I heart Russ. Specter? Not so much:
A Senate committee approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage Thursday, after a shouting match that ended when one Democrat strode out and the Republican chairman bid him “good riddance.”
“I don’t need to be lectured by you. You are no more a protector of the Constitution than am I,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., shouted after Sen. Russ Feingold declared his opposition to the amendment, his affinity for the Constitution and his intention to leave the meeting.
“If you want to leave, good riddance,” Specter finished.
“I’ve enjoyed your lecture, too, Mr. Chairman,” replied Feingold, D-Wis., who is considering a run for president in 2008. “See ya.”
Amid increasing partisan tension over President Bush’s judicial nominees and domestic wiretapping, the panel voted along party lines to send the constitutional amendment — which would prohibit states from recognizing same-sex marriages — to the full Senate, where it stands little chance of passing.
Democrats complained that bringing up the amendment is a purely political move designed to appeal to the GOP’s conservative base in this year of midterm elections. Under the domed ceiling of the ornate and historic President’s Room off the Senate floor, senators voted 10-8 to send the measure forward.
Among Feingold’s objections was Specter’s decision to hold the vote in the President’s Room, where access by the general public is restricted, instead of in the panel’s usual home in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Specter later said he would have been willing to hold the session in the usual room had he thought doing so would change votes.
Not all those who voted “yes” support the amendment, however. Specter said he is “totally opposed” to it, but felt it deserved a debate in the Senate.
Specter is a total dipshit fuckwad and I’m ashamed to have him as my senator.
Bloody Specter still thinks he can have it both ways. A reputation as a moderate and kow-towing to the party whenever his vote or his chairmanship could actually make a difference.
I don’t need a Senator who agrees with me all the time (and here in PA I ain’t gonna get one), but I’d like one who had a clear set of principles that I can respect or at least comprehend. Not one who continually sabotages the things that he claims to believe.
That’s what irks me most about Specter. He acts out with mock anger at what the NSA and the Administration are doing, as if his Constitution loving heart is almost broken, then turns right around and does nothing. Or worse, squirms and contorts himself to find a legal way to explain away what is being done. He has no core principles. At least none he’s willing to act to defend.
You are no more a protector of the Constitution than am I
I’ll believe that when he actually stands up for what he says and stops rolling over for the far right.
Could NOT have said it any better. Damned right-wing waterboy if I ever saw one.
A million “4s” for you.
Wow! Thanks!
is what a real, principled, PROGRESSIVE Democrat looks like.
Go Russ!
Wish I could give you more than one 4 Madan. I would love to see the day that ALL the dems walk out! I love Russ a little more each day!
Specter talks so much shit his breath smells like my son’s diapers
Specter said he is “totally opposed” to it, but felt it deserved a debate in the Senate.
Yeah, right, this is so much nonsense. If I had a thousand dollars for every time Specter voted for something he was previously “totally opposed” to, I would never have to work again.
I’m new here, but here’s my two cents: Fuck Spector, Russ is the real deal. I’m from Wisconsin, so I oughta know. It’s too bad the rest of the Democratic Party doesn’t see it that way.