So I called my Senator, Dianne Feinstein's office and asked them why the Senator voted against

[still_one]

funding food stamps.

I was told they do not know, and she has not informed them of why

So I ask, she makes a controversial vote, and gives no reason why to her offices?

We really need to start replacing these "democrats" with REAL Democrats

[Mr. David]

1. Emailed both of my senators.

I don't expect a response, but they are both Dems from Colorado

[truedelphi]

2. Uh, Diane Ferinstein is one of THE top dogs of the Democratic Party.

I sincerely bless you for calling her office and asking about her policies. Thank you!

i also assure you that the very moment that her husband, Richard Blum, can figure out a way to direct some monies into the couple's bank account(s), from the Food Stamp program, will be the very moment that she will decide that Food Stamp program is very very very valuable to impoverished Californians.

I don't know how it is that Richard hasn't figured out a way to profit from Food Stamps yet.
If JP Morgan's people can get 25 or 50 cents every time a Food Stamp Transaction is processed, surely Richard-Dear and Diane Sweetums can do something similar.

Don't forget - Di Fi got into the Senate and re-vamped the Senate Ethics code so that it is no longer a conflict of interest to vote for something if you achieve financial gain on that vote. Then she voted for the Iraq War resolution, and within several months of our getting into the Iraq war, Richard was worth some 27 millions of dollars due him on his new war contracts! A few years later, and the couple bought a gorgeous home in the SF Presidio neighborhood, with its cost being 16 million bucks.

The SF Chronicle explained that the view from that the couple's new home had a view "to die for." Not so funny thing is - over 4,487 American service people did die for them to have that view, and some 32,226 were wounded. You would think this fair lady of the Senate would allow these wounded vets to have Food Stamps, while she and Richard enjoy that view!

[derby378]

10. Sounds like she's one of the party's main problems

I'm going to rejoice when DiFi retires. She's been a millstone around the Dems' neck for way too long.

[truedelphi]

12. When you analyze both of Ahnold Schwartzennegger's gubernatorial wins,

You cannot help but come to the conclusion that Di Fi threw both of his elections his way.

After all, she is the one who directly chooses who runs in the gubernatorial contests.

Why in the world would she choose Bustamante? Almost totally under the radar guy, and then next time around, she vetoed the choice of the people, Steve Westley, to let her buddy, Phil Angelides, run against a man with lots of charisma.

[RufusTFirefly]

28. Why choose Cruz?

To appeal to Jetsons fans, of course!

[bike man]

21. Perhaps she should have been 'retired' via voting for someone else some time

ago.

We read about how unsatisfactorily elected officials are/have been performing, but they continue to be reelected.

[xxqqqzme]

41. She turns 80

on June 22. She should not have run '12.

We have some great Democrats in state government and they are not being promoted because she has refused to step down. The CDP has been more than willing to support her in place because it is money they can spend elsewhere.

"...At age 79, Feinstein is the oldest currently serving United States Senator. She is the first woman to serve as the oldest United States Senator...."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianne_Feinstein

I have called her office when she voted against my Democratic party or to encourage her to vote for my Democratic Party. I shouldn't have to do that.

[cascadiance]

3. Should have asked her why she also stood against Merkley and Harkin's filibuster rule change too...

If Harry Reid had had her voting for it instead, perhaps we'd not have the filibuster being used so much against us now, and perhaps her assault weapon's bill that she was trying to get through with the filibuster not being "muzzled" would have been more than political theater that perhaps she actually wanted instead of some real laws being passed.

[still_one]

5. you are right I should have, but I suspect the person answering the phone would have given me the

same answer, "they don't know"

[hobbit709]

4. Her corporate owners haven't given her the reason yet.

[russspeakeasy]

6. As always; follow the money.

[BillyRibs]

38. BINGO!

[okaawhatever]

7. It may have something to do with the amendment offered by David Vitter. He added the criminals can't

get food stamps forever and ever so help me God amendment to the bill.

I looked at several articles and took this from red state

The bill passed 64-35. Republicans opposed it 30-16; Democrats supported it 48-5. I would note that a number of the southern Republicans opposed the bill because it didn’t provide enough subsidies for southern crops, not because it proposed too much spending. Thankfully, the House has agreed to scuttle the bill until July out of concern for conservative objections to the bill. We need to continue fighting this thing. It’s legislation like the farm bill that will ensure the budget never balances

They're scuttling it until July. There were many, many amendments. Need to look that up and see what might be objectionable there.

[FarCenter]

8. The compromises to send a bill to the floor get hammered out in committee

Amendments offered whe the bill comes to the floor in the full Senate are just for show, but they fail because the Senators all know exactly what has been agreed to in the previous meetings. The whips know exactly how each Senator will vote if the whips are doing their job.

