Sen. Franken Becomes A Cosponsor Of Vitter/Coburn Amendment

[Randypiper]

Run time: 01:05 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_lsFywRfgA   Posted on YouTube: December 04, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: December 05, 2009 By DU Member: Randypiper Views on DU: 10065

 
God I love this man. I'm from Pa but I consider Al my Senator.

[Politicub]

1. Franken for President!!!

then we would have Frannie as First Lady.

He's a fantastic liberal voice in congress, and I would do everything that I could to support him if he ran.

[axollot]

68. I was just thinking the exact same thing -

but call me crazy kooky - it's starting to seem like you become Prez and some entity sits you down to tell you like it is - at least it sure felt that way with Obama. I do remember him saying he would go into Afghanistan during the campaign, but I remember we would get OUT of Iraq too! (I still hope and havent given up on him. The system is rotten. First thing that needs to be done is no corporate money to campaigns, no more individual corporate identities)

Never been a conspiracy person, although I do question stuff - but doesnt it seem like "they" (special interests etc) have a gun against Obama's head at times?

Otherwise, yep Franken would make an excellent Prez or VP with Grayson by his side!

Cheers
Sandy

[spiritual_gunfighter]

2. Hilarious

Coburn and Vitter EPIC FAIL!

[mascarax]

3. K&R - nice exchange between Al and Sherrod Brown

...I added to previous Brown thread when he jumped onboard.

I think Sen. Kennedy would've loved this!

[dmr]

55. He'd be knee slapping, back slapping, roarin' with laughter

His laughter would be bouncing along down the walls of the Capitol!

:rofl:

Man, I so wish he were still with us. :cry:

[crazyjoe]

4. franken is rich, he could easily pay for treatment.

[safeinOhio]

5. and your point is?

If it is good enough for the electors, it's good enough for the elected. 90% of all congresscritters are rich also,

[crazyjoe]

12. and could easily purchase supplemental insurance because

they are rich. do you honestly think congress is going to go on the public option and not have additional insurance the rest of us can't afford??
it is a gesture of solidarity with the common man, nothing more. They will always have more, be more important, get better treatment, because they are rich, and we are poor. The rich look down on us like something stuck to the bottom of their shoe, it's just the way it is, so sorry if I don't get a woody because Senator Franken is co-sponsoring a bill that makes you believe he is your peer, because trust me, he is not. I hate rich people, democrats and republicans.
that's all i'm saying.

[Randypiper]

13. You should judge a man by what he does

not his pocketbook or politics

[ooglymoogly]

28. Isn't that good enough for you. Stop looking for fault

where none lies. Leave that to the pugs.

[verges]

45. Thank-you, Little Mary Sunshine. nt

[AlbertCat]

48. and we are poor. The rich look down on us like something stuck to the bottom of their shoe,

Speak for yourself.
Maybe they look down upon you for different reasons besides poverty. Like, maybe, whiny self pity and irrational judgements.

[rpannier]

53. You must hate FDR then

[bobbolink]

71. I was going to ask you what he could do that you would approve of,

then I read your last sentence.

That pretty much confirms it....... NOTHING.

Good luck with that.

[hadrons]

6. But there are other members who are richer than Franken, but LOVE their gov't coverage ....

As rich as the John McCain's and Judd Gregg's are they would FLIP if they had to pay market-value health care ... some of the richest people around are also some of the cheapest. Some big bills will help bring this point home to the health care problem.

[unapatriciated]

7. He is worth approximately 10 mil

My son's first year of medical treatment cost almost 2 mil. that was in 1991. He has had ongoing treatment for dermatomyositis since then.
How long at that cost do you think his wealth would last? You do the math.
My point is even those who can afford treatment would be bankrupt in seven to ten years when it comes to long term treatment for chronic disease.
That is why we need a public option for all not just a few. You need to spread the cost out and also need a large enough block to negotiate that cost.

[Bluenorthwest]

61. Good points and here is another. Al Franken is a Union member

In fact, he's a member of more than one Union, and even from the Senate, his past work generates easily enough for him to qualify for Union Health care plans. So personally, I doubt Al has swapped out for the Congressional plan, unless it was just to do the right thing, that is, he sure did not have to. I do not know if any other Senator or Rep is a current Union member in good standing, don't know if any have ever been Union members. Al is.
Are Members of Congress who are also members of Unions allowed to keep their Union coverage? Or is this rule Al suggests made to make sure they buy the Congressional plan, public option, no matter what their options might be?
This would be an educated guess, but chances are Senator Franken's first health insurance in his life came from getting hired at SNL the first year. There, he'd have earned that coverage under a Union contract. That sure is not how the Blue Dogs do it!

[Canuckistanian]

9. Are you confused about something?

Can't you understand someone who DOESN'T say "Fuck you, I've got mine"?

That JUST MAYBE, Franken's willing to make a small personal sacrifice in order to make sure millions DO get health care?

[NBachers]

21. That's Right! Al Franken Should Forfeit All His Money!

That'll teach him for having a lot of it.

