is pathetic.
True. I think he has decided he’d rather be a politician than a statesman.
Bumming in Colorado. 🙁
And that hoser Salazar doesn’t even have to run for four years. Spineless quisling.
We SoapBloxers generated a bunch of calls to Salazar, that’s for sure. He didn’t listen to us about Abu Gonzales, either.
Where do we go from here? I just watched Brokeback Mountain. What a poor movie choice after today. A story about not being able to live your dreams because you fear the society we used to have here in the U.S. The society that it seems like we are returning to more and more everyday.
Get used to that phrase. The democratic party is no more.
Democrats are still the only chance to stop the Republican power grab before the US becomes a monarchy. This year is not the time for infighting. Having said that, I don’t consider myself a Democrat anymore. The party clearly doesn’t represent my values, and current support is out of necessity to fight what I hope is a mutual enemy. It’s times like these when I wonder if I’m being scammed.
Democrats are still the only chance to stop the Republican power grab before the US becomes a monarchy
I’m extremely worried that it won’t be possible because I think it’s pretty clear that Republicans have learned numerous ways to rig elections, but that is the only hope left. The majority party controls the committees which means all we have to do if Democrats win a majority in November is put sufficient pressure on a few chairmen to start investigations that destroy the Republican party. It would be different if there was a level ethical playing field and we were losing, but we’re facing a party that is unethical and dishonest to an extreme never seen before in this country.
It’s not so much that this is a great strategy because it isn’t. My instinct is to give up and start over from scratch building something better than the Democratic Party, but we don’t have that kind of time. The clearest prediction in politics for me right now is that one of the major parties is going to collapse in the next 3 years. I would prefer it to be the Republicans from corruption but that won’t happen if we can’t take control of at least one house of Congress this year and the Democrats deserve to go if they can’t fight effectively.
Happy? Ok..I’ll bite. I am so fucking happy I do not own a gun because I would probably shoot someone’s brains out if I did.
hey Lee..I’m with you..I’m trying very hard not to be violently angry and depressed-I know I won’t act on that anger but in my fantasies right now I want to..I am not feeding the good wolf today that’s for sure.
This is the worst thing to happen since the stolen election(both of them) and will have even more far reaching effects than W’s reign-unless the next election is also stolen and puts another wingnut repug in office.
That’s the most depressing part, I don’t see any way they won’t be. Republicans got away with it last time, and everyone in the media has pretended like nothing happened so the mechanism to do it again and again is still in place. Hell, they paint Carter as a loon now for even hinting that the election wasn’t legitimate.
If Bush had to run he would be so unpopular that the margin would be too large to fix, but even the most crooked and inept incumbent congressmen are popular enough to keep the election close and that is all it takes to rig vote totals. On a semi-positive note, after 4 or 5 miracle-Republican-comeback-victories-despite-long-odds the media might decide to write a more popular storyline 10 years from now and give whatever party replaces the Democrats some viability.
There probably would have been more ‘no’ votes if they knew it was going to be close. The final tally is not necessarily an accurate reflection of how close you came.
I’m in no position to lecture people who gave their all to this fight, but in addition to shock and sadness I’m seeing the beginning of recriminations (not against those who voted yes but against the leaders of the fillibuster)and discouragement.
But there is a universal truth: one big test of an effective political movement is how you deal with adversity. So cry and cry out, but when day is done, there’s another fight ahead.
You’re battle-tested now. You’ll be better at this next time, but the important thing is that there is a next time. You might not win that fight either. But I believe you’ve got them scared. They saw what you did and they worked extra hard to not only defeat you but discourage you. That’s their goal. They don’t want to have to deal with all this again.
Everyone makes personal decisions about their levels of involvement, because everyone has multiple responsibilities. But in general, the netroots movement was only defeated if it doesn’t come back for the next fight, stronger.
What is left to fight for? We fought as hard as we could and they still didn’t listen to us. WHat use is it to keep fighting a system that is so corrupt that it doesn’t matter which party you belong to. It is not a nation of by the people for the people anymore.
Each other, our kids, our parents.
Grieve. Rage. Grieve some more. Rest.
Then we have to go on fighting.
sigh
but its haaaaaaaard woooooork
I keep reminding myself that I knew this was a longshot, but I really did expect more than 25 No Votes. The Democrats really are infuriating.
But seriously, I know that you’re right.
NSA hearings; NSA hearings; NSA hearings … well, I’ll think about it tomorrow.
