Well, the Senate Democrats are at it again. Only this time, they're too chicken to end the war...

[originalpckelly]

Republicans and neo-cons may all be a bunch of chicken-hawks, but most of the Democrats in the Senate are just plain chickens.

The last few days we've been propagandized by our own party. "We's been robbed" said Senator Mikulski, indeed, she said that along with other protestations from "moderate" Democrats too afraid to stand up and let their voices be heard.

I think "we's been lied to" as well as robbed.

The people holding up the Senate are the Republicans, but that's because Harry "Blowin' in the Wind" Reid can't stand up for once and do the right thing. You see they (the "moderate" Democrats) have been blocking a resolution put up by a Republican Senator as an attempt to deflect criticism away from Bush's surge. The "moderate" Republicans have refused to vote on even their own resolutions until the resolutions calling the bluff of the Senate Democrats are voted on.

These resolutions, one a stupid ass pro-Bush resolution, and the other a resolution to cut off the funding in Iraq, are the stopping point for Senator Harry Reid. He's agreed to the pro-Bush surge resolution (because it's not going to do well, obviously), but has refused to pass the resolution from Senator Gregg with anything more than 50 votes, which is not standard procedure, as it is usually a 60 vote majority to cloture debate.

Not only is Senator Reid trying to violate Senate heritage, but he is destroying the deliberative nature of the Senate. He is also making the same mistake this party made at the beginning of the Iraq war: he's being too afraid and too flexible.

I'm not the only person criticizing these people, indeed, Senator Feingold has also done the very same.

Call the office of the Senate Majority Leader, and tell him to stop being a chicken, and stand up to the chicken-hawks for once.

*The resolution to cut off funding, is an amendment to support the President by funding the troops, the Democrats would symbolically vote to cut off funding by voting against the resolution. They've tried to keep this from being clotured with 60 votes like usual, and Senator Reid refuses to go any higher than a simple majority (which is exactly the "nuclear option" the Republicans tried to pull on us in the last year or two.)

[grytpype]

1. OH NOES!!!! IMPEACH MENT NOWWWW!!!!!

[originalpckelly]

2. ?

:shrug:

[lligrd]

3. Time To Start Up The Email, Letter and Phone Call Blitzes

again. God, I am tired of this.

[originalpckelly]

5. I know. Poor Senator Feingold looks like an idiot without the rest of them...

about the only other one who's had a little backbone is Obama who's planning on introducing his own bill about cutting the funding.

[bigtree]

4. not true at all

Your statement: "These resolutions, one a stupid ass pro-Bush resolution, and the other a resolution to cut off the funding in Iraq, are the stopping point for Senator Harry Reid."


This is just not true. It takes no effort at all to search and find where Harry Reid stands if you haven't heard him already in his numerous statements and speeches.


A huge budget bill for the remainder of the current fiscal year comes before the Senate tomorrow, and Reid promised war amendments to that debate.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/05/AR2007020500675_pf.html


Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said that “time was tenuous” and that he would not guarantee that Democrats would try again to bring up the resolution. He did promise that there would be more clashes over Iraq policy as the Senate turned to measures like the president’s request for $100 billion in emergency Iraq spending.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/06/washington/06cong.html?bl=&ei=5087%0A&en=c801393758b8ad51&ex=1170910800&pagewanted=print

[originalpckelly]

6. Bullshit...

I'm not stupid, and I'm smart enough to figure out what's going on here. These milk toast weenies are doing it once again, and I'm fucking sick of this. Now, I'll admit, the Republicans didn't need to put us in this situation, but we need to grow balls and ovaries and spines to stand up to these fuckers once and for all.

Even that asshole Dick Cheney agreed Congress has the constitutional authority to cut off funding, though he didn't want it, he acknowledged it. If these folks were clever enough they'd put out an ad quoting him.

[originalpckelly]

7. And not just that, we're in a difficult position...

but the troops are in a much more difficult position. It's time to show political courage.