[PSzymeczek]

38. Al Franken cares about his constituents,

not just himself. The problem with the R's in the Senate is that they are selfish.

[Enthusiast]

8. Al Franken just doesn't fit in

with today's ruthless corporate sponsored legislator. He is not a team player!



















:sarcasm:

[liberalmuse]

10. He's a hero straight out of a Frank Capra film.

I LOOOOOOVE this man!

[BeatleBoot]

11. Now THAT is reaching across the aisle

Love it.

[Big Orange Jeff]

14. I understand why Sen. Franken would want to co-sponsor the amendment, but can someone explain...

why Coburn and Vitter introduced it in the first place? I imagine there were some nefarious reasons, I just can't imagine what they might be.

[Randypiper]

15. Vitter/Coburn Amendment tries to embarrass Democrats

if they don't vote for it and endorse the PO. The very thing that Republicans accused Franken of doing with the rape amendment to the Pentagon spending bill.

[bevoette]

17. they were bluffing...and got called. (nm)

[ooglymoogly]

27. Vitters will be waving a white diaper before this is over. nt

[Pool Hall Ace]

65. Oh, that's right. Vitter is the diaper guy. I kept thinking he was

the Minneapolis airport guy. Sometimes I just can't keep my kinky Republicans straight. I need a score card!! :crazy:

[bobbolink]

72. .

:rofl:

:applause:

[The Wielding Truth]

44. It sure makes them look like the fools and obstructionists they are/

Thye should always be called out on their political games.

[Big Orange Jeff]

23. It's going to be hilarious if the amendment gets to the floor...

and Coburn and Vitter are put in the position of having to vote against their own amendment. That's some C-SPAN I'll just have to watch.

[Hippo_Tron]

36. Yup, I can't wait to see that

[Tansy_Gold]

62. History repeats itself, and Franken is no one's fool

Regarding the Civil Rights Act of 1964


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964#Women.27s_rights

The prohibition on sex discrimination was added by Howard W. Smith, a powerful Virginian Democrat who chaired the House Rules Committee and who had strongly opposed the Civil Rights Act. The addition of "sex" to title VII is commonly described as a cynical attempt to defeat the bill by inserting objectionable amendments.<11><12><13> Smith knew Republicans, who had included equal rights for women in their party's platform since 1944, would vote for the amendment along with southern Democrats and get it in the final bill.<13> Smith thought that northern Democrats would not vote for the bill due to the inclusion of gender, because the clause was opposed by labor unions which the northern Democrats aligned themselves with.<13> Representative Carl Elliott of Alabama later claimed, "Smith didn't give a damn about women's rights...he was trying to knock off votes either then or down the line because there was always a hard core of men who didn't favor women's rights,"<14> and the Congressional Record records that Smith was greeted by laughter when he introduced the amendment.<15>

Smith nevertheless claimed that he sincerely supported the amendment and made serious arguments in its favor.<15> The claim was not entirely ungrounded, as Smith had long been close to Alice Paul, a women's rights activist who urged him to include sex as a protected category. The amendment had been forcefully promoted by the National Woman's Party and its allies in Congress, who had no desire to scuttle the Civil Rights Act.<11> Thus, as William Rehnquist explained in Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, “The prohibition against discrimination based on sex was added to Title VII at the last minute on the floor of the House of Representatives...the bill quickly passed as amended, and we are left with little legislative history to guide us in interpreting the Act’s prohibition against discrimination based on ‘sex.’” <16>

(emphasis added by







Tansy Gold)

[Hamlette]

67. they will vote for it, thinking they can defeat the public option

too bad they can't vote on the amendment after they vote on the PO

[democracy1st]

16. K & R

[asdjrocky]

18. In my humble opinion he is one of the three good Senators.

The rest are not worth their pay or my time.

[Tx4obama]

47. I disagree...

There are quite a few crappy senators but there are more than just 'three' good ones.

[JDPriestly]

19. Now we're getting somewhere.

Do you suppose Franken could run for president in 2012? I bet he'd win.

[Deep13]

20. Ker-slam! nt

[Guilded Lilly]

22. Buckeye here and very proud...

of Sherrod Brown and Al Franken.

The Republicans who started this amendment out of the ugliness of their hearts as nothing more than a snarky political tool to try and embarrass their *respected colleagues* across the aisle may just have to eat it.

Please don't choke too much.

[tomm2thumbs]

24. what a nice way of saying...

