Democrats Demand Bush Halt Attacks on Reid

[Bluebear]

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats demanded Thursday that President Bush order a halt to personal attacks on the party's leader, Sen. Harry Reid and expressed regret that they had failed to mount a stronger defense for his defeated predecessor.

"This is a new Democratic Party," Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said at a news conference called to release a letter telling Bush to muzzle his "political operatives."

"It says to the president, `You will not intimidate us'," said Schumer, who likened the attacks on Reid to political knee-cappings.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050211/ap_on_go_co/democrats_bush

[BrainRants]

1. Well at least there's some unity from the Dems...

now can we keep the ball rolling and act like an opposition party instead of making nice-nice with the rethugs?

Please?

[Tigress DEM]

34. Politicians are only as Honest/Motivated etc... as required by US

Here is a SCARY bill heading from House to Senate soon.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/2/5/15448/41910


Kick up a major ruckus! Tell the Senators they are the last chance we have to fix section 102.

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=party&Sort=ASC

Yeas Nays
Republican 219 8
Democratic 42 152
Independent 1
TOTALS 261 161

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll031.xml

3 of 4 DEMS were: TRUE BLUE>>> Rep. Martin Sabo, Rep. Betty McCollum, Rep. James Oberstar

Collin Peterson DEM fro District 7 voted with the State's repubs
Gil Gutknecht, John Kline, Jim Ramstad, Mark Kennedy

Collin you are a bad, bad man.

http://democrats.house.gov/state_by_state/state_detail.cfm?region_id=24

[ClintonTyree]

2. Yeah, that'll happen..................

just like his "condemnation" of the Swift Boat Liars. Don't anyone here hold their breath.

I like Schumer's attitude though he and HIL are my Senators, I'm lucky to live in New York. Especially since Eloit Spitzer is going to be our Governor soon! :)

[TomClash]

6. I'll believe it when they filibuster

then I'll know they are serious

[zann725]

31. Good point! I think it'll be soon! They're "booing" and refusal to stand

at the SOTU was an unprecedented benchmark. They're getting their courage, in part, by all our emails and calls of support.

This is only the beginning!

And since I understand Reid has done a Filibuster before, it's nothing new to him. He'll do it again, I'm sure.

[jdots]

3. great finally they start getting real on the chimp

America is going to figure these parasites out and come out of thier stupor.This has not been a good week for the Rovian organized crime gang.

[ScreamingMeemie]

4. Daschle was on with Ed this evening, and said basically the same

thing. Too bad he spoke his mind so late. Let's hope Reid and the rest of the Dems keep the spine they seem to be growing. :hi:

[Erika]

5. This is a NEW democratic party

After 9/11, we tried to support Bush until he became the head of the GOP far right wing and broke all his moderate campaign promises.

All we got for trying to work with him on issues, was a kick in the teeth. Well, no more. He spends our taxes and gives us no representation.

It looks like the party has finally listened to Dean's message that we have a spine and won't be Republican lites any longer. Yes!!!

[ClarkUSA]

13. Reid has been talking like this since Nov. 3

only people here haven't been listening. Schumer voted against Gonzales. Chuck has also been pretty harsh on the Bush budget for weeks.

I don't give the credit to "spine" to Dean. Barbara Boxer said on AAR on Jan. 7 that we'd all be "very pleasantly surprised" by Harry Reid, who has set the tone for the Senate as Minority Leader.

It sounds as if Schumer as head of the DSCC is standing up for his Senate Leader.
This is how the opposition party behaves. Schumer hasn't lasted in New York politics for over two decades because he's a wimp. He is the number one Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee who "obstructed" those 10 Bush judge appointees, too.

[GetTheRightVote]

7. Thank you Democratic Party for standing up for your front man

Party should have been doing that for years now.

:kick:

[makhno]

8. Chuck makes me laugh

He says this on the same day he backs the administration on a sickening piece of corporate legislation. Oh yes, Chuck, you're quite the Fighting Democrat, you sick piece of shit.

[ClarkUSA]

14. Why do Democrats at DU take such joy in savaging other Democrats?

The guy is standing up against Bush and calling Bush out for the hitpiece on Reid and this is the best you can say?

What "sickening piece of corporate legislation" are you talking about? Even Dean when he was Governor of Vermont gave tax breaks to Enron and Kenny Lay, so
there's obviously an element of realpolitik to being a politician that not everyone likes but is a practical feature of having a constituency.

[makhno]

18. The class action lawsuit reform

Simply put, Chuck's actions seldom follow his rhetoric and actions speak far louder than words. I'd be more impressed by his fiery pronouncements if he had shown a backbone on the Senate floor. Intead, he was merely a conduit for the wishes of his true constituency - New York's investment and insurance firms.

As far as savaging other Democrats, I call 'em like I see 'em, especially when I'm part of the constituency Senator Schumer ostensibly represents.

[ClarkUSA]

22. But has the vote come up yet?

There are very few elected politicians who hasn't turned into a corporate whore on occasion, including the ones many admire on this board.

Schumer also was leaning towards voting for Gonzales but then did not. And he's not running for anything in 2006 or 2008 so it wasn't pandering for votes. He also was instrumental in the blocking of those 10 uberreichwingnut judge appointees.

You need to call his HQ and email him and tell his aides how you feel. You have time to lodge a complaint. I didn't hear what he had to say. Do you have a link
to his comments? I will call/email also but I need to hear it for myself and reference his words.

I like your reasoned dissent rather than the previous blanket statement of dismissal. If we don't like what he's doing, let's ring his HQ phone off its hook, flood him with emails, etcetera, though I am sure that trial lawyers are pulling out all the stops, too.