[bigtree]

8. wheee!

making it up is fun. pretending like we have a lock on courage and virtue just because we have the ability to throw stones from the outside is lame.

[originalpckelly]

9. No, these people need to stand up for once. They chickened out...

The Gregg resolution isn't even binding. That's why I'm so angry.

You should be angry as well, and by the way, I've watched the Senate debate on this. I watched when the cloture vote failed. I watched Leader Reid talk about it. Only when I went to look it up did I figure out that the Gregg resolution is something we should be willing to vote against. I'm really pissed as well that I was lied to by my own party's Senate Leader.

If we don't hold these people accountable, even in our own little way, who will?

[bigtree]

12. I don't equate anything Reid is doing with Gregg's resolution

He's signed on to the Levin_Warner resolution.

[originalpckelly]

14. Of course, the Levin-Warner resolution would have been passed by now...

if he'd just have let the pukes put up their pathetic resolutions, and then have the Senate Democrats vote against them, and then hold a press conference to explain why they did what they did.

[bigtree]

15. are you blaming Reid for the republicans' obstruction?

[originalpckelly]

16. WOW! Did he send out those Kool-Aid packets in the mail?

Why is it that Senator Reid is unwilling to vote on a NON-BINDING RESOLUTION IN A WAY THAT WOULD SAY HE WAS FOR CUTTING FUNDING? If he's not willing to do it for a non-binding resolution, what makes you think he's going to do it with the actual appropriations?

[bigtree]

17. you are mixing issues. both of which he supports as much as you do

a resolution and cutting funding.

You are just wrong about his intentions, I believe.

The broadside attack on my character was out-of-line.

[originalpckelly]

26. No, he's too chicken to stand up and do the right thing...

just like Daschle was too chicken to stand up to Bush in getting us into Iraq.

[lligrd]

10. Time Was Tenuous???

Heck, the "time is quickly running out" for us to salvage what little Bush hasn't destroyed of our own country. We don't have time to play political games. It is time for the people to demand that Congress do its job and stop the madmen who are willing to destroy the world for their own riches.

[bigtree]

13. whatever. what a petty criticism, to parse 'tenuous'. He's said over and over

that he intends to pursue this through the appropriations process.

[lligrd]

18. Parsing Tenuous Is Hardly My Only Criticism

My point was that we are out of time so tenuous is a bit of an understatement. There is no time for politics left. I like Reid but he and the rest of Congress have to start standing up now.

[bigtree]

20. specifically?

[lligrd]

21. Standing Up To Bush

Get out on the news. Hold up Congress and demand that this war be debated. Do things to make the news and let people know that they are standing up to Bush. Hold public hearings on the lead up to the war, the contracts, outing of CIA agency, Downing Street Memo and the rest of the lies, deceptions, thievery, etc. The evidence is there just for the taking. Investigate, investigate, investigate and don't pass anything this administration asks for until they agree to answer. Specific enough?

[BuyingThyme]

11. Politicians worry about their jobs so

servicemen can worry about their lives.

[lligrd]

19. Sad But True nt

nt

[OneBlueSky]

22. chickenhawks . . . chickenshits . . . they both mean more people will die . . . n/t

.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

23. Thread from yesterday with audio of Russ Feingold talking about this.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x142321

[B Calm]

24. If they had BALLS they would walk out & shut down the government!

They got the majority, granted slim, but still they have no balls.

[originalpckelly]

27. The problem here is that there's no reason for this...

McCain's resolution will not get any significant votes, because he's gone cuckoo-bananas. Gregg's resolution is a violation of a power that even fucktard Dick Cheney admitted Congress had.

[Vinca]

25. I think Harry's being sly as a fox.

The end result is going to be resolutions tacked onto necessary spending bills that will require more (and continuing) debate on Iraq. All the while the Republicans are portrayed as gumming up the works for political gain. Personally, I'm getting so pissed about the whole war, I wish they'd put up a bill to end it now and start bringing troops home today. All the same, I'm cutting Harry some slack at the moment.