I respect any individual’s decision about how to deal with conditions in this country and their own circumstances. But there are other battles and reasons to fight them. To fight for the future because you are here now.
Just on this matter—there are 12 justices on the Court. Fight to get a president who will be there when the next justice retires or dies, and a congress that will support that president in doing the right thing. Anything can happen. The next president might have 10 appointments, or none, who knows? But Alito alone is Alito alone. He’s the swing justice on the court as it is. But it won’t always be this court. It could get worse, but it could get better.
I can’t tell you how many times I swore I would abandon the Democratic party because of one disgusting outrage or another. The netroots are beginning to provide an alternative way to pressure Democrats and they are noticing it. Look at how this fight played out—Senators blogging, they came to you. You lost this battle, but you gained ground, and you weakened the enemy.
As for the rest, politics is politics, but you know who your friends are, right?
There are nine justices on the court.
But other than that you are right. Having Scalia and 3 Scalia clones is bad. But they can still be outvoted by the other five. BUT Justice Stevens is VERY old. He will not last forever. (And realistically any of the others could get hit by a truck or something). Another Scalia clone ( a YOUNG Scalia clone) puts them over the top.
Jeez–my oracular pronouncements done in again by pitiful math skills!
Of course, FDR did try to expand the court, but…
I think we have reached the It’s dark now portion of your sig line.
We have to fight from outside the system now. That’s pretty clear. This was a defining battle. All they could muster was 25 votes against cloture. Not even close, and I don’t buy the argument that some were waiting to see if it was going to be close. That’s absurd. That proves that there’s no one operating on the basis of conviction. It shows cowardice at the exact moment in our political history when a strong, principled stand was desperately needed to head off thesiezure of the Supreme Court by fanatics. Anyone with half a fucking brain could see this coming back when they were considering filibustering Rogers-Brown and Owen. If I hear Specter say one more time how past judges have gone against prevailing wisdom regarding their leanings and eventually upheld Roe v. Wade in spite of dire warnings, I’ll heave my guts on the tv. I’m glad he can sleep at night. I can’t.
I don’t want to be a pest here, so this is my last comment on this thread. I realize this was a very important vote–but not everyone realized that. Look around–the networks didn’t cover the vote, the radio is playing music, there was little on the wires except that the Alito confirmation is proceeding…This was the equivalent of an anti-war rally, very important to the people involved who KNOW it’s important to the future, but the rest of the world isn’t paying attention.
I know how alienating that can be. But Senators are dealing with more than the netroots, so it’s not really absurd that some were covering themselves with other constituencies and might have voted no if their vote would have meant victory or defeat. Politicans pick and choose when conviction trumps politics, because politic may mean you can come back to fight another day. I’m not justifying individual decisions, but that’s how it is.
The fact that you FORCED THEM to pay attention to you is important. How to strategically go on from here I’m sure will be discussed and debated in threads like this.
The fact that you FORCED THEM to pay attention to you is important.
They always use this carrot and stick approach, and act like they are paying attention, and then sell out at the crucial moment! Throw them all out!
Leezy, for what it’s worth, what was worth fighting for this morning will be worth fighting for tomorrow.
Yes, the system is disgustingly corrupt & it has been for a very long time; it didn’t become corrupt this afternoon. Likewise, governance ‘for the people by the people’ did not, in fact, include the majority at the start, nor does it include the majority now. We’re still dealing with the potential expressed in our foundational documents; I believe that, as a people, we’ve been working under guidance of that potential since our beginnings. That these documents exist doesn’t mean the potential expressed has actually been realized.
If what will take place under a right wing Court will serve to wake our citizenry to the true facts as to the dysfunctional nature of the system as it stands, then let it be so. We will confront what needs to be confronted in any whatever manner we can, as the time arises — just as we’ve done with Alito. The nature of the human spirit dictates that we chafe under repression & become reactive. That’s just the way it is.
wow
what WW said.
{I wish I could have thought of a synonym for “said” that started with W.}
Thanks for the common sense WW. I am just really down but had a decent nights sleep. I will continue to work to be the change I want to see in this country. I just bought a little sign that now resides on the wall next to my computer that says… Never,never, never give up! I do need reminders. Thanks again.
You know, there’s a great deal of truth to what you say.
The problem is, I’m getting tired of being on the short end of the decision every time. I know I should be happy that I was part of an effort that managed to take the filibuster threat from effectively no votes against cloture to 25 votes against cloture, but we still fell short. It’s sort of like being happy the grandmaster took nine moves to checkmate you instead of four.