[BlueInRed]

25. Senate passed today

I saw few posts here on DU the past week. If the House hasn't passed something equivalent, it's a no brainer they will. Eighteen Senate Democrats supported the bill, which moves all class action suits to federal court to make it harder on plaintiffs. They couldn't even get an exception for state attorneys general to be able to sue in state court.

[ClarkUSA]

28. Wish we could more organized here at GDP to fight these things

as grassroots voices. Thanks, BlueInRed. Good to see you here. :hi:

Do you know who the 18 Senators are who voted for this? I know there's a way I can find out by checking if I know the bill ID #.

[BlueInRed]

32. I saw it in an article

but now the article has changed. I looked at several articles and none of them now contained the info. It was basically what you would probably expect, I remember Dodd and Lieberman voted for it, a number of DLC types, with some exceptions. I think Hillary was on the list supporting it.

Against it I remember Kennedy, Durbin, Stabenow, Reid, Dorgan, Kerry, lots more

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

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

[John_H]

10. Shouldn't the sweetie pies at the DNC be tit for tatting Frist?

[Just Me]

11. ALL "AMERICANS" should take a stand against "character-assasination"!!!

This isn't a "democrat" fight.

It's an AMERICAN FIGHT!!!

If we are going to be UNITED, diminishing and attacking and consuming our own IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!!!

H-E-L-L-O!!!! ATTACK THE ABUSERS RATHER THAN THE ABUSED!!!

WE WILL FIGHT,...ABUSERS AND PREDATORS!!!

PROGRESSIVES FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT ABUSERS AND PREDATORS!!!

[Just Me]

12. accidental dupe.

But, since "repetition" works so well,...I had to "chew" on whether to do a dupe.

[in_cog_ni_to]

15. OK. I missed the hit piece on Reid.

What happened? What was said? It's about time the Dems start standing up to these people.

[ClarkUSA]

23. Go to the RNC website and check it out. Here's a story link...

It's 12 pages long and it's listed under "Research" dated Feb. 7, 2005.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Angered by Republican criticism, Senate
Minority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday suggested President
Bush's calls for unity are proving "absolutely false."

Reid, a Nevada Democrat, made his comments in response
to a document -- billed as a "research briefing" -- the
Republican National Committee began distributing this week.

The document paints Reid as an "obstructionist" bent on blocking
judicial nominees and raising taxes.

Reid, however, was unpersuaded, saying that it was his
understanding that the RNC is "controlled by George Bush."

"I want the boys at the White House, the girls at the White
House, the men and women at the White House, everyone
to understand, I haven't lost one wink of sleep over the attack
yesterday," Reid said.

Republicans used a similar campaign against Reid's
predecessor, Tom Daschle of South Dakota, who was voted out
of office last November.

Democratic sources said Reid is fighting back to avoid being
"Daschle-ized," a reference to the smear campaign that
marginalized the former Democratic leader.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/02/08/reid.bush/index.html

[American Tragedy]

16. I'm sick of this. Don't just beg them to stop, dammit, hit them back!

Why do the Democrats always demand apologies and retractions when the Republicans assault them? It sounds so weak and ineffectual. Oh please make your thugs stop hitting me! Why can't we all just get along?!

Kick them in the fucking teeth! Show the American people vividly what these social parasites really are for once, like the old Herblock caricatures that showed McCarthy with a bloody meat cleaver, or Nixon emerging from the sewers flinging mud on people. We can turn the tables on these bastards so easily.

[Guaranteed]

20. This actually sounds like a threat. nt

[American Tragedy]

21. Their reaction seems to fit a general pattern, unfortunately.

"We urge you to keep your word about being a uniter and publicly halt these counterproductive attacks so that we are able to work together in a bipartisan manner and debate issues on the merits."

[gulfcoastliberal]

17. "Democrats demand the sun stop rising in the east"

They can get over themselves, already. If thy haven't realized by now the extent the ugly, lowest common denominator tactics repugs(Rove) will use bring dems down ( remember 8 years of Clinton-bashing topped with an impeachment for a bj, destroying Gore, and allowing the election to be overturned by a coup d'tat) then they can just grab their ankles, cause the repugs ain't got no vaseline for em.

Talk is cheap. I'm still waiting for Reid to deliver. By my count, so far he's delivered a lot of hot air, Condi Rice, Alberto Gonzalez, and "tort reform" written by coporate K street lobbyists. When will he take a stand? What is he willing to fght for?

[KittyWampus]

24. Some DU'ers Are Like Parents Who Smack Their Infant When It Takes

its first baby step because baby didn't immediately stand up and run a fucking marathon.

Another DU'er posted that analogy. I'm reposting it here, where it's appropriate.

[Guaranteed]

29. I agree with you.

LOL :)

[moggie12]

26. Ummmm, they're the minority party

They can't deliver anything -- all they have is hot air! I'm glad they're been using more than they have been the past four years...

[moggie12]

27. Good for them -- silence is taken as capitulation

It's wonderful to see them rallying behind Reid -- the more they bellow, the more people will listen. Sad to say, but bellowing and sound-bites is what are political process has degenerated into.

[Guaranteed]

19. Don't mock this, folks. This is what we need to see.

This is good.

PRAISE them.

[Cozmosis]

30. Agreed. Great step. This party needs to start hitting back.

[FreedomAngel82]

33. The dems should have

the Alice Cooper song "No More Mr. Nice Guy" playing to fire them up and remember that they're fighting. ;)