[otohara]

9. I Got The Exact Same Answer

from Udall's office - both DC & local offices said they didn't know the answer becuz the Senator has not put out a statement. So I went to his FB page and posted there. The vote was on May 21st - plenty of time to put out a statement.

[Savannahmann]

42. You're missing the point.

If they put out a statement, they want to have the vote, and their courageous actions talked about. If they don't, they really want you to forget, and just move along, nothing to see here. I call it the ignore and hope it goes away technique.

[forestpath]

11. Tim Kaine's (VA) office gave me a total bullshit response that I can't

believe they expected me to buy - that Kaine didn't really vote to cut food stamps, he voted to take away the ability of states to use food stamp funds to pay for other things like heating, too.

Oh, that makes it all better

When I pointed out that any cuts meant less money for food I was greeted with silence.

I knew VA's other fake Dem senator would vote for cuts but Kaine likes to portray himself as a former missionary who helped poor people in poor countries. What a fucking phoney!

[sulphurdunn]

36. Sadly,

Timmy Blue Dog is the closest thing we can get to a Democrat here in the Old Dominion. The alternative is a Republican, and they all wear grey uniforms.

[olddots]

13. the DI-FI is a one percenter

I wish she signified 1% of the democratic party but that may be to much to ask for because she is what is wrong with our government .

[cherokeeprogressive]

16. More like a .001% er

[Bluenorthwest]

14. DiFi is one of the alleged Democrats who demanded that the LGBT protections be removed

from the immigration bill. She likes to claim her right wing actions are 'because the Republicans would blah, blah, blah' because she is a centrist Democrat who loves what the GOP does and loves that they let her blame them for it. With the immigration bill betrayal, she did it for them, did not even want to make them vote it down. Durbin was another of this lot.
She's badly past her shelf date, in need of replacement asap. What a sad thing that CA thinks she's the best they can do.

[cascadiance]

17. For me the Immigration bill (much as we need one) is DOA in my book due to H-1B crap in it!

And I blame that corporatist bum Chuck Schumer for being the enabler on that as he usually does for that crappy indentured servant program that completely deflates salaries for tech workers and costs us our jobs. I just had my contract ended last Friday and am back "enjoying" being unemployed again!

[whathehell]

18. She also voted AGAINST the Talking Filibuster. n/t

[Dustlawyer]

15. I will keep saying it, almost all Washington politicians are corrupt and bought off!

We need COMPLETE CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM (CCFR) or we will be bitching about the same shit 10 years from now, except things will be even worse. We need new candidates and public funding of elections, no more "fundraising!" Fundraising is a nice way to say bribe!

[LuvNewcastle]

23. CCFR is the issue on which all other issues depend.

Until we see it, things will continue to deteriorate.

[lark]

44. DiFI is a true DINO in many ways.

If there's money involved, she votes with the R's, even against the filibuster because then their little 1% schemes wouldn't pass as easily or at all. She's been a drain on the party for far too long.

[whathehell]

19. Al Franken and Dick Dubrin also voted against funding food stamps...Great dems we have, huh?..n/t

[Tx4obama]

22. See Comment #7.

There are usually good reasons to vote against a bill if there are bad things hidden in it.

[whathehell]

24. Hard to believe there were bad things in all of them...

The fucker also voted FOR cutting Social Security. He'll neve get my vote again.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

20. One of the problems with DiFi

is that she's never faced a formidable Democratic challenger. She's comfy and cozy instead of a champion for millions in CA who need an assist. This should be her last term, hopefully.

[catchnrelease]

25. I hope you are right

and this is her last term. I have voted against her in the primaries for years now . But she always wins and then it's her against some GOP whack job, so there's no other option. She is the personification of DINO. She admitted that she didn't represent the wishes of her constituents when she voted for the Iraq War Resolution. I can't wait to see the end of her 'reign'.

[Egalitarian Thug]

26. Feinstein has been crooked as a dog's hind leg for decades. She's progressed from a cheap

politician for sale to an expensive politician for sale, but has always been for sale to the highest bidder.

Also, don't forget this upper-middle class housewife got into politics because she didn't like what those dirty fucking hippies were getting away with in the first place. I find it depressingly ironic that Californians have kept this authoritarian piece of crap in office for this long and she will likely die in office after a lifetime of screwing the most vulnerable to placate the comfortable.

Name the other professions where someone can rise from middle-class to a personal fortune of somewhere in the neighborhood of $100,000,000 (her money, not that of her became-a-billionaire-after-marrying-a-politician husband) while earning a maximum salary of $170K. Just phenomenally lucky I guess.

After you're done with that exercise, look into the similar path of your other shining light of liberalism, Nancy Pelosi and her shenanigans.

