Larry BerganSenate Receives Hot Potato!
The hardest thing about being a Democrat these days is that people are always saying there’s no difference between the two major parties in this country of ours. If you say you’re mad at the Republicans for making a mockery of the constitution and giving their illegitimate and foolish “president” the authority to lie us into an unjust war, they say “all the Democrats voted for the war too”. That’s an ignorant statement or a lie. The fact is that, almost without exception, the Republicans always vote for everything Bush wants. The Democrats just haven’t had enough votes to stop them.
Today things may have changed! Today, enough of the “blue dog” Democrats actually decided not to vote with the conservatives in congress and helped reject the senate version of a law which ignored the complicity of telecom corporations in illegal wiretapping of American citizens, months BEFORE 911. Even Jim Matheson, our very own blue dog, actually snubbed Bush’s threat to, as usual, veto any bill which would defend and protect the constitution of the United States.
In the horse race coverage of events, CBS news is reporting that Rep. Bud Cramer, founder of the blue dogs, is stepping down and claiming yet another victory for the conservatives as a Republican is likely to replace him. The Utah press is reporting that there are a line of Republicans waiting to run against Jim Matheson. They will, no doubt, be parroting the Republican noise machine’s claim that the democrats have now ruined any chance we have to stop the terrorists. Of course the current FISA law gave Cheney all of the tools he needed to stop the attacks on 911, which a legitimate investigation of those events would reveal he did nothing to stop.
May I say thank you to Congressman Matheson and the Democrats in the House of Representatives who stood up today, refuted the lies and restored some of my pride in the Democratic party today, thereby differentiating themselves from the people who would destroy any remaining appearance of rules or laws in America. Qwest’s CEO took a fall to protect our rights and we can only hope the Senate will take similar risks for the sake of our country’s legacy. May the astonishing interest shown by the Democrats in this years primary elections help to bolster their courage in continuing to differentiate themselves from the moneychangers and make me proud to say I’m a Democrat!
March 14th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
So up til now then, what has been is the democrat parties excuse?
Enough democrats did vote for the war Larry, and overwhelmingly vote to keep funding it. With the Congress in their control, you would have expected some changes, but until republicans began to oppose their own President, nothing happened.
The democrat party is devoid of leadership. I approve of their positions against bush, but they have been incompetent in stopping him and the radical elements of his party.
I might like them personally, but at this point most are not qualified and of stern enough stuff to walk a dog. Leahy is, Henry Waxman, but the rest, are a bunch of somnambulistic stinkbugs.
I am not proud of your inability to refute this. As it is simple that the record does not support your claims. I watch guardedly and am hardly ebullient over these nincompoops finally doing their job, as bush waddles away in his lame duck position. Where were they 2 years ago?
Hey Larry, give me hand with the BARN DOOR.
March 14th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Larry is right, better late than never. I’ve been e-mailing Matheson on this issue for months, pointing out the utter unconstitutionality of the Protect America Act passed last August, along with the current proposal to grant retroactive immunity to Bush and his whole crew. But I’m astounded to learn he voted the right way today. This one vote by itself is not enough to get me to vote for him, but maybe there will be more?
March 14th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I’m not going to let you bring me down glenn. You didn’t see the Democrats speaking today. Even after being dragged into a very rare secret meeting to try and scare them into stepping in line with Bush, all of them stood up there and told the truth while all the Republicans lied their asses off.
March 14th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
I hope Matheson’s office doesn’t make a fool of me because I didn’t see his name on a voting list, but I called his office about a half hour before the vote and they told me he was voting for the bill that didn’t give immunity and then I heard on C-span that 21 blue dogs had decided to vote against Bush, so I surmised they were telling the truth at his office.
I’m still a better journalist then a lot of people making a six figure salary though and besides that, I’m not a journalist.
March 14th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Whatever, do you imagine that the damage will be amended simply by a single vote? None of this will alter the mounds of dead, and hundreds of thousands of maimed people…not to mention the money, prestige that will be difficult to return.
I view the democrat failure in the same light as a man with a rifle letting a mindless rabid Tiger rampage through the neighborhood, killing indiscriminately and with animal cunning, because he is too fearful to use the power in his hands.
It will go down in history as one of the weakest displays of opposition to tyranny in a very long time. Now we are to applaud because they finally wake up, remember their Oaths, and do their job? It’s going to take more than this to save the Country, but we can say at least, they got off their knees today.
March 14th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
It’s not only that we implore the dunderheads to pull thier heads out, we also fully expect them to wash the poop off thier faces and begin again to apprehend this world as it really is, or could be, now that they are seeing things in a clearer, less fearful way. Matty is also on record opposing the Italian nuke waste. So a little applause at this point is appropriate, I think.
It’s a step in the right direction.
March 14th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
How the game works, and Palast on the spitzer lynching.
March 14th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
glenn:
You might want to link to Greg Palast’s website, which doesn’t have the headline typed in wrong. Palast has to submit his articles in the shadows of the American media, but he doesn’t have to do it on a site that looks like it was bootlegged for crap sakes.
As for the Democrats not standing up sooner, did you notice there wasn’t ONE story about the Democrats standing up to president dumb ass today. Not even Olbermann. It’s against journalistic policy to portray the Democrats winning the horse race. Just look at Krugman’s article I linked to above.
Oh, that’s right last week Raise-McCain dropped his spiritual adviser because it barely came out he wants America to invade Iran so that the world will be blown to kingdom come and he can rapture in his nakedness to the heavens, but Obama’s preacher gets bent out of shape and it’s WALL-TO-WALL coverage on EVERY channel, blocking out all other news. One calls for the absolute destruction of everything (on purpose) using nuclear weapons and the other one damns America for putting everybody in his race in prison. I’m not saying this guy doesn’t scare me as an innocent white man, but lets put things in perspective here.
By the way, McCain replaced his spiritual adviser who wants to end the earth with the guy who helps write the “Left Behind” book series.
Jesus is coming!
March 15th, 2008 at 1:27 am
Judiciary Committee issues a statement regarding telecommunications immunity.
See you in court!
March 15th, 2008 at 6:38 am
Connections I hadn’t been making before now:
Eliot Spitzer / Bailing out Countrywide
The price of wheat and baked goods / Developing ethanol and oil company profits
Edwards haircut and Hils tax returns / the McCainstream Media
Twenty blogposts and news articles / One greeting or handshake from a real live person
Larry and Pop, you both should run for office, you’ld get my support and vote. Thanks
March 15th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
McCainstream Media.
That’s perfect!
March 17th, 2008 at 3:34 am
[...] my post from a couple of days ago, I linked to one of the above opinion pieces by Paul Krugman. You should [...]