Maybe I’ll feel better eventually. But right now I just feel . . . I don’t know what I feel. Disappointed. Upset. Worried.
Hey, what you feel is what you feel. I’m not saying you should feel happy about a defeat. I’m not even saying you shouldn’t feel discouraged right now. I just hope you—and I mean the big “you” who fought this fight– aren’t discouraged from resisting wrong and fighting for right again. That’s really what they want. You can measure how afraid they are of the netroots by how much they try to make you feel defeated and marginal.
You mean well. But everyone needs to mourn this. It’s time for the wake.
Absolutely. I don’t expect everyone to really hear this now. Just planting a seed.
I’m done now.
is see ya got Dorgan, dammit, that makes 2/2 fkg quislings!
Landrieu?
Pryor?
Maybe Justice O’Connor will reconsider her decision to retire.
Yeah, as long as I’ve decided I’m going to go live in a fantasy for a while, might as well make it a good one. We’ll discuss integrating the busful of coeds and the mysterious shipment of cooking oil and raspberry syrup into the fantasy later.
and told them that they should remove my name from their data bases, as I no longer interested in receiving any communication from them.
Happy thought: it’s still possible to turn off one’s television. Why the hell should I subject myself to the twelfth draft of Bush’s SOTU address? (As of this evening’s chipper NPR report.)
Sorry, that’s all I have.
These pathetic scum are banking on the fact that the democratic party will forget their treachery within a few weeks, just like we did when they voted for that hideous bankrupcy bill and for Roberts and for all the other slimy votes they made these past five years. If the Democratic Party continues to back these sacks of shit, they can kiss goodbye any future donations from me. I have absolutely had it with them. The reason the rethugs always win is because they almost always stick together. These so-called DINOs need to be thrown out on their asses and be given not one more dime by the various Democratic organizations. They need to be strongly opposed and let their voting records be common knowledge.
Ugh…it’s enough to make this lifelong Democrat turn Green.
roll call
Know its not what you wanted, but these 16 so-called dems also have to go!
Sure it’s what I want. I want all DINOs outed with a list of how they fucked the people who put them in power. House, Senate, State and Federal…these people have to go and the Party has to stop supporting them. Until the Party does that, they will continue to lose support.
Thanks for the list. It was telling.
I want all DINOs outed with a list of how they fucked the people who put them in power.
And I have been digging into Medicare D, as the damn thing has directly affected me and I was (at first) shocked at the stories that I have read and diaried. Now, I am like you–pissed at all these DINO’s. And, as now DC is calling for an overhaul of Medicare D, I say that the only overhaul that will actually work will be a single payer health care system.
A comment to an earlier diary said it best (and I am paraphrasing): We are the employers, as elected officials are working for us. Why should we finance better health care coverage for them than we have?
Who am I missing?
I didn’t see John Aravosis or Markos Moulitsas Zúniga on that list.
Listen, I am tired of reading about how if we just elect a couple more Democrats all will be better. BS. We elected Melissa Bean in my district last year and thanks to her efforts the bankruptcy bill and CAFTA passed. It is not about (D) or (R), it is about people with values, about people who respect the Bill of Rights, about people who give their word to their constituents and then live up to it.
We need a more progressive political party and we need more progressive blogs. The ones that claim to support progressive positions are selling out America in order to sell T-shirts and books.
Same here. Put their names up there.
I told the Dem party fundraiser who called on Sunday morning that I would send money ONLY if we got a filibuster. I meant it.
As much as I like Howard Dean…. The next time they call, I’m telling them I do not donate to political parties that betray their constituents. I donate to candidates who have convinced me thay are possessed of real people-centered values and a fucking spine. And they can take me off their call lists.
except in the abstract way that he “represents the Party.”
But in real terms, Dean had no influence over this vote. His job is to create conditions that allow us to elect more–and better–Democrats. I think he’s doing a good job at that, and we can’t judge his success as he’s been there less than a year and hasn’t even made it through an election cycle yet.
I’m mad too, but I’m not cancelling my Democracy Bond. I didn’t buy it to help dipshits like Ken Salazar, but to find better people to occupy his office.
I thought Democracy Bonds were going to help NEW candidates. We need to make sure that Dean gives money to good progressive candidates. (Although I think we’d be preaching to the choir with him.)
Fuck the Democratic Party! May they rot in the same hell as the Republicans.
