It is easy to support a filibuster you know is not going to happen.

[blueinindiana]

Kerry and others will be vocal about a filibuster but at the end of the day they will come up short and they know this. Kerry and Clinton are just playing to their base. Like many votes in government they know the outcome before the vote is ever cast.

[Mutley]

Do their reasons even matter?

If we can get enough Democrats to "play to their base" then we get a filibuster.

[Armstead]

1. So? They need to "play to their base" more often

I don't care what motivates a politician to do the right thing.

[paulk]

2. it's easy to post on internet message boards

anonymously.


what's your point?

what's wrong with plsying to the base?

[bluestateguy]

9. Oh, and don't forget signing online petitions

THAT's real grass roots activism that REALLY gets the attention of people in power.

[uppityperson]

3. And? Should they not do this?

[Inland]

4. I call bullshit.

How is it easier? The nutbags who back Alito aren't going to somehow feel better about Clinton because the filibuster didn't happen.

She's for the filibuster because she's against Alito.

I know that its fashionable to hate democrats first, but give it a rest.

[papau]

43. I agree - 53 GOP votes plus 7 Dem votes means they have the 60

The 52 Republicans with statements supporting closure added Olympia Snowe today, and we have the 7 Dems Byrd of West Virginia, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, Ken Salazar of Colorado and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota all on record, at this point.

I recommend these folks as the ones to get pissed at.

[0007]

5. Clam up!

[Vinnie From Indy]

6. Soooooo what's your point?

Are you advocating that they just go away and say nothing? Roll over and play dead? I am confused.

[mtnsnake]

7. hahaha!! I suppose you'd be happier if they didn't support a filibuster

:rofl:

[cali]

8. Agree.

and now for the mindless vitriol. So much for tolerance of minority views.

[blueinindiana]

19. People bash Kerry and Clinton on here all the time.

Now the one time they act like Democrats that somehow erases their prior votes or statements.



I doubt very seriously that either Clinton or Kerry would be for filibuster if they where not up for reelection.

[blm]

38. Kerry didn't want to be the one leading on this - Kennedy needed him

because no one else was stepping up, and Kennedy was battered during the hearings and couldn't do it alone.

Try seeing the big picture, instead of spreading your narrow, uninformed taunts that have no basis in reality.

Kerry has an over 20 ur record in the Senate and has one of the best Dem ratings of any Dem legislator.

Who feeds you your disinfo?

[blueinindiana]

20. People bash Kerry and Clinton on here all the time.

Now the one time they act like Democrats that somehow erases their prior votes or statements.



I doubt very seriously that either Clinton or Kerry would be for filibuster if they where not up for reelection.

[WilliamPitt]

10. It's even easier to snark from the sidelines

apparently.

[raysr]

13. That's exactly what I was

thinking, call for a fill. knowing it won't happen and be a hero to the base.

[Socktown]

11. You can't just fight the battles you know you'll win

It's a leaders job to step into the ring even when they know they'll likely be knocked flat on their ass. Kerry is turning up the heat on the Bush administration slowly but surely. Maybe he's "playing to his base". Hell, I'm part of his base...and I like it when he plays to me. You go, John. And if you run for President again on '08 you'll have my vote again. Maybe this time when you win you can serve your four year term in the White House instead of the Senate.

[helderheid]

14. Socktown, let me be the first to welcome you to DU!

:hi: :yourock:

[Mnemosyne]

28. Let me welcome you second Socktown!

I love the comment in your profile! Stay safe! :rofl:

:hi:

In peace and hope,
V

[Blue_In_AK]

40. Me too

Love your post. :hi:

[jsamuel]

12. That is quite a charge. You are suggesting that there isn't a real reason

to filibuster?

I am tired of this view, you are spewing RW talking points that Dems don't ever do anything for principles.

Shame on you.

[RaleighNCDUer]

15. Filibuster support is the line in the sand.

We've been too easy on dems who have played along with the administration. Any senator who does not support the filibuster should know that he's on notice - we will put up challengers and take their seats, give them to democrats who will support us.

