Well, well...the Senators campaigning for POTUS were too busy

[rateyes]

to get to Washington and vote on the Mukasey nomination...every fucking one of them. There were 40 NO votes. Had just one of them shown up and voted NO, and had had the guts to filibuster Mukasey, this nomination might have been stopped.

But, that would have taken some political courage.

Well, America, we now have Attorney General "I don't know if waterboarding is torture, and therefore, illegal" Mukasey.

And, we still don't have the subpoenaed materials we were told we would have before hearings began.

Tell me again how strong the Democratic Party is.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[rateyes]

29. No, won't do it.

I'll keep holding our party's elected officials' feet to the fire.

[debbierlus]

32. Go away - don't tell me what I don't want to hear - since when did Dems turn into sheeple

If we don't hold our party leadership accountable, we are no different then Republicans. No different at all. If the Republicans forced this nomination through & the dems had no power to stop it, we would be screaming bloody murder. The dems are complicit in this scenario, & through their complicity they become culpable.

[rateyes]

43. Right on the money. nt

[babylonsister]

2. I didn't know that. I thought it was only Obama due to the amount of

anti-Obama vitriol in a thread last night. Well, well indeed.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=3699278

[Junkdrawer]

3. What, don't you feel humored? I mean the Democratic Leadership...

went WAY out of it's way to provide you with a Prime Time spectacular of anti-Mukasey speeches, and this is your reaction?

What an ingrate!

[rateyes]

45. I'm sorry.

I should be grateful for the strong words that, in the end, meant absolutely nothing. Last I checked, the Democratic Leadership kept calculators in their hands to count votes before they are made...we had more than 40 opposition to Mukasey, which meant we could have stopped it with a little bit of backbone. We didn't do that.

But, you are right. I should have been grateful for the pretty speeches. My bad. :hi:

[Junkdrawer]

49. Clearly, stopping Mukasey wasn't the agenda....

The agenda was, as usual, giving Bush what ever he wants while maintaining as much of the Opposition Party appearances as possible.

[rateyes]

50. Yep. nt

[LeftCoast]

4. Well go vote for the Republicans then

Tired of all you Dem haters here.

Either work through the party to change it or go join the howling crowds of Republicans on FR.

[sendero]

11. There is a third option...

... and that is to realize that there really is no difference of substance between the parties. I have.

[Truth2Tell]

34. making critical posts on DU

is one way of working through the party to make changes.

:shrug:

[terrya]

21. Same here.

This IS DEMOCRATIC Underground. Can't people read?

Like you said...either work to change the party from within or vote for Mitt Romney.

[Le Taz Hot]

25. Apparently, some people haven't read

all they should have read.

From the DU rules:

Democratic Underground is an online community for Democrats and other progressives. Members are expected to be generally supportive of progressive ideals . . ."

If the admins wish to have a groupthink site, that is certainly their option. So far, that's not what DU is, nor has it ever been.

[atreides1]

26. Working from within

How does that actually work? I would think that people have been working from within the party for years, and look at what we have as "leadership"!

It's a great concept, but there's just one little flaw in your plan, it isn't working! We e-mail, we write, we call, and so far what do we have to show for it, an AG who will probably be no better then Gonzo was, who will very likely side with the WH on every illegal or unconstitutional act that it has and will conduct for the next 14 months.

Working from within can only work if those who are in office want to listen, and so far they've kept their hearing aids turned off. Some do hear what we the people are saying and do try to do the right thing, unfortunately the love of power, and the fear of standing up to this president is more in control.

You watch, next year the nobility of Capital Hill will once again come down from the mount and mingle with we the people and make promises of what they will do, and provide excuses or blame for what they failed to accomplish, and when the elections are over, they will return to their castle and do exactly what the hell they want.

Not all of them, but enough to make things even crapier for we the people!!!!

When you get that "working from within" thing to actually work, let us know how it turned out will you???

As a reminder the Founders tried that "working from within" idea, history shows that it wasn't all that effective, if it had actually worked there probably wouldn't have been a War of Independence.

[rateyes]

31. I AM working to change the party from within...

that, however, requires speaking up when the party is weak. Or, can't you figure that out?

[rateyes]

30. Oh, so you, like the Republicans, equate dissent with

hatred, huh? I love the Democratic Party. I don't like the weakness we are showing now. I dissent in an attempt to open our eyes to the need to make it stronger.

Why do you hate America, is the question asked of dissenters...now, you ask it of fellow Democrats. Nice.

[debbierlus]

37. Question: When dems ask like Republicans what the hell is the difference?

Dem haters. We aren't dem haters. We are American citizens horrified by the political corruption occurring in BOTH parties.

[AndyA]

5. I agree. It's a disgrace.

Of course, don't forget to give credit to Harry Reid for changing the voting time. He bumped it up significantly, which could have been the reason why some weren't there. Despite having access to private aircraft, they might have not had time to return to Washington.

I would like the Democratic Party to start working in unison for a change for to protect the Constitution, and the interests of all American citizens. This bunch we have now is disgraceful.

