Originally written as a comment on howieinseattle’s BREAKING: Feingold Accuses Senate Democrats of “Cowering” To Bush diary.
Long story short…why is Senator Feingold doing this? Calling out the obviously deeply entrenched and unmoving centrist, bought-and-sold DemocRatpublican establishment at this time?
Open to discussion.
MY hope…the beginnings of a third party movement.
We shall see.
Read on.
AP story.
By LAURIE KELLMAN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) – Wisconsin Sen. Russell Feingold accused fellow Democrats on Tuesday of cowering rather than holding a vote to censure President Bush over domestic spying.
“Democrats run and hide” when the administration invokes the war on terrorism, Feingold told reporters.
Feingold introduced censure legislation Monday in the Senate but not a single Democrat has embraced it. Several have said they want to see the results of a Senate Intelligence Committee investigation before supporting any punitive legislation.
Republicans dismissed the proposal Tuesday as being more about Feingold’s 2008 presidential aspirations than Bush’s actions. On and off the Senate floor, they have dared Democrats to vote for the resolution.
“I’m amazed at Democrats … cowering with this president’s numbers so low,” Feingold said.
The latest AP-Ipsos poll on Bush, conducted last week, found just 37 percent of the 1,000 people surveyed approving his overall performance, the lowest of his presidency.
—snip—
Anybody know for sure what Feingold is up to here? I mean…he IS a professional politician, right? So this simply cannot be a naive expression of shock that the Dems have the spine of a jellyfish. All you need to know about THAT was illustrated by the removal of Howard Dean from contention in the 2004 Presidential election and the subsequent replacement of Small K kerry for Big D Dean.
So…what IS this about?
Did he really think that they would suddenly see the error of their ways?
Please. They’re all making VERY nice livings now, thank you very much. The Constitution? Not an issue. Morality? Nope.
Security. THEIR security particularly. Now there’s an issue.
Does he think that he can drive them leftward by shaming them?
Not likely. If the DemRats had any shame at all they would have strenuously opposed this war and this administration’s march towards media-enforced fascism from the get-go. They would have stood up six years ago when the election was stolen in Florida, and CERTAINLY would have stood up in 2004. But they didn’t.
Bought and sold.
“At long last, have you no shame?”
Nope.
Is this move simply a truly principled stand, no matter WHAT the consequences? Possibly. If so…nice. But a little…quixotic, don’tcha think?
Does he think he can inspire some sort of voter revolt in ’06? Both against the Ratpubs and against the institutionalized system of DemRats?
Maybe.
Is he simply playing classic Dem politics for ’08? Setting himself up as the outsider/dark horse? Getting publicity? (“The Mae West Gambit. “Call me anything, but call me often.” Sorely needed name recognition.) Liberal Dems LOVE a loser. A couple of times they even made them into near winners.
Could be.
Or…and I would LOVE this one…is he setting himself up for some kind of independent run?
Let me ask y’all…has anyone seen even ONE positive reaction from a Dem insider regarding this move?
Hostile or carefully neutral at best, the entire Dem establishment so far.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters he would not comment on the issue while the Democratic leadership mulls the issue. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said, “Feingold has a point that he wants to make by introducing that resolution.”
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said the resolution “raises some very important issues,” but she refused to discuss what they were.
“I think it needs to having hearings, we need to look what exactly what all of that means and give the opportunity for both sides to speak,” she said.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada has declined to endorse the resolution and said he hadn’t read it. —snip—
I won’t even mention Senator Loverman’s (D-Beltway) take.
Oh, what the hell.
Yes I will.
Forbes. (Of course…)
“I’d prefer to see us solve the problem,” Lieberman told reporters.
SCOLD!!!???
He oughta be HANGED. (After proper judicial proceedings of course.)
I got yer solution right HERE!!!
But does Russ Feingold?
Have the solution?
Is he thinking of walking away from these cowards?
I hope so.
Even if it were a losing proposition, it would illustrate how far the Democratic Party has fallen over the years since they allowed the Rats to Swift Boat …Hot Lip, really (Loretta Swi[f]t Boat)…Bill Clinton out of position and nearly out of office.
NO MORE DEMOCRATPUBLICANS IN ’08!!!
That’s MY motto.
If Russ sees the truth of the matter…it ought to be his motto too.
Win OR lose, the truth is always a win/win situation.
Go, Russ.
Anyone with the temerity to get up in the Senate of the United States given the current conditions and read from the U.S. Constitution and the Federalist Papers is my kinda fool.
You go, kiddo.
You go.
And…watch your back. Remember Wellstone. Minnesota’s not that far away from Wisconsin. And neither is Milosevic. Pose a REAL threat…like reading from the Constitution in public…and the term extreme prejudice becomes killing words.
Watch yo’se’f. This can turn into a street fight in a quick minute. Big money at stake here. The BIGGEST money. You look like a pretty tough guy. You’re gonna need it.
Good luck.
Later…
AG