As one of the few good republicans once said, a house divided against itself cannot long stand. The filibuster vote should be the blueprint upon which a new democratic party is based.

[dl5192]

22. What planet are you from???

That's not how most Democrats feel! If it was, there would be a filibuster. Your threats are totally empty.

[RaleighNCDUer]

39. Then why is there already a challenge for a long-standing

senator from Connecticut? How long has it been since someone has made a play for Lieberman's seat?

The base is pissed. The sooner the fence-sitters realize it, the safer they'll be.

Damn right, they are playing to the base. It's those who don't who need to watch their behinds.

[mattclearing]

16. Not necessarily.

They may yet be working behind the scenes to bring people in line. This is a terribly cynical accusation to make.

If Tom DeLay can get votes for something that essentially has been defeated after the voting clock has expired, then I imagine it is possible to get this filibuster sustained.

[dl5192]

17. He's right...

I think what the OP was saying is that they didn't come out and call for a filibuster until there was no political risk in doing so. Why didn't Senators Kerry, Clinton, Kennedy, etc. call for blocking this guy earlier in the process? Because there would have been consequences. Now, they can call for a filibuster that they KNOW cannot happen and make the ultra-left feel like someone is standing up for them.

It's a bit like showing up to a fight after it's already over. These guys are gutless.

[uppityperson]

30. damned if you don't, damned if you do. Damn.

[blm]

18. BULL - Kerry didn't want to do this - he wasn't even supposed to be in the

country.

No one was stepping up to join Kennedy on this and Kennedy needed someone else in the battle as he had just gotten battered during the hearings.

This filibuster is being used against Kerry and even Dems and Dem pundits will crap on him for it.

[saracat]

21. Right. So Kery is jeopordising any standing he might have left

to pander to his base? You know what? Pander away. At least he is making an effort, which is more than the DLC type others are doing. Kerry is keeping his promise something many of the others could not conceive of.

[Blaukraut]

23. isn't that what the base has been screaming

about? Well, here it is. It's not Kerry's fault that the other Dems are spineless jellyfish and that Reid fucked up by not rallying the troops. Instead of ascribing an ulterior motive to those Senators who are willing to stick out their necks for us, why can't people be happy about that and help by calling those who are on the fence?
If we do not have Kerry's and Kennedy's backs in this, why should they ever have ours again in the future?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

24. Politicians posing? Perish the thought.

We all know that their every word and deed is based on priniples, ideals, and steadfast devotion to the people of the nation.

They would never stoop to playing politics and trying to have it both ways in their never-ending search for votes and brib..er, campaign contributions.

[mzmolly]

25. Wow, a new poster with flame bait!

Ah, Welcome? :eyes:

[helderheid]

29. I thought the same thing and made appropriate alerts :)

[cry baby]

26. Yeah, they need to play to their base.

But, if one is not so cynical, one could imagine that they are doing this because it's the right thing to do - win or lose.

You cannot win if you don't play the game.

[tatertop]

27. You don't know that to be true

The question we should be asking is,
why won't he get the support he needs?

[Blue_In_AK]

31. So what do you suggest?

Roll over and play dead?

[kid a]

32. I agree - recommended!

[karynnj]

33. This is pretty illogical

Kerry knows what the press is like - 2004 taught him that the press will protect Bush and show opponents in the worse possible light. If Kerry didn't care, he would simply give the excellent speech he gave on Wednesday, vote "no" and complain when asked about Alito that the minority leader or someone on the judiciary committee should have tried to marshall a filibuster.

He went out of his way to do this. The result - look at today's NYT - the description of Kerry suggests that he is out of control and that the "Democratic leaders" are worried about the damage he can cause. Note they don't even credit the last nominee as a party leader. (Note: this phenomena is not limited to Kerry - they are equally dismissive of that demented angry man, Gore.)