Stick a fork in me. I’m done with this entire fucking party.
Can’t blame you–decided to go w/the Greens awhile back.
.
Senate voted, 72 to 25, to shut off debate and hold a vote on confirmation Tuesday morning.
Samuel Alito walks into the office of Senator MariaCantwell (D-WA) on Capitol Hill early Monday morning.
Jason Reed/Reuters
● Cantwell’s campaign gets boost from a high-profile colleague
“But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
May all the Dems and Reps who are supporting Bush & Alito, may they all choke on the blood of the women who will die because their rights are being stripped away.
All the women who are raped. All the women who will DIE because of being pregnant.
May the ALL lose a loved one due to an illegal or botched MEDICAL PROCEDURE of their CHOICE.
Wake me when they start burning the rest of us at the stake.
I want to know how she can display that 12 up there on her office wall — referring to the Seahawks’ vaunted “12th man,” a/k/a the crowds in the stands — when she pretty much ignored her own 12th man.
I’m busily trying to find a fax number for her campaign headquarters and having no luck at all. I also need to find a website for the guy who’s challenging her in the primary to see what he would have done.
Cantwell, Maria D-WA Ph. (202) 224-3441 Fax (202) 228-0514
That’s her office in DC. I already have that. I want to find the fax number for her re-election campaign so I can fax them and tell them they are getting no money out of me, and please take my name off their list.
Lookie here– Maria has a contender in the primaries by the name of Mark Wilson. I like his reminders on his website of all the egregious things Cantwell has voted for:
* the Iraq War, costing thousands of lives & billions of your tax dollars
* the PATRIOT Act, infringing on your rights
* NAFTA, causing millions of lost jobs
* CAFTA, likely will have the same impact or worse as NAFTA
* the confirmation of Condoleeza Rice, who lied to lead the nation into illegal war
* the confirmation of John Negroponte, who looked the other way from human rights violations in Honduras
* moving class-action lawsuits from state into federal courts, making restitution for corporate wrongdoing less likely for working families
* the BUSH ENERGY BILL that gives $1.5 Billion in subsidies to the oil and gas industry, including Halliburton, but includes very little for renewable energy
Holy shit… Calling American progressives! This is a candidate!
No kiddin’. I think I like this guy.
He’s linked to CodePink and Veterans for Peace
Holy cripes I LIKE THIS GUY. I’m callign now!
Yeah, if I’m going to be in a lost cause I might as well go fight for a lost cause that lets me keep my self-respect.
Oh, wait, now I really going to choke on my own spit. Get a look at how quickly Cantwell has posted “Cantwell Announces Vote Against Alito” on her website. Oh, she’s having and eating her cake today…
Too little, too late. By voting against cloture she made it safe to vote against him, because he’s going to pass no matter what she does.
My only hope right now is that Harry Reid pulls some kind of nuke out of his own rucksack to block the vote tomorrow, whether it’s Rule 21 or something else.
The only acceptable reason to vote aye on cloture is if she knows he’s going to be defeated in an open vote. If that’s the case, I’ll gladly post a diary publicly apologizing for my comments in this thread. If that’s not the case, she’s trying to have it both ways, and we need to send her an even louder “bugger off”.
Just bookmarked his site — may consider a small donation… 🙂
Oops, Omir, I just went back and re-read the previous thread and now I see that you mentioned Mark Wilson’s name there– I must’ve gotten the message psychically.
That’s OK. Several local progressives on one of the lists Susanhu and I both subscribe to have mentioned Mark as a progressive alternative to both Cantwell and McGavick. While I was originally disposed to write Wilson off as unelectable due to Cantwell’s incumbent status, now I ain’t so sure. Certainly if we could get the progressive blogosphere united behind Mark I think he’d give her a run for her money.
The deal is, he probably would need to sell himself in eastern Washington. It really is a whole ‘nuther state over there and I have to wonder if they wouldn’t dismiss him as a moonbat unless he has some solid views on issues that matter to voters on the other side of the mountain — agriculture and the Hanford plant, to name just three.
If he’s a sensible environmentalist and not afraid to get his hands dirty, agriculture should be easy peasy. Push the organic conversion, and trot out figures and talking heads showing that farmers can make significantly more money off organic agriculture. Propose legislation to really help family farms and punish factory farming. Shouldn’t be a problem at all, especially not if he buries himself to the ears in organic agriculture for a couple weeks.