[maidensandiego]

27. Time to Re-Decorate

And I'm pretty TIRED of seeing the OLD folks. We have gotta start showing our next generation that they MATTER. There has gotta be PLENTY of Dems under the age of 50 in Washington ! Come ON !!!!!! We have no RIGHT to discuss the image of the Repubs...if the Dems look EXACTLY like them !

[KamaAina]

30. We really don't need the ageism

DiFi's sucked ever since she got in the Senate.

Would you have said that about Ted Kennedy?

[Savannahmann]

43. One one issue, yes I did.

When Senator Kennedy moved to block the Wind Farm because it was in his families favorite yachting area, I spoke out against his actions.

Kennedy vs. Patrick
Kennedy, whose family's Hyannis Port compound would have a clear view of the farm, has tried to derail the project in Congress, citing risks to fishing, navigation, aviation and the sanctuary of Nantucket Sound. On Friday, Kennedy criticized the agency's report and said the fight wasn't over.

[mntleo2]

29. It was the same with my Rep Susan Delbane (D)

...well she gave a weak excuse in a statement that is evidently now scrubbed because now I cannot find that to put the link here, but let us say it was a bunch of bunk.

My district, which used to be solid blue, has been redistricted into a glutinous blob full of Repugs (it includes where Glen Beck grew up). It encompasses everything "citified" beginning in N Seattle and travels all long the I-5 corridor for over 100 miles to Bellingham.

Susan Delbane used her Microsoft money to beat out Darcy Burner in a primary, and Darcy really would have represented We The People. While this district has a few family farms in it, it has lots of Microsoft and football/basketball millionaires but few low income voters, it really has more city populations than rural in it. While it has farms, they are not many, SO IMO this woman is either speaking for a few (maybe) hundred OR she is being bought (more likely).

I am so mad at her I could spit and let her know in no uncertain terms. While she does do some good work (mostly "politically correct&quot , it lets me know I was right in supporting Darcy instead of her well gilded ass!

Cat in Seattle

[dreamnightwind]

31. Thank you, K & R

She's one of my Senators, too, unfortunately. Never could stand her, at all, and Dems like her invalidate the party for many.

[uponit7771]

32. ***VITTER ADDED POISON PILL AMENDMENT***

[krispos42]

33. She seems to be intent on taking the worst of both parties

Last edited Wed Jun 5, 2013, 07:49 PM - Edit history (1)

Pro-war, anti-privacy, pro-corporate, anti-gun, pro-national security state.

[gaspee]

47. Pro-gay?

Is one of the worst of the Democratic party? I really hope that was a typo.

[krispos42]

49. I fixed it; but I replied to myself instead of you.

Scroll down;.I'll be in the corner banging my head into a wall.

[krispos42]

48. Sorry for the confusion

that actually was a mistake. I was thinking of how some of her positions are Democratic and some are Republican, but my subject line is about the worst, and that's wrong of me. I shall fix it immediately.

[gaspee]

50. That's what I figured

It just caught my eye - especially since everything else was right on.

[Le Taz Hot]

34. I can't tell you how many times

I've called that office on various issues and got EXACTLY the same response. She, like Nancy Pelosi, don't feel the need to inform the little people. Neither will meet with their constituents unless it is election time and you have LOTS of money. Somebody tell me again how these are "Democrats?"

[libdude]

35. The reason why

that I consider myself, and have for a number of years, an independent with a democratic socialist view on many aspects of the methods of politics, economics, etc. Still getting educated on a lot of issues.
Obviously, I wrote the Republican party of years ago long before this current descent of the party into being a tool of the extreme right wing political philosophy that would undo the progress that this nation has made since our founding. A lost cause politically.
This example of Democratic politics is particuarily offensive and is another example of how playing politics hurts real people. These figures of those that rely on SNAP are children, seniors, single parents, low wage workers, and even some military families far outweigh the alleged " welfare queens " or " drug dealers " or the " generational recipients " so often referred to. Cutting program funds while leaving the insane military budget protected.
Perhaps in the near future, we will see the demise of the current political process that has allowed all the current income inequality to develop and turned this nation over to the transnational corporations and individuals that have used their wealth and political privilege to become wealthier and gain even more control.

[sulphurdunn]

37. If you think that was dismissive,

try and drop by her DC digs without an appointment (you'd never get one) and see what happens.

[Auggie]

39. At age 79, her days in the Senate are numbered

[blkmusclmachine]

40. DiFi is Corporate/Third Way/DLC/"New DEM"/Blue Dog

Take your pick. They're all the same.

[CrispyQ]

45. Not surprised to see my two 'dem' senators on the list, but surprised to see Franken.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO)
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD)
Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE)
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE)
Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN)
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA)
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN)
Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC)
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM)
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)
Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD)
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA)
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV)
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL)
Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR)
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT)
Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO)
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA)

[azurnoir]

46. From MN here and I'm disgusted by Frankens vote however

not surprised in the slightest by Klobuchar's NO vote