[sasquatch]

25. You know, for a guy that tries to come off as DLC Al really has a good progressive streak in him

[Bluenorthwest]

63. DLC? Where's that come from? Al is a liberal. Deal with it.

He supports equal marriage rights, he is strongly pro Union, to the point that he is a member of two or three of them. Al's been on strike, on picket lines. He'd be backing single payer if there was a single prayer for it to pass. I don't get the DLC thing at all, at all.
I think Al 'tries to come off' as not wearing a clown outfit. The man is both a US Senator and Stuart Smalley. This is a man who just a few years ago talked about cocaine at SNL and how he had to do some of it just to keep those who were out of control form doing too much. He joked on the radio about snorting coke and writing comedy that many found offensive. So if he comes to the Senate with a different tone, that strikes me as most wise. There are many in DC and in this country who expected Al to be a comic not an 'actual' Senator'. As this ploy shows us, he knows his way around that floor.
I think Al has done a fantastic job of sending the message that he is not to be taken lightly.
Al is a union brother of mine, I have known many people who know him well over the years, and I've heard many excellent things about him from many excellent people. Never a negative word. As a gay man, I can easily say that no other politician in DC is so strongly and organically on the side of equality. He's on a very short list of straight men who have said things that let me know he is simpatico, in a deep and true way. No reservations. Al thinks of equality the same way I do. As a right denied, a wrong that will be corrected.
Is the DLC a champion of equal rights for gay people, and hugely supportive of the Unions that made their careers possible? I did not think so.
I'd vote Al for President in any day.

[sasquatch]

75. He made some vague referrences in "Lies"

I think he saw how truly corrupt and incompatible the DLC is with our country and what's best for our people and changed his mind.

[ooglymoogly]

26. A man who walks the walk; Puts his money where his mouth

is. kr

[Sky Masterson]

29. Love me some Al!!!!

:)

[waiting for hope]

30. Love him ....

K&R

[rhett o rick]

31. What Franken is doing is neutralizing the "republicant" sponsorship of this bill.

The repukes think they are being cute introducing this bill. Their hearts arent in it but daring the Dems to oppose. Franken is calling their idiotic bluff.

[Hippo_Tron]

34. Exactly, call their bluff

[rhett o rick]

52. Go Sen Franken. nt

[underpants]

32. Conservatives mentally don't get and are no good at sarcasm or irony

if you are in a group of people say something ironic-if there is no response from someone... they are a conservative

trust me this works

[peacetalksforall]

39. I absolutely believe you - they don't get sarcasm or irony. And, if one of them

is before the camera at a point where they should be laughing at something the competitor or host has said, they will give a weak, white, obviously uncomfortable, smile.

[underpants]

41. strange and different wiring the the rest of us

at least some people say that

[Randypiper]

43. Yes

They take Colbert literally

[Hippo_Tron]

33. This is actually a pretty clever tactic

[byronius]

35. Al Franken's no clown. He's a highly intelligent man with a deep belief in public service.

Thank you, Minnesota.

[Snotcicles]

37. Al knew he had some big shoes to fill. I think Paul is laughing his ass off. nt

[peacetalksforall]

40. I hope so.

[felinetta]

42. Shame on Repubs and Coleman for denying Al 8 months in the Senate, but he is making up the time.

[onestepforward]

46. K&R! Way to go, Al!

[valerief]

49. If the Senate was required to go on the public option, the public option would have all the bells

and whistles!

[Lucy Goosey]

50. I hear you...

I'm from Canada, and I think of Al as my Senator.

[meowomon]

51. I Love Al Franken!!!!!

I wish he were from Florida!

[Frosty cupcake]

56. Yes, but

We have Alan Grayson now.

[meowomon]

58. He's great, but not my district

I have the old blue dog Allen Boyd.

[Eric68601]

54. I have a question.

I think it's great that Franken is backing this, I wanna see more and more Democrats do it. Play it out right, this could back fire BIG TIME on the Republicans. Yeah, they're screaming about public option for congressman, but I'm wondering, when it comes right down to it, how many of those greedy fukks would dare say they'll settle for "GOVERNMENT RAN" health care when they are all shit talkers about .gov intrusion, and .gov being so big.

Hell yeah K&R, good job Franken, now get on the phones and request your own senators follow suit.

[Mithreal]

57. Hooray for Senator Franken

[DFW]

59. I figure this is what happened at Fox when they heard:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7164804

[Itchinjim]

60. It's been my experience that the funniest people I've known are also the smartest I've known.

Al is no exception to this rule. Go get 'em Al.

[BetterThanNoSN]

64. The Pleasure....

of having an intelligent, witty, independent thinking, concerned person in that seat when we came so close to more Norm Coleman. ***whew*** Al Franken is the freakin man!

[Moosepoop]

66. I love this man!!

But how would this amendment square with the supposed exclusion of those who already have insurance to enroll in the public option?? I haven't seen the actual wording of the amendment, so I don't know if this is addressed in it, and I haven't seen either party bring that up.

[peacetalksforall]

69. Remember, he isn't just supporting it verbally, he asked to be included as a co-sponsor. Zing

it, Al! Nice strategy.

[bobbolink]

70. That would be soooo funny if Vitter and Coburn outsmarted themselves.

Not that that would be too difficult....

:evilgrin:

[WhoIsNumberNone]

73. Al continues to be my hero

How the Republicans must hate him....

[Chris Crew]

74. Franken is awesome!

Strong Democrats like Franken need to be supported by progressives from all corners of the country. I just sent his office an email commending his hard work to bring our great nation health care reform.

Every single supporter they get an email or letter from gives them a little more courage to stand up for us against industry lobbyists and their conservative cronies in Washington.

Go Franken!

[wordpix]

76. woot for Sherrod and Al!!! Love you guys