New York Times: Is this sentence true at all ?

[steve2470]

<snip>
The challenge cast a spotlight on divisions among Democrats, with party leaders and many in the rank and file distancing themselves from the effort, while black and liberal lawmakers embraced it.

<snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/07/politics/07elect.html?pagewanted=all

[BrklynLiberal]

1. I would say yes...

[RaulVB]

2. Well, sure is a divide...

Between the "Times" and journalistic ethics!

[pgh_dem]

3. hard to call what reid did 'distancing'

while he didn't vote to throw out the ohio electoral votes, he was certainly in support of electoral reform based on the allegations raised by Boxer/Tubbs-Jones.
Guess the 'liberal' media can now explain that Harry Reid isn't *reallly* a party leader, just the Minority Lea- um, guy.

[intheflow]

4. Yeah, I think this is true.

I was shocked just watching bits and pieces on the evening news last night at how racially divided the challenegers were--with the exception of Boxer, of course.

Don't know the races of most of the Representatives that stood, thogh, so maybe I have a skewed view.

Still, considering that the problems in Ohio and elsewhere targeted heavily minority areas and thesplit between peole even here at DU, I have to say the NYT is right on the money with this sentence.

[noamnety]

5. The dems all agreed on the basics

There was disenfranchisement, there was unauditable voting, there were irregularities that need fixing.

They didn't all agree this was the time to address it, but that's a minor issue of timing.

[sandnsea]

6. Reid, Clinton, who else?

The party leaders spoke as well yesterday. This is just another case of the media creating dissention in the party and too many idiots buying right into it.

[rqstnnlitnmnt]

8. lautenberg, kennedy, n/t

[Kota]

7. It would seem like that is what happened among our elected

Dems. I don't know that the democrats are divided.

[KittyWampus]

9. Not Really, All Democrats Understand The Need For Election Reform

we have to make sure they know just how far the reform has to go.

[Sanity Claws]

10. Another quote from the article

"I think we're seeing a political realignment going on," David Cobb, the Green presidential candidate, said at a rally across the street from the White House. "The rank and file of the Democratic Party are far more progressive than the corporatist leaders of the party."

I think this hit the nail on the head.

[sandnsea]

12. self-serving propaganda

Cobb has a political agenda just like any other politician.

[gumby]

11. Typical racism

"party leaders" and "rank and file" = "normal" Democrats

"black and liberal lawmakers" = radicals

If you don't understand that the demonization of l i b e r a l has been based upon b l a c k, you haven't been paying attention.

[Helga Scow Stern]

13. Add to that "loony left" or "X-file wing of dems"= disenfranchised voters

and the picture becomes even clearer. I'm going to use this as a talking point in the letters I send to the Rethugs, which I will forward to the media.

[gumby]

19. Feel like spamming this.... but probably really old news...

OK... "Lone Gunman" was a spin-off of "X-Files."

So, if you haven't, you gotta see this clip from LG because it will PROVE that those labeled as tin-foil-hated-X-Filers are really ABOVE the curve.http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/december2004/171204haglund.htm

(the more I listen to Alex Jones.... well...???)

[jahyarain]

14. Yes, it's true. But what was really proven yesterday

that no one seems get is there is only one Democratic Senator who deserves to be there. As i've said before (and that little bitch DeLay proved, again) the GOP says shut up or scolds the Dems like they were whiny children, and the Dems cower. We've got to do something here, folks.

[loudsue]

15. Yep, we've got a LOT of work to do.....starting w/ the primaries in 2006

Provided we get election reform on the voting machines prior to that, so that our votes count!

:kick::kick::kick:

[jahyarain]

17. The first thing we need to do NOW

is get a bill together stating "the electorial college is a failure. One man/woman, one vote." We wouldn't even be in this horrific mess if we used the popular vote (i know everyone knows this, but nothing has been done, so, i'll say it again).

[loudsue]

18. No, the FIRST thing we need to do NOW is get corporations OUT of

our elections. What good will "one man/woman, one vote" do if the MACHINES those votes are counted with, are all in the hands of the neocons?

Clear up the machine counting/certification procedures, and have spot audits all across the country, WITH PAPER BALLOTS, and THEN we can worry about the elctoral college.

:kick::kick:

[Lauri]

16. I like this one better...

Democrats are more united than Republicans on base issues. But can progressives mount an effective opposition to the Rove machine?

By Eleanor Clift

Jan. 7 - In the same week CNN’s “Crossfire” went off the air, the sparring shifted to the Capitol with Democrats forcing a historic debate over the 2004 election returns. Compare that to four years ago, when every Democratic senator sat silently as members of the Congressional Black Caucus challenged the voting results. Without a single senator to vouch for them, the complaint went unheeded and Vice President Al Gore certified an election everybody knew was rife with irregularities.

California Sen. Barbara Boxer broke the logjam this time and forced the debate, defying conventional wisdom, which said the Democrats didn’t want to appear sore losers and it was time to move on. Boxer was the lone voice to decertify the election when the roll call was taken, but Democrats got two hours of debate in the Senate and House to vent their displeasure with the way the election was conducted. It wasn’t about John Kerry losing; it was about the voters in Ohio and not having enough voting machines, and making people wait in line for seven hours.

You don’t have to believe in conspiracy theories to condemn what happened in Ohio. Sen. Hillary Clinton pointed out that while we’re the oldest democracy, India is the largest democracy. Using electronic voting machines, 550 million people went to the polls in India, “threw out the existing government, and they did it with integrity.” In America, when we go to the ATM or buy a lottery ticket, paper backup is routine. Yet when Clinton and Florida Sen. Bob Graham cosponsored a bill that would have required a verifiable paper audit for voting machines, the GOP leadership wouldn’t give them a hearing.

The part about throwing out the existing government is wishful thinking, but the sentiments holding the Democrats together this week are real. The vote challenge this week spoke to their base: two thirds of African-Americans think the election was unfair while only 27 percent of the broader population takes that position. Democrats are far more united than Republicans, who are fighting among themselves over the Iraq war, Social Security and immigration reform. Alberto Gonzales, Bush’s nominee for attorney general, will almost surely win confirmation, but the Democrats are using the opportunity of the Senate committee hearings to extend the debate about important issues like the administration’s role in greenlighting abuse of Iraqi prisoners and detainees suspected of Al Qaeda ties.

It’s not about the vote total; it’s about laying down some markers. If the new management at CNN is right that the public is tired of "Crossfire"-style combat, then the new Democratic leader, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, is perfectly positioned. "He looks like an accountant who teaches Sunday school, but he is firm in his principles,” says a Clinton adviser. A Mormon convert who opposes abortion rights, Reid is an unlikely champion for the party, but Democrats should get some credit for tolerating a leader who is pro-life. It’s impossible to imagine the Republicans choosing a congressional leader who supports reproductive rights.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6799311/site/newsweek/

There is a 2nd page to this

[formernaderite]

20. It's called throwing us a bone....

...now shut your mouth and gnaw.

[chrisclub]

21. Divide and conquer, typical Rove tactic.

Do NOT underestimate Rove.

Unless proven otherwise, I believe Rove controls the majority of the media, as well the voting machine companies, and possible the exit poll companies as well.