If really necessary, he could do a Jeff Seemann and spend some time living on a farm to see what it’s really like.
I was thinking things like promising to promote wheat as a source of raw material for biodiesel. If I remember right from my days out there the main crops in the Washington economy are orchard fruits like cherries and apples, potatoes, and wheat. That’s changed some in the last 30 years and there are some new crops out there like wine grapes, but I’ll bet it’s not that much of a change.
Just promising to listen to their concerns would go a long way. I had a friend in the Tri-Cities who swore Cantwell wasn’t listening to anybody east of Issaquah. I had to point him to her web site and show him she has an office in Richland, so I’m not sure how hard he tried, but I get the feeling there’s a great deal of perception out there that since the votes are over here between Olympia and Bellingham, that’s who gets listened to. Just doing a few campaign tours over in Spokane and Pullman and Yakima and Wenatchee and Kennewick and Walla Walla would make a lot of difference.
I am clueless on the subject of Eastern Washington and really need to learn more– maybe by finding it on a map, for starters. Someone just sent me a link for an organization called Seattle Tilth and maybe I can get a jump on my education in Eastern WA 101 by enrolling in their course on Chicken Husbandry.
Heh. That looks like sort of a start, but is more about urban gardens than running a combine through 200 acres of soft red winter wheat.
Wikipedia might be a good place to start. They have writeups about Washington state and all of its counties. Heck, you can even find a writeup of Garfield County, which is about as nothing from nowhere as you can get with a population of less than 2500. Heck, I think about that many kids went to my high school in Richland, about 75 or so miles away.
Out of curiousity, why biodiesel? There’s a massive market for organic wheat and fruits (and veggies)…
Why not both? Hey, anything he can do to help Washington’s farmers will be looked upon with kindness.
Indeed! Someone needs to start a diary series on things that can be done to support this fellow’s campaign!
What a bunch of cowards.
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes
I see a line of cars and they’re all painted black
With flowers and my love both never to come back
I see people turn their heads and quickly look away
Like a new born baby it just happens ev’ry day
I look inside myself and see my heart is black
I see my red door and it has been painted black
Maybe then I’ll fade away and not have to face the facts
It’s not easy facin’ up when your whole world is black
No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue
I could not foresee this thing happening to you
If I look hard enough into the settin’ sun
My love will laugh with me before the mornin’ comes
I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes
Hmm, hmm, hmm,…
I wanna see it painted, painted black
Black as night, black as coal
I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky
I wanna see it painted, painted, painted, painted black
Yeah!
Thanks.
That actually made me feel better. The Stones have gotten me through a lot of dark times. Glad they are there for me now too.
That’s one of the reasons I’m a storyteller. Sometimes a story helps people through tough times. So thanks, I’m glad to hear that helped you.
Thanks, Omir. That song’s been coming in & out of my mind since the last election.
Actually, today I’m thinking more in terms of Tchaikovsky’s ‘March of the Wooden Soldiers’.
One thing should be clear: if Alito passes tomorrow, the Democratic party is finished. Oh, the machinery may grind on for a while. But the party’s abandoned its base and ideology. It stands for nothing but getting Democratic politicians re-elected and fundraising for their campaigns, and will do anything it thinks will contribute to that cause. Which means increasingly right-wing stances and candidates.
This is why kos’ attitude – “my party, right or wrong” – is not just bad, but actively harmful. It tells politicians “do whatever you want, you’ve still got my money and vote”.
Vote for a Democrat on this list in 2006 or 2008, and you are contributing to the transformation of the USA into a one-party state.
we cannot let the media set the tone and define this narrative.
As soon as the battle is lost, Cantwell gets top billing with a story that she will oppose Alito. Her comments “came as the Senate all but guaranteed Alito’s confirmation to the high court.” Of course she doesn’t explain why, if Alito’s so bad, she didn’t use every means at her disposal to protect the nation against him? Does she really think she’s going to scam her constituents by laying down on the centerline of this highway to hell? Is she right?
All true. And it just shows how utterly corrupt she and her fellow DINOs are. She needs to get dumped.
Seems to me that many of these folks have been banking on the fact that, by & large, we just aren’t paying attention.
This vote says a lot about our party and the Senate in general. They just voted in a guy who would further negate the Senate’s own power. It’s like they don’t want to work or take responsibility. They want to give it all to the presnit and just continue to show up for the cameras and perks.
