Lest we forget: Hillary voted FOR the USA PATRIOT Act

[derby378]

Here's a link to Project Vote Smart:

http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_keyvote_detail.php?vote_id=3110&can_id=WNY99268

I've seen the recent threads defending Hillary and portraying her as a solid Democrat, but she should have voted against this. Once again, eternal vigilance is the price of liberty...

[karynnj]

1. wasn't there only 1 vote against this

[havocmom]

4. One more reason for no Senators as nominee in 08

The list is long.

[shoelace414]

7. Feingold voted against it.

[HereSince1628]

8. Please don't completely overlook Sen. Feingold he may have been

the ONLY senator to read the thing before it was voted on.

I'd like a nominee who takes the time to read.

[havocmom]

22. Patriot Act vote not the ONLY reason not to nominate a Senator

Just one MORE reason.

Face it, most voters will not trust 'Washington Insiders' as the GOP will portray ALL DEMs in DC to be. Also, being in House or Senate means there will be compromises made in the past and on votes. Anyone from those bodies will have their voting record taken out of context and used against them in a way no candidate can successfully explain to a population with a 7 second attention span.

Feingold is sterling, but look outside of the Halls of Congress for your candidate for President unless you wanna lose again.

[havocmom]

2. Hillary? I repeat, not without a lobotomy

would I vote for her. She has sold out majorly on too many issues.

Has her dressmaker finished that outfit made out of the flag yet?

[DaveinMD]

3. Ted Kennedy is a sellout

he voted for it too.

[BL611]

5. So did Paul Wellstone

and every other Democrat in the Senate with the exception of Russ Feingold-who voted nay strictly from procedural concerns (refer to the New Republic story from several weeks ago)...

[pocket]

6. DLC to the bone

n/t

[HereSince1628]

9. Well, her hubby started it and she has the ensign's role in it.

So yeah, DLC to the bone.

[Skinner]

10. So did 98 other senators.

Let's defeat all of them! :eyes:

I think that some of this Hillary bashing is getting ridiculous. Yes, I used the word bashing.

[skipos]

12. Amen to that!

:)

[DancingBear]

13. A discussion of her viabilty as a candidate

as well as her DLC ties is proper.*

The knee-jerk responses when one attempts said discussion are not.

Sigh, I can remember the good old days when you could actually discuss things around here.

*(In the interest of full disclosure, DancingBear wants no part of her). :)

[Skinner]

19. Of course it is proper to discuss her viability as a candidate ...

... as well as her DLC ties.

I would submit, however, that posts do not need to be replies in order to be knee-jerk. There are plenty of knee-jerk original posts as well.

I would also submit that painting Hillary as not being a "solid Democrat" based solely on her PATRIOT Act vote is ridiculous in the extreme, and quite clearly flies in the face of the facts. Only one Democrat in the entire US Senate voted against the PATRIOT Act. Surely the rest of them aren't all DINOs, Traitors, Repuke-Lites, or whatever.

(Psst: One more thing... There never was a DU "Good Old Days when you could actually discuss things around here." This quality of discussion on DU has stayed virtually constant for five years, and has actually improved in many respects. The main difference is that there is more of it today.)

[DancingBear]

21. True, that

One-trick pony stuff is easily discernible, however, and should be responded to accordingly.

Most of us are smart enough to discern, at times, that certain "persuasions" are trying to make certain "points" by setting up the obligatory straw men.

Sure there were "good old days." Bread was a nickel, we all had record players, I had baseball cards clothes pinned to my bicycle spokes and DU was a discussion haven.

Yeesh. :) :)

[AZBlue]

25. THANK YOU!!!!!!!

(yes, I meant to shout that)

So, should I start 98 threads bashing all the other senators? And, one praising Feingold?



Don't we all have ANYTHING else to talk about???!!!?

[stray cat]

11. Lets throw them all out and vote republican!

That should really help. Alot of senators voted for the Patriot Act but one thing I learned from Bill Clinton is that I don't have to agree with everything that a leader does for them to be a great deal better than the current administration.

[pocket]

15. or maybe run some real Liberals for a change

call me crazy, but that might just work.

More Kucinich types, less DLC.

[stray cat]

17. Hate to say it I might go moderate repub over green party candidate

[Rowdyboy]

14. DU or Free Republic....the Hillary bashing just goes on and on....

and on and on and on.

Give it a rest.

[Mass]

16. So you are against Barbara Boxer, Ted Kennedy, or Paul Wellstone?

This vote is a poor predictor of who is a solid Democrat.

[Caution]

18. Oh fer crissakes. Enough of the Hillary bashing. She's a dem. support he

or find an alternative candidate. Is there another one out there? No. Support her. I do not expect my dems to be rigidly partisan in all issues. I expect them to take a nuanced approach to thir vote and i expect them to vote their conscience. When their conscience goes against mine in the majority of cases then I will work towards getting a new canddiate in place (liek Lieberman)

Do you honestly think that any random Democrat would be able to do a better job than Senator Clinton has?

One bad vote. TEN bad votes do not make for an evil DINO.


The biggest knock on Democrats has always been that they eat their own. Well thanks for proving it.

[Clark2008]

24. What if you don't like her, at all, and your vote in your state

wouldn't help her since she'd lose by 20 percent?

:shrug:

Just wondering.

[Dark]

20. It was a different time.

Remember, most of the country was scared out of its wits.

Now, however, it should be repealed.

[derby378]

23. If, and I mean IF, Hillary makes a run in 2008...

...my point is that our nominee in 2008, whomever it is, must be more dynamic, expressive, and educated in the use of framing than Gore in 2000 or even Kerry in 2004. "More of the same" just won't cut it.

This is not "Hillary-bashing." This is part of an overall response to the sentiment, expressed by many on DU and elsewhere across America, that the 2008 nomination is hers if she'll just commit to running. My goal is the same as it always has been: a Democratic White House in 2008.

But we have to do it right. Especially after Kerry softballed his efforts to shut down the Bush machine in 2004.

How hungry are you for universal health care? For full civil rights for gay Americans? For the repair of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security? For the end of excessive greenhouse gas emissions? For a real energy policy that strives for sustainability? For an actual education for our children? For the end of the USA PATRIOT Act, the occupation of Iraq, and government-sanctioned torture?

I want them all so badly I can taste it in the back of my throat. But we have to want it badly enough to do everything in our power that's ethical and legal in order to realize this dream. And if it seems like I'm being hard on Hillary right now, well, now you know why.

[election_2004]

26. I don't use The Patriot Act as a "litmus test"

I had no problem supporting and voting for John Kerry in 2004, in spite of his vote for The Patriot Act (which I disagreed with).

That being said, regardless of how many Democratic senators voted for the Patriot Act, that doesn't change the fact that Hillary Clinton is the LAST person who should be headlining the Democratic ticket in rural, purple/red states where Democrats need to desperately make inroads in 2008.

A "write-off-the-red-states" strategy simply will not ensure a Democratic Congressional Majority in 2008.