[babylonsister]

15. Don't blame Reid:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3700473&mesg_id=3700473

[Junkdrawer]

22. - OR - it was a head's up to get out of Dodge, bad votes coming up. n/t

[babylonsister]

23. I honestly don't know why you're excusing them for not doing

their jobs. Perhaps Reid actually wanted them there. To denounce torture in our name might have been a feather in everyone's caps.

[Junkdrawer]

24. Who's excusing them? I'm blaming BOTH Reid and the POTUS candidates.

Last night was a stage-managed event.

[babylonsister]

27. I thought Reid was pretty clear last week when he asked them to be

there. It may not have changed the outcome, but I thought this confirmation was important enough for them to make the attempt, so I'm blaming the candidates-all of them.

[Junkdrawer]

28. But it was a good show...it's just that the formula is getting stale...

At least the writer's strike is hurting someone...

[rox63]

6. This would only have happened if there was a filibuster

In a straight vote, you still need a majority. Some of those no votes may not have been willing to filibuster him. As far as I know, there was no filibuster suggested.

[Junkdrawer]

8. truthout: "Filibuster Remains a Possibility for Mukasey"

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/110707D.shtml

[rateyes]

33. That's exactly what I mean...

we didn't have the guts to filibuster...we certainly, though, had enough votes against Mukasey to have sustained one. When you have the power, and don't exercise it appropriately, it's weak..and, it hurts the country.

[Truth2Tell]

40. And if there were'nt enough votes to sustain it

then we would at least have those Democrats on record willing to vote to end it.

So much of this constant weakness, on this and many other issues, is progressive Dems providing political cover to their more "moderate" colleagues in a shameful and misguided attempt to maintain their majority. It's political miscalculation, and it's dishonest to boot.

[maine_raptor]

7. Gee I noticed that the Repug Senator running did likewise.

Could it be that the lack of "political courage" of which you speak infects BOTH parties?

[rateyes]

36. Yes, it does. But, had our party had the courage...

this nomination could have been stopped in its tracks.

[dysfunctional press]

9. how does one get from iowa to DC in 3 hours???

:shrug:

harry reid is the one who moved up the vote.

[rateyes]

38. Doesn't matter....

The leadership could have had the guts to filibuster this nomination, and then scheduled the vote when they had everyone there.

[cali]

10. LOL!

Who here proclaims that the dem party is strong?

And how interesting that you so rarely have a word to say against the repukes.

you are a funny rat.

[rateyes]

42. And, you are a funny...

whatever you are. Always defending the indefensible, aren't you, cali?

[Truth2Tell]

44. Dem Party could be strong

We simply choose not to be. It's been decided that it serves us best to act weak for the time being.

[rateyes]

48. Looks like I'm not the only one who wrote about the lack of Dem spine...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2246425&mesg_id=2246425

OK, now, Cali...defend Leahy for going ahead with the hearings despite having to break his promise for the subpoenaed materials. Defend the fact that Mukasey only got 53 votes, AND WAS CONFIRMED, when the Democratic leadership could have required SIXTY votes.

Again, when you have the power to do what's right (and, in this case, the Democrats certainly had the power)...and, don't do it...you are acting cowardly.

Spines.they.don't.have.

[MiniMe]

12. REID SCHEDULED THE VOTE WITH 3 HOURS NOTICE

How can you get from Iowa to DC in 3 hours? This one is not their fault.

[Junkdrawer]

14. An WHY do you suppose he did that?

Could it be to provide COVER for the DLC-Approved candidates?

[MiniMe]

16. Reid consulted with Republican Leadership to schedule, you'll have to ask him why

he did it.

[woodsprite]

19. Could it be payback for the Cheney Impeachment thing?

just asking. It was the first thing that came to mind when I read your post.

[babylonsister]

18. See #15; he requested their presence. nt

[rateyes]

39. They could have been concerned enough to have filed

a cloture motion and pressed Reid into holding the vote when they were there. It would have taken 1 extra Senator, and just a little spine from those voting NO to stick with a filibuster.

[mmonk]

13. The party is almost non existent.

[sazemisery]

17. If we had a fair election process, candidates would be in D.C.

where they should be doing their job. With the campaigning starting earlier than ever, candidates are hitting the road when they should be in D.C. doing the will of the people.

[deacon]

20. You can't be a president and chicken out like this. They owe us an explanation, however

I'm no longer interested. Their collective actions gave me my answer.

[bbgrunt]

35. impeach or perish. that is the choice. denial only serves

those who have vested interests in maintaining the illusion. So it seems we don't even have that choice.

[DemGa]

41. I can't see anything to disagree with in the OP

Hillary et al, seem terrified of stirring any controversy, so they play it safe. On appearances, political courage is indeed lacking.

[alcibiades_mystery]

46. Wouldn't have made a difference in the result

So why expose yourself to propaganda behind a symbolic gesture? Seems dumb. But there's a lot of dumb shit being said on these boards lately.

[rateyes]

47. If they had filibustered Mukasey,

and had those opposed to Mukasey voted to sustain that filibuster, it WOULD have mattered. There's nothing symbolic about that fact. The truth is, they had the power to stop it, and chose not to, knowing he would be confirmed.

An absent vote, in this case, had the same effect as a YES vote.