Quick, grab your flaming pitch forks! We got us a democrRAT who voted to

[StopTheMorans]

confirm one of *'s nominees!

[jswordy]

1. Uh, yeah, I already posted about Ben Nelson of Nebraska earlier.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=3418147&mesg_id=3418147

[aden_nak]

4. He was also wailing on Dean on the news last night.

[StopTheMorans]

5. well, do you have your pitchfork?

:shrug:

[jswordy]

9. As a low-level Democratic official, I have had my pitchfork awhile now.

:D

[jswordy]

6. The more important vote was to end debate and bring it to the floor...

...for a final vote. Once it hit the floor, everyone knew the Repugs had the votes to get Brown through. There were just 32 votes against ending debate (out of 45 Dems in the Senate).

From the LA Times...

Seven of the 10 Democrats who voted to end debate on Brown were signers of the moderates' pact: Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Sen. Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas, and Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado.

They were joined by three other centrist Democrats in voting to cut off the debate on Brown: Sen. Thomas Carper of Delaware, Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota, and Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida.

So it is more than just one turncoat here.

When Bill Pryor, under whose AG rule I lived here in Alabama, comes up, we will have the same turncoats and maybe even more. He is as objectionable to moderates and liberals who know his record as Brown was.

Confirmation is virtually assured.

[StopTheMorans]

7. so what do you suggest we do with these "turncoats", and how do we

make up their numbers for important votes in which they're on our side? inquiring minds want to know...

[StopTheMorans]

13. so, one cricket says to the other, *chirp*

[Misunderestimator]

17. ...

[jswordy]

15. I have several suggestions, all of which have to do with ...

... Harry Reid and his powers as minority leader. However, unfortunately, Reid's past voting record leaves him very little room to whip his senators into line...he'd actually BE one of the turncoats were he not minority leader. Hence his words have little credibility with the senators. And so my suggestions would be moot.

I meticulously researched the voting records of these folks, as I do the local reps and senators. If you do so yourself, you will likely conclude as I have that we don't need to "make up their numbers for important votes in which they're on our side" because they are rarely on our side.

It is quite a pickle for a liberal or a left-leaning moderate to view this inexorable turn to the right our party is making. It seems to me like the Republicans are a huge rightist planet and we have been caught as a satellite to them by their gravitational pull.

At some point, the need to be an opposing party then will fall away. I'd say for 8 of the 10 names in the LA Times piece, that need is gone now, they are Dem in name only. That means that 8 of 45 D senators are really going the Republican way in the predominant majority of their votes.

When you add in some who were not on that list, like for example Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama (who votes Republican over 80 percent of the time and will likely vote for Alabama's Pryor today), you see that perhaps a third of the 45 Senate folks with D by their name are really cleaving to the GOP side in most votes.

Then you put Reid in charge, with little for a record to stand on in opposition, and we're in a helluva mess.

We really do live in a defacto dictatorship now, with a rubber stamp legislature doing the will of the executive. Way things are going, minus a definitive Demcratic line in the sand stand, I don't see much change coming in '06.

I don't see how Reid's past can provide him the platform to assure unity for any such Dem stand. I of course hope I am wrong.

[StopTheMorans]

20. they vote with us on the important issues very often

and, as an opposition party, we're not going to win a lot of big fights, nor is it in our interest to pick a lot of big fights; choosing the battles to fight is Reid's job, and thus far, I think he's done at least reasonably well. As I said before, how do we replace these Dem's numbers in conservative states if we get rid of them? would you rather just give those 10 senators to the GOP and ensure that they'll never vote for a single dem policy?

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

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

[StopTheMorans]

23. no, but you said we should get rid of Ben Nelson and the other 'turncoats"

did you misspeak, or are you just hiding from your own words under the guise of calling me out on a specific post?

[StopTheMorans]

24. *sounds of chirping*

[jswordy]

26. Oh snore...such a typical response.

[StopTheMorans]

27. are you going to own up to what you've said, or are you going to run from

your own statements all day :shrug:

[Name removed]

28. Deleted message

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

[StopTheMorans]

29. would you care to have a reasonable conversation, or are you going to just

keep throwing around insults :shrug:

[StopTheMorans]

30. still waiting...

[StopTheMorans]

31. i guess this isn't a "discussion" board after all

:shrug:

[tyedyeto]

2. Who?

[Lavender Brown]

3. Whatcha talkin' bout, Willis?

[StopTheMorans]

8. nuthin, just hangin out under this bridge with my friends

[Lavender Brown]

10. Hangin' tough, no doubt

DONNIE! :eyes:

[StopTheMorans]

12. woooo ooooh ooooh OOOOOOOOOH oh

[Lavender Brown]

14. listen everybody if you wanna take a chance

[terrya]

11. I've got me the flaming pitchfork AND the torch!

I'm ready for angry mob time!

[Zuni]

21. I have got marshmallows and hot dogs

to roast with said torches! :bounce:

[JimmyJazz]

16. I don't have a pitchfork. But, I've got these torches which conveniently

convert to bongs when not being used to light the garden path.

[terrya]

18. Those are festive! AND oh, so useful!

[Zuni]

19. oh, those are so covert and handy

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[alittlelark]

25. How about a Tazer? My pitchfork is brand new....

:evilgrin:

[Zuni]

32. I am just bringing a weed whacker

[StopTheMorans]

33. kick

[Name removed]

34. Deleted message

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

[Moderator]

35. locking

This has turned into a flame fest--Please do not do this.