Kerry could have kept the plans he had - staying with Teresa in Switzerland and going on to give a speech in a prestigous series in Ireland. Seeing that he spent most of the first 2 weeks of this month on a gruelling ME trip, it would have almost been a pleasant vacation. He came back to fight this because he thinks it's the right thing to do.

[karynnj]

34. This is pretty illogical

Kerry knows what the press is like - 2004 taught him that the press will protect Bush and show opponents in the worse possible light. If Kerry didn't care, he would simply give the excellent speech he gave on Wednesday, vote "no" and complain when asked about Alito that the minority leader or someone on the judiciary committee should have tried to marshall a filibuster.

He went out of his way to do this. The result - look at today's NYT - the description of Kerry suggests that he is out of control and that the "Democratic leaders" are worried about the damage he can cause. Note they don't even credit the last nominee as a party leader. (Note: this phenomena is not limited to Kerry - they are equally dismissive of that demented angry man, Gore.)

Kerry could have kept the plans he had - staying with Teresa in Switzerland and going on to give a speech in a prestigous series in Ireland. Seeing that he spent most of the first 2 weeks of this month on a gruelling ME trip, it would have almost been a pleasant vacation. He came back to fight this because he thinks it's the right thing to do.

[Mass]

35. Rather than blasting Kerry, Kennedy, Clinton, Boxer, Feingold. Stabenow

Durbin, who all have tried to get the caucus agree on a filibuster throughout the last week... , may be you can call your senator and ask him what he is going to vote.

Bayh is one the few Democratic Senator that has still not announced whether he will support Alito or not. He still has doubt?

AS for my senators, I am happy they support this filibuster. My only regret is that no more senators do the same thing.

[enigami]

36. *..................

:popcorn:

[LittleClarkie]

37. So now Kerry can predict the future?

Your logic makes no sense.

If it was certain that we WOULD have a fillibuster, there would be no reason to call for it and lead the fight to get it. The point of calling for a fillibuster is so that we can all put pressure on our Senators so that maybe, just maybe we can GET them to vote for the fillibuster, or at least let them know that we are watching them very, very closely.

We may not have the votes now, but the point of the fight is to see if we can get them. Nothing is gained unless we try.

The fat lady ain't sung yet. Now if you're done pissing in our Wheaties, there's work to be done.

[BlueIris]

41. Welcome to DU. Nice logic. Nothing about what Kerry is doing is "easy"

for him, which you would know if you were using your eyes, brain, even one piece of your heart or possessed passable reasoning skills. He took a major risk here and he did it for YOU. Jesus H. Christ. I'm gone from the site for twelve hours and the dipshit whiny assholes return in force. I feel sorry for you, that you believe your own stories.

[spanone]

42. Playing to their base. So, what would you like them to do?

Play to Bushs* base? I disagree 150%. If Kerry is ONLY positioning himself for a run in 2008, I'm for it. Fuck the republicans. Would you prefer they win? You prefer that the democrats just shut the fuck up? Every word is an uphill battle when you're the MINORITY. I want Kerry to be the biggest THORN IN BILL FRISTS ASS, CONSTANTLY, CONTINUALLY, DAY & NIGHT.

[windbreeze]

44. AND....your point is WHAT??

Perhaps they are checking to see how many of their fellow DEMOCRATS are awake...and have the brains to realize how serious this vote/filibuster really is...

Last time I checked...this site is called "Democratic Underground".... Pro-Democrat in other words, right??...

No one knows anything for sure...until it's a done deal...

We're being played, you say...guess that's possible, but I have to live with ME..and my conscience tells me, Alito is a bad man for the SC and for our Democracy, so I will do what I feel I have to, in order to convince our Senators to FILIBUSTER....and when all is said and done....they will have to face not only their conscience, but their fellow Dems as well...perhaps they are thinking about their next run at election...and perhaps they should be...

I say, let's fire the first shot in this revolution, right across the bow of the current criminal ship of state that's trying to steal what's left of our Democracy...FILIBUSTER ALITO...
windbreeze

[Avalux]

45. Locking.

The fun has gone on long enough. Please review the DU rules about inflammatory posts.