19 posts tagged “democrats”

• In 2004 41.4% of Georgia voters voted for Obama John Kerry. Those voters will go Obama.

• Most of the newly registered will vote Obama. The state Democrats are working hard to register new voters and get them to the polls.
  

• Most independents will vote Obama.

• At least 5% of the GOP will vote for Georgian (Libertarian Party Candidate) Bob Barr or stay home.

• Then there are the Obamacans...Republicans for Obama.
  

It’ll be close. We have our right wingnuts here who want you to believe it can't happen. Who are they trying to fool? Themselves maybe.

There Bush and those Republicans go again. Go after seniors on fixed incomes. Smart move guys. Say goodbye soon.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat, accused Republicans of putting seniors and military families at risk by siding with President Bush against a measure to prevent Medicare cuts.

Durbin, D-Ill., used a Saturday national radio address to call on Republicans to back the bill to stave off a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors.

It passed the House overwhelmingly last week in defiance of Bush's threat to veto it, but it fell just one vote short of the 60 it needed to advance in the Senate, with most Republicans voting "no."

"It's time for the Republican senators who are filibustering this measure to put our seniors and our military families ahead of private insurance companies and let the Senate pass this bill as soon as possible," Durbin said.

Bush and Senate Republicans don't like the bill because it includes offsetting cuts to insurance companies that use Medicare money to offer private health care coverage to about 20 percent of seniors. [AP]

I won't finish that quote, but I am still alive and often kicking. It was very nice that Aput wrote me to let me know that folks were a bit worried by my absence and may have lost me since I changed my blog name for the US election (I was formerly Matthew 25).

My work is seriously busy, I am getting out of the house more on weekends, and have joined a gym after a three-year absence. I do enjoy blogging and do plan on continuing this blog, probably under a new name after the election (or before, if Hillary is nominated). I am one of those very strong Obama supporters who realizes that even if Hillary wins the nomination, she'll be far better as President than four more years of this Republican nightmare.

I know some of us get a bit crazy when the Republican minority in the Senate blocks legislation with mere threats of a filibuster. However, the filibuster has proven itself to both parties as a valuable tool.

In this case, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) was forced by Reid to actually filibuster in the Senate. Oh Reid will generally go ahead and cave to the Republicans' threat of one, but let one of his own dare disagree with the Democratic leadership, and he will have to actually hold the floor of the Senate.

Now, Feinstein's amendment throws another wrench into Reid's careful plans. Go get him.

Why Did Reid Pull the Telecom Bill? - The Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-ha...

...the Post's rather superficial analysis of the situation also leaves out the subject of the Feinstein Amendment -- and that may have been a poison pill which split the Senate into three factions and made the passage of a bill that Bush would not veto impossible. Since Reid is very much committed to passing a bill that will be in place when the old FISA bill sunsets on February 1, that probably posed a real problem for him. Feinstein said she'd have a tough time voting for immunity without her amendment, and according to Marcy, it appears that this amendment "would have required the FISA Court to review the authorizations the telecoms received, to see whether they were legal, before the telecoms got immunity. If the FISA Court determined that those authorizations were not adequate under the law, then the telecoms would not get immunity." This seems to have damn near sent Orrin Hatch into apoplexy, who -- after he got done sputtering about blogs with an "irrational fear of government" (a little Ron Paul-itis, perhaps?) -- said that Feinstein's amendment might be "a poison pill for him -- and presumably the other Republicans following Dick Cheney's orders dutifully."

Have been busy today, so am running behind on this story. Congratulations to Senator Dodd for at least stopping the bad bill until after the holidays. This bill would make allow telecoms who violated your rights and the law to escape justice. So the lesson here is if you have lots of money and lots of influence, you can buy both political parties, but not Senator Dodd. Thanks Senator for standing tall.

Dodd Filibuster Threat Wins; Spying Bill Postponed to Next Year - Wired.com

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007...

Connecticut senator Christopher Dodd's threatened filibuster of a bill giving immunity to telecoms that helped the government spy on Americans unexpectedly carried the day Monday, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid decided to postpone the vote on the measure until after the winter break. The announcement was an unexpected victory for civil liberties groups, whose anti-immunity fortunes looked grim this morning as the Senate looked primed to pass an expansive spying bill that would free telecoms like AT&T and Verizon from privacy lawsuits.

I hope Dodd can block this bill, which would give immunity to telecoms for crimes they may have (probably did) committed against American citizens. Chris Dodd is a true patriot in trying to block this bi-partisan action.

Dodd's Anti-Spying Immunity Filibuster Fizzles, But He Fights On - Wired.com

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007...

Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Connecticut) promised to filibuster a bill that would have given amnesty to the telecoms that helped the government spy on Americans without getting court warrants. But Dodd's threat proved empty did not materialize earlier today after Senate voted 75-16 for cloture on the introduction of the Intelligence committee bill, limiting debate on the bill to 30 hours. 60 votes would have been enough to stop any move to filibuster the bill. UPDATE: A Dodd campaign spokesman writes in to say that Dodd plans to filibuster the bill, when and if, the Senate rejects his amendment to strip immunity from the bill. Given that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) laid the groundwork so that any amendment requires 60 votes, the immunity stripping is likely to fail. After that Dodd would need to be given time to speak and then attempt to hold the floor. There are procedural maneuvers that could stop his filibuster, but THREAT LEVEL is waiting to learn more about which arcane Senate rules would be in effect. A Dodd spokesman says that after the first amendments is voted on (Dodd's), then once he is given time, he can speak for as long as he can. /UPDATE

The Democrats are trying to keep the Alternative Minimum Tax from taxing more middle class taxpayers. The Democrats promised that they would not propose programs they could not pay for due to the huge national deficit. Yet the Republicans in the Senate voted in lock step to oppose this measure because the Democrats want to replace the loss of revenue by ending tax breaks for private equity funds, hedge funds, and other partnerships. Of course, these rich dudes are part of the GOP base. Hedge fund managers are known to get bonuses in the hundreds of millions.

Passing this bill is urgent as the IRS has to reprogram its computers for the next tax year. The programming has to be tested and certified. Delaying this bill will only increase the cost of beauracracy and to what end? If the bill does not pass at all, then the Republicans will be responsible for larger tax bills facing the middle class at a time of economic recession. That's the Christmas spirit.

Republicans Block Middle Class Tax Relief in Senate - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/06/was...

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican minority leader, said the rhetoric and maneuvering of recent days show that Democrats are not serious about protecting middle-class taxpayers unless “they raise taxes on a lot of other Americans.” But Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic majority leader, said common sense dictates that if middle-class taxpayers are indeed to be spared the effects of the alternative minimum tax, the lost revenue must be made up elsewhere. “Isn’t that what the American people want?” he said just before the vote....

I have changed to the new Democratic theme. While in the past, I have often voted third party or write-in, the current administration has firmly driven me to the Democratic Party. I acknowledge all the shortcomings of the Democrats, but it is the only viable alternative to the party in power. I will likely keep this theme through the 2008 election.