Let’s look at how the Democrats who were elected to the Senate in 2006 and 2008 voted on yesterday’s cramdown amendment.
Class of ’06
Sherrod Brown (D-OH)- Yes
Ben Cardin (D-MD)- Yes
Bob Casey, Jr. (D-PA)- Yes
Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)- Yes
Claire McCaskill (D-MO)- Yes
Bernie Sanders (I-VT)- Yes
Jon Tester (D-MT)- No
Jim Webb (D-VA)- Yes
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)- Yes
Class of ’08
Mark Begich (D-AK)- Yes
Kay Hagan (D-NC)- Yes
Jeff Merkley (D-OR)- Yes
Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)- Yes
Mark Udall (D-CO)- Yes
Tom Udall (D-NM)- Yes
Mark Warner (D-VA)- Yes
Only one out of the sixteen Democrats that were elected in the last two election cycles chose to support mortgage lenders over people that are losing their homes. That shows how much progress we’ve made through our activism since 2004. In fact, let’s look at the rest of the caucus. If we do not include the four appointed senators (Gillibrand, Bennet, Kaufman, and Burris) or the 16 members of the classes of ’06 and ’08, there were 39 Democrats that could have voted yesterday. Kennedy and Rockefeller were not there to vote, so the true number is thirty-seven. Of those 37 Democrats, ten of them voted against cramdown. Let’s look at it this way:
Democrats elected before 2006: Yes= 27, No= 10, Not Voting= 2 (Percent Yes: 72.9%)
Democrats Elected in 2006 or 2008: Yes= 15, No= 1 (Percent Yes: 93.7%)
Appointed Democrats: Yes= 3, No= 1 (Percent Yes: 75.0%)
The future of the Democratic Party looks a lot better than the present, don’t you think?
GREAT BREAKDOWN!!!!!
Now- how many of the negative Dems are running in the 2010 election?????
Bennet (Colorado)
Dorgan (North Dakota)
Lincoln (Arkansas)
Specter (Pennsylvania)
bennet’s more like salazar than udall, so don’t expect him to support s.414, or EFCA.
unless things change dramatically in the next 6 mos, bennet [DINO CO] should have a relatively easy election. no viable candidate from either party has come forward, and, in fact, the RAT’s are running on empty here, they’ve got nobody. additionally, he’s got really deep pockets and some very high dollar supporters, so a D primary challenge would be expensive.
surprised and delighted by casey’s vote.
he is also a co-sponsor of the credit card reform bill, s. 414.
never thought i’d say this, but go Bob!
so i called jon tester’s office.
I explained that I had given from out-of-state through blue america and other progressive groups because Tester claimed to embrace “progressive values”.
I further explained that denying cramdown to the poor and middle class while supporting it for the wealthy is not progressive.
“Senator tester’s reasoning for opposing cram down is that ‘a deal’s a deal’, right? Well, i happen to agree, so please tell me how i go about getting my money back.”
the first person i spoke to hung up on me.
the second person i spoke to told me I’d have to call the campaign office, and refused to give me the number.
I submit that i will not be supporting Jon tester in any way when he is up for re-election.
I like the guy a lot but this vote is unpardonable.
Agreed. And frankly, it’s more than unpardonable; it’s incomprehensible. No elected official of any party is going to lose an appreciable number of votes by either putting the screws to the banks or by helping struggling homeowners, much less doing both at the same time. If anything, it should result in a net gain in votes, which in some districts might be quite considerable.
Since Tester has never given me the impression that he’s stupid, I can only assume that his reasoning is basically ideological. This should serve as a red flag for anyone expecting him to be a reliable progressive vote.
You are so very clever. Thanks for giving me a chuckle.
the guy’s clearly a Prick. christ, look at his haircut.. what were we thinking?
probably considered a hero by the racist Aryan groups next door in Idaho.
that’s really inappropriate and baseless.
OK.. sorry, I should like and respect the guy for kicking us when we’re down.
just because he sides with mortgage lenders over regular people doesn’t give you the right to suggest he is in bed with white supremcists.
“cramdown” was just the first act, the second will be the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 s.414
l expect the same results from the list of turncoats, with the possible exception of tester, since he’s a cosponsor.
you can urge your senators to vote in favor of it. you can call or email your senators directly…everywhere but minnesota, where you still only have one…contact info HERE.
No– the future/credibility of the democratic party looks fairly grim right now.
Obama took some lumps this week: (from the Huffington Post today:)
Obama says “he’s humbled”. what he ought to be is outraged at the repuglicrats in the senate. because they have more lumps in store for him and those of us wanting progressive legislation.
Again, people vote their pocketbooks; if 10-12 months from now we’re looking at 9-12% unemployment, no EFCA and no single payer health care plan.. it’s more or less over for the democratic party.
there’s NO way people are going to be motivated to vote for dems in 2010 and 12.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/5/1/726761/-Durbin-A-Poor-Substitute-for-Emanuel
single-payer isn’t even under consideration.
Great… so what kind of watered down plan is the senate going to end up passing, IF anything?
EFCA’s DOA… and a weak, watered down health care plan… = end of the democratic party.
you seriously need to ask?
yeah, you’re right.
now let’s face another reality: we don’t have a two party system… have not for a number of years. are we going to form a true progressive party, or continue the charade with the “democrats”?
yeah, you’re right.
now let’s face another reality: we don’t have a two party system… have not for a number of years. are we going to form a true progressive party, or continue the charade with the “democrats”?
Blame this asshole.
I do.. what I’m trying to do is get to a better solution.
the senate is made up mostly of millionaires.. you’re going to play hell getting these guys out of office; the whole system is now set up (by them) to keep them in office for DECADES. this of course translates into no change.
status quo simply means 95 percent of the wealth owned/controlled by the top 5 percent.
let’s face this and move on.. to what? there’s only one honest option: a true progressive political party. forget the “third party” frame since we don’t have two parties to begin with.
send me a pony and a rainbow when you get there.
heh.. OK, keep dreaming with your “democrats” in the senate.
ever read this definition of insanity: “doing the same thing over and over expecting different results”.
it’s useless to think we’re going to get change by “changing” administrations when the same assclowns are in congress for decades.. in the back pocket of big corporations. good luck working with that system.
thanks, I’ll need it.
If the GOP had wanted this for some reason, the pols and the press would be calling it the Freedom Mortgage Equity Act or something. With the Dems, it’s the “cramdown”, bringing to mind an enema or plunging out a toilet. I’ve never liked the “framing” cult, but damn — the Dems couldn’t sell a repeal of Brown v Board to Mitch McConnell.