Letters to the Editor
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not a victory.
as long as you must vote for people instead of policies, you only get a stay of execution. instead of exporting 'democracy', think about installing it in the federal government.
in view of the long-term policies of the cia and nsa, and the character of professional politicians, this is a matter of urgency.
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Wish I could be more enthusiastic
But for now all I can really manage is a decidedly reserved "ummm, yaaay?"
Part of me wants to say that this should have been a no-brainer. The fact that there is any debate about it at all is maybe a sign that the fight is already lost.
But for now, ummm, yaaay? I guess.
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Ask the Ball a yes or no question...
Will this get Dodd votes in the Primaries? Will this make Dodd a "Top Democrat"?
Magic 8-Ball says: Don't count on it
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Is there a difference....................
between the Democrats and the Republicans
sure is
Republicans destroy our freedoms, one by one.
And like lambs, the Democrats follow along like lambs, after being given a mandate a yr ago.
Anyone for some Independent Pie
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And thank Greenwald too
It was his posts that got me alert to this in the beginning. I held off sending Dodd any money until I saw if he came through. Here's what I just wrote him:
I believe in redemption. Tonight you earned forgiveness for the 2002 war authorization vote. Those of us who opposed the war felt abandoned then. Those of us who still love the Bill of Rights feel pretty lonely now. My senator (Obama) apparently didn't bother to come to Washington and my other one (Durbin) left you and Feingold in the cold. Good job. Good luck. Thank you. Here's some Christmas money.
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Don't be too hard on Reid . . .
prostitution is legal in Nevada.
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It ain't over yet
Unfortunately, this ain't a win; its a respite.
Telecom immunity won't be dead until after we have driven a stake through its heart.
As for Reid and Rockefeller, they are human; which means there must be some dirt on them. Salon, report on this. This is not kiss and makeup time. They must pay a price - a stiff one - for the farce of a Senate they are in no small measure responsible for.
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Who says it's skeletons?
Let it never be said that a US Senator has no skeletons in their closet, but why look for an elaborate explanation for Reid's behavior when a simple one suffices?
Reid has been sent to the Senate by a Republican-dominated electorate for a long time. Over the past year he's become hated by every Republican in the state of Nevada — literally, the number of Republicans who say they don't disapprove of him is less than the margin of error of most polls. His crime? Being too liberal.
His only remaining base of support is his Democratic constituency — and these are not the most liberal Democrats you will ever see, either.
Nevada is a purple state trending toward blue, so Reid has a prayer of keeping his seat in 2010 if there are enough Nevada Democrats by then to offset the Republicans who have abandoned him owing to his "liberal" leadership in the Senate. But if the Republicans beat him, a solidy Democratic seat in the Senate will flip for the first time in 30 years.
So while Reid may not be the epitome of a liberal Democrat, and has shown a profound lack of courage and vision over FISA, it would be well to keep in mind that his ass is hanging out to dry right now in the only place that counts to a guy like him — his home constituency — and merely by standing up to Bush as much as he has he may already have sealed his fate.
So good for him. Better late than never. If everyone keeps the pressure up, this sort of reversal might start becoming common.
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A major victory
. . . in that it restores the idea of democratic action. Even in these pages (which I turn to every day with a sense of affection and gratitude) often leave me feeling cynical, jaded, and, defeated.
Dodd's true courage lay not merely in his willingness to filibuster with almost no support from his colleagues. It lay in his willingness to swim against the tide of Beltway cynicism, an anti-democratic cynicism that has become a strange facet of what Lauphin has already identified as our fascistic state.
As intellectuals, cynicism comes easily to us. However, we must not confuse it with intelligence.
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FISA
HOORAY FOR SENATOR DODD! Thank you, sir.
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Dodd
When I took one of those "who is your ideal candidate?" polls earlier this year, Christopher Dodd turned up at the top of my list. I'm so proud. When I throw away my primary vote in Ohio, it'll either be Dodd or Kucinich, and right now I'm leaning toward Dodd.
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Maybe he's found a mission more important than running for President
When I took the ideal candidate poll, Dodd was my choice as well. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a chance. Maybe that's not such a terrible thing. Chris Dodd may emerge as a formidable force to reckon with in the Senate. We may need him there more than in the White House. One thing that's for certain: Reid has to go. I'm not buying the sob story about his support back home. The last thing we need are Democratic senators acting like Republicans. You know what? Elect Republicans. Reid has to go.
My only hope is that the others running will set their priorities straight and offer their support come January. There's a good chance Biden will. Obama and Clinton? Don't hold your breath.
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Reid praised Rockefeller after he pulled the bill
What was the purpose of that? Anyone that has read anything about where Sen. Rockefellers loyalties are, know that he is totally beholden to the telecom companies for major campaign contributions. Now we know the same about Reid and AT&T, so for him to stand there and talk about the tremendous effort that they put in to oversight on their version of the bill was insulting. Major kudos to Dodd & Feingold for putting a temporary stop to this madness. I'm still having a little trouble with the whole immunity thing anyway..if you didn't do anything wrong, then what do you need it for?
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How praytell?
How are we going to get our fascist police state going if the weak politicians give in to the will of the serfs? Don't they know their place?