Ron Wyden of OREGON voted for a filibuster. I gave his DC office a call and informed them I just moved here and am with CodePink and he’d better not be a warmongering, spineless SOB.
The dude said he’d pass that message along.
:/
and please to kindly pimpslap the hell out of inhofe:
http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2006/1/30/175352/650/314#314
and demint:
http://www2.boomantribune.com/story/2006/1/30/163125/156#117
especially those of you unfortunate enough to have them as your senators – please let them know how utterly classless they are.
If you or a loved one have a uterus, these people listed above in this diary just gang raped you and have seized unconditional authority over your reproductive system.
This kind of thing doesn’t happen in a functioning secular democracy.
I guess the Jersey Boys came through. My phone calls this morning were not wasted. But basically I feel that the Democratic Party can go fuck itself.
I guess I should say I’m not surprised.
Pardon my paraphrase of Mr. Mary Matalin, but this is where it is.
We need to gain strength in enough precincts that we draft the candidates instead of being maniuplated by the “wannabe Washington kool kidz”.
If we can mobilize the netroots, we can mobilize the precincts.
After all, where were those 59 million Kerry voters on this issue? They were without a clue because the media didn’t tell the people.
That leaves it up to us to remobilize those 59 million people to show up in November and in the process build the institutions that strengthen the Democratic Party presence in every precinct in the country.
We are the Democrats. Not the sellouts in DC. More Democracy Bonds. More local action. More netroots action. Put the pressure on these guys from below, just as the religious right got to Senator Byrd.
end up being represented by only 25% of the Senate? Something is severely fucking amiss here! How does this happen? I don’t even think this outcome is mathematically possible let alone probable! Something is starting to stink around here!
In sales and marketing, when one attempts to sell a product, one has basically two options: sell on price, or sell on difference.
Difference can be quality, design, uniqueness, easy of use, etc. This difference is called the point of differentiation.
When looking at the Democratic Party, what is its’ point of differentiation? How exactly is it different than the Republican Party?
You can claim that Democrats are less corrupt — but voters are not buying that (they see all politicians as corrupt).
There are those who right now are saying that the reason the Democratic Party is falling apart is because it is being pulled to the left. The reason the party is failing is because of liberal wackos. They would like to see the party toe the line and support the war and lower taxes, etc.
We have heard from these people in the past — they have claimed that the party must not be seen as soft on national defense, for high taxes (as if liberals are for high taxes), etc.
But how does embracing the Republican agenda create a point of differentiation for the Democrats? In this scenario the only way Democrats could differentiate themselves from Republicans would be to be for MORE defense spending, call for war in Iran, for MORE tax cuts for the wealthy, etc. In other words, the point of differentiation would be to run as an out-and-out fascist party.
In my view, Democrats could be a right wing party and still be to the left of George Bush: Democrats could call for a balanced budget, for strengthening the right to privacy and the separation of church and state — all things that are very conservative by historic standards.
Instead, the party and many of its supporters have stubbornly held to the belief that the only way to confront George Bush is to be anti-agenda and to be simply anti-Bush. This strategy has left the public wondering what the hell Democrats stand for.
Until new leaders are chosen who demand that Democrats create a national agenda for the party, I do not see the America electorate embracing the Democrats. Just as you can not sell a Ford by advertising that “we are not Toyota”, you can not sell America on voting Democratic simply by saying “we are not the other guy”.
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Many of us believe it is long past time that a new progressive political party be formed from the ashes of the Democratic Party. We believe this not because we hate Democrats but because we have beliefs and values that are not finding a home in the Democratic Party. Democratic leaders have used the concept of the “big tent” to lure those of us who are pro-choice to vote Democratic while accepting the actions of anti-abortion Democrats; they have lured those of us who are concerned about the erosion of civil liberties to vote Democratic while accepting the actions of those who are supporting the Presidents grab for power.
In the end, the “big tent” should be torn down. Even if it means purging liberals, the party (and liberals) would be better off.
But just as Lincoln said “this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free”, it is equally true that no party can long stand half in opposition, half in collaboration. If members of the Democratic Party can not agree on a set of issues and principals that can differentiate itself from the Republican Party, then the party no longer needs to exist.
In sales and marketing, when one attempts to sell a product, one has basically two options: sell on price, or sell on difference.
Hey! I think you’ve hit on something. They’ve been going for “price!”
Seriously, though, there’s more than a grain of truth in that. For too long, corporate interests have been the “buyer.” That’s why we need to stay involved and keep fighting.