Joe Lieberman has a 100% favorable NARAL rating and we know Stevens & Ginsburg are retiring.

[LynneSin]

http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/choice-action-center/in-congress/congressional-record-on-choice/connecticut.html

There's alot we don't know with what this vote is all about but to blame the senate dems is silly since it was Obama that asked us to take the high road with Lieberman.

It's pretty much a done deal that Stevens & Ginsburg, two of the most liberal supreme court justices, will be retiring once Obama takes office. And we already know that Sen Kyl (R of course) has told us he plans on filibustering.

I can't promise you anything when it comes to Lieberman but I do know this - we are going to need Lieberman's vote if we want to get suitable judges to replace Ginsburg and Stevens. And Lieberman's record for choice has been solid throughout the years. Joe is not on the Judiciary committee so we won't have a problem with him there.

But I'll say this much and I'll deal with the 'I told you so' if I'm wrong. If Lieberman supports us getting Stevens and Ginsburg replaced with the type of judges that would make us all proud, then what has happened today is worth it's weight in gold.

Let's hope this somehow works out.

[Parche]

1. You Could Be Right

[LynneSin]

2. I could be wrong

and can we leave the jokes to the lounge please

[Parche]

7. what jokes?

:shrug: :hi:

[KansDem]

3. Good observation!

I had "It's the Supreme Court, Stupid" taped to the wall above my computer all during the campaign season. I was really sweating a McC/P win and what they would do to the Supreme Court. But you make perfect sense regarding the retaining of Lieberman.

[monmouth]

4. A good way to look at it, I feel better now, thank you. Now to the SOS thing....n/t

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. Those are good thoughts, my dear LynneSin...

I hope you're right...

:(

[LynneSin]

6. well I'm not holding it past me that I could be wrong

But those nominations are going to come pretty quick. Stevens is almost 88 and ready to go. Thank goodness he's held on as long as he has.

[Idealism]

8. Kind of ironic that Tim Mahoney's score is 100% on women's rights

[question everything]

9. Not only that. Lieberman always has been right of center

certainly right of DUers.

It was only when Al Gore selected him as a running mate - partly because Lieberman publicly chastised Bill Clinton about Monica - that everyone noticed him.

He has not changed, he just got noticed more.

Thankfully, the Senators and Obama do not follow DU directives.

Oh, and Obama campaigned for him during the primaries in CT. And he was elected by the voters of CT, preferring him to the Democratic candidate.

[LisaM]

10. Agreed. Choice is one of my very top issues

although it was somewhat disregarded this election cycle (I thought) and now we're going to have a president who thinks women should prayerfully consult with their pastors (!!!) before having an abortion, we will need all the pro-choice votes we can get. We need to cement this issue down.

Hillary, Gore, and Kerry were not blameless on this either. If I ever hear someone say they think abortion should be "safe, legal, and rare" one more time, it will be too soon. I wish our politicians would quite demonizing abortion. That's borrowing a meme from the so-called moral majority.

[StreetKnowledge]

11. We Give Lieberman a Chance to Redeem himself?

Joe, most of us already want your head on a platter, your balls in the freezer and your ass in Leavenworth. Back us up on this, and you'll go some way towards having us not hate your rotten guts.

[LynneSin]

12. This isn't Bush in the white house - this is a whole new world

It'll be intersting to see what happens

[JuniperLea]

13. I'm not sure where all the surprise is coming from

Obama promised his administration would reach across the aisle, and everything he's done so far looks like travel on the high road to me. He promised change, and that's what he's doing. He's giving everyone a chance to have a say. That said, I expect he will have zero patience for anyone who tries partisan shenanigans from either side. I'm not ready to throw the towel in on him just yet. I'd like to see this team in action first before I come to any conclusions.

[misanthrope]

14. Lieberman already has the dagger in hand...

...I expect him to swing toward Obama's back some more before long.

[LiberalFighter]

15. Step on his throat to remind the bastard that Obama owns his ass.

[Gold Metal Flake]

16. You are going to "count" on Lieberman?

Fool!

[LynneSin]

17. Nope - not at all

But who are the real fools? Obama made a campaign promise to end this partisan bickering and bring civility back to DC. He showed the first signs of doing this by saving Lieberman's ass - which is why the dems overwhelmingly voted to return in back to his committee seat. Wouldn't Obama look foolish to break his first campaign promise by insisting Lieberman be dumped?

And as for counting on Lieberman - hell, at least we know what Lieberman is all about. When Ginsberg and Stevens replacements come up for vote, Lieberman is hardly my worry because the bar is so lowly placed for him he can only go up. People were raving about this "We have 60 we're filibuster proof" mantra and kept forgetting that 60 is not a filibuster guarantee. And even if Lieberman was lockstep in the minds and hearts of all DUers we still have no guarantee that someone like the Nelsons of NE and FL or Mark Pryor or hell, even my own senator Tom Carper might not go up against us.

There is no point that we will find a congress where we are 100% happy with all the members. We have, right now, 55 guaranteed democratic senators along with 1 who is very committed to us (Sanders). We have a chance of picking up 3 more - but we're still emotional & political cutters here that keep hurting ourselves even when we have so much wonderful going on for us.