Letters to the Editor
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Is this a stupid question?
Could someone please explain to me why it takes 60 votes to bring a vote to the Senate floor? I understand that it is part of the procedural rules, but I'm fuzzy after that. It effectively means that all bills need 60 votes to pass, not 50. Why is that constitutional?
Why did the Dems call for the cloture vote this morning? Why didn't they stay there and force the Republicans to really filibuster? Make them stand there and read the phone book for 60 hours? If they weren't willing to do that, it does seem like a worthless exercise to me. It makes them look weak, not strong. Could someone explain what I'm not seeing in this strategy?
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The Game Has Moved On
Well maybe we shouldn't be so worried about this particular vote after all things are moving forward. On the 12th of July the Senate voted unanimously that Iran is committing acts of war against the US. So keep your eyes on the ball. The next target is Iran.
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Not a stupid question, just the wrong one
Cloture is a rational way of ending discussion in a system which allows for otherwise unlimited debate (and therefore filibuster). I don't think cloture is the problem. The problem is the polarization of our political system. It is inconceivable that, at this late date, a vote to end the war is still dividing itself almost strictly on party lines. The question is not why does it take 60 votes to end the war, but rather why aren't the 60 votes there!
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Meaningless Publicity Stunt
Rushing the vote and failure to stretch this out indicate that this was an exercise in media hogging. There is actually other business these people could be attending to, but now they'll spend the next two or three days sleepwalking through business hours as they recover from this empty charade. It's depressing.
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What I don't get
Why did Reid do this? It does absolutely nothing but hurt the Dems in their efforts. The Republicans block the efforts of the Dems, the Dems say they're going to force the Republican's hand, then the Dems _voluntarily_ call for a vote they KNOW they're going to lose? If you're going to stage a filibuster, then by god, filibuster! The whole idea is that you've got unlimited time to force your issue, so make it happen! I don't care if people vote across the aisle just so they can go home, as long as they vote to end the war, in line with what the majority of Americans want.
Reid doesn't need to stage publicity stunts to bring 'awareness' to this issue. America is well aware of it: it's why we voted in a Dem majority.
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An important, if symbolic, act
I don't know why people are down on the Dems for doing this. They have rolled over easily in the past and it is time for them to fight back, even if they won't win this battle. Yes, they have to show the electorate how they care about this issue, but also they need to show the pro-War group that they will fight back, and that they won't stop with this vote.
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One more thing...
Well said, Berkeley.
Last gripe - I pull all-nighters once a month just to keep my business going and food on my table - all-nighters without aids bringing me coffee and fresh-air breaks outside in front of the cameras and the night sky. All-nighters aren't novel for most Americans, and they're not that impressive. The photo-op the dems all jumped on in front of the capital building shows them with these "Look-Mom-I'm-Up-After-Dark" grins. It's (sorry to repeat myself) depressing.
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I am going to remember this...
...the next time that one of President Bush's judicial nominees, who would easily win on a smiple up-or-down floor vote, but is instead bottled up in Leahy's Judiciary Committee, or who is filibustered by Durbin and Kennedy.
That has only happened, by the way, about dozen times over the past three or four years.
What bullshit from the Senate Democrats. What chutzpah. What hypocrisy. That group in the picture has no shame.
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Media Heather Asshole Alert
Anyone else notice this?
"Is this the candlelight vigil?" asked a newspaper photographer, who showed up late. "Just like the Democrats to fuck it up."
Of course the dirty, smelly, hippie party fucks everything up, precious. That's the story you and the rest of you media heather assholes loooove to tell.
Oh, before I forget, fuck you and your shot.
Piece of evidence #9,994,432,234 of the current media's built-in hostility to Democrats.
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Huh? Heather who?
That didn't make much sense.
Anyways, I heard that the dems are going to work through lunch tomorrow... straight through. That's just crazy.
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Harry and Nancy Are Weak!
Harry Reid is weak.
What we need is someone that can speak above a whisper! What we need is a Democrat who will pound his shoe on the podium in front of the cameras day and night and publicly – one more time: publicly – call out President Bush and demand he stop hiding behind his press secretary and explain his military failures and wild spending before the American people.
Get in front of the cameras and demand Bush respond publicly to his questions. Call Bush out!
That is exactly what the Republicans do and by God the public jumps to their feet and screams “Damn right!” every time they do it.
Harry Reid gets in front of a camera, mumbles something about how he kinda/sorta maybe would like Bush to possibly please withdraw some troops – or else! Or else Harry will shrug his shoulders and then go sit down like a good boy and not make a scene. Mumble, mumble.
Yes, we all want to raise the public discourse. We all want a debate of real idea.
But my God! If the Republicans can call John Kerry a baby killer on TV 24hrs a day – you cannot(!) respond by mumbling and shrugging your shoulders! People see that as WEAKNESS!
Call Bush out on TV! Harry should be on TV every freaking day reading off the lists of how many dead in Iraq, how many wounded in Iraq – demanding Bush explain how we’re “safer” by focusing 100 percent of our military on Iraq and utterly ignoring Pakistan, demanding an accounting of the money spent and lost, asking tax payers if maybe their tax dollars ought to be better spent securing our ports instead of mediating a civil way between poorly armed (no nukes) religious fanatics in Iraq.
And my God Nancy P is just as bad!
How are we supposed to convince people we are strong on defense when I, a die hard Dem and liberal, think Harry and Nancy are the biggest wimps on the planet?
Republicans don’t waste time with meaningless gestures like an all-night debate. They get on TV and call Dems commies, baby-killers and Nazis sympathizers and love or hate it that kind of plain in your face drama works!
Stop being wimps and get on TV and call Bush out! Demand he explain how granting himself the powers of a dictator is in keeping with his conservative philosophy of “smaller government”???