AP: Feingold to Democrats: Stand Up to Bush

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060509/ap_on_go_co/feingold_iraq



Amen to that! If Democrats don't challenge the repukes, what's to make voters want to change? I know all the horrible crap the repukes do, but some voters need to see the Dems challenging the repukes. After seeing the thread on Gore possibly wanting to run, I'd love him of course, but until that's more than just speculation, Feingold is my guy! :patriot:

To reply to this and give it a K&R!

Feingold is dead on it!

He is on his knees

There are still so many people that say stuff like,"Bush won last time but we'll get them this time,"


HE DID NOT WIN, they did not win!

Chimp shits on the pillow at 1600 Pennsylvania Av.

He "won."

:shrug:

electronic election fraud? no biggee
immoral wars based on lies? cool
fascist supreme court judges? sure
Vice presidents who shoot people in the face? accidents will happen
how bout a general in charge of the civilian CIA? why not

Congratulations, Mr. Feingold
I think you ought to challenge the democrats to do more than challenge the bush gang on Iraq.
I think you ought to demand the democrats be a real opposition party across the board.
And I believe you will eventually do that if you have not already.

and I wish Hillary Clinton would stopping trying to pimp me for money for her New York campaign when
she is more than 3000 miles from where I live.


Msongs
www.msongs.com
batik & digital art
mugs and shirts

can stand up to bin Laden?

No frickin' kidding.

It would be THE answer to shut up all the people who, understandably, say the Dems don't stand for anything. That's because our guys have been so cowed and intimidated by the bullies that they haven't dared to stick their necks out.

One of the very few things bush has ever said that DID make sense and have some credibility was this: "You may not agree with me, but you know where I stand." Translation: Not wishy-washy. Americans don't like wishy-washy. And unfortunately, in an attempt to go along or be patriotic or be anti-terrorist and not a wimp (remember how that stung bush senior - AND resonated with a LOT of voters?), they did not offer much of any opposition or challenge or rebuttal. They were, early-on in fact, being bombarded with hate mail, threatening or nasty emails, sometimes up to and including death threats. Some of them had their privacy violated by these shitty people - who would put photos of their homes, their addresses, phone numbers, and work information ON THE INTERNET in a tacit endorsement of "wanna do something about it?" Just ask Michael Moore about that. Even congresspeople with good progressive credentials and/or truly open minds like Fortney "Pete" Stark of Northern California reported going back home during a Congressional break and holding town hall meetings and hearing all kinds of shit from constituents freshly brainwashed by the opportunistic infections in the White House who were force-feeding their fearmongering to all of America 24/7 after September 11th. If Pete Stark can be intimidated, you KNOW it was bad. I mean, look at bigger names, even. People of honor like John Kerry and yes, Barbara Boxer, and others who were serious, back then, about giving bush their support and the benefit of the doubt. After all, it was a time of national crisis. It was enabled by the media in two ways - those who only covered the hand-outs and the echo chamber crowd yammering on talk radio about it around the clock - with no counterbalance from anyone on the left. And if few people from the left get any media attention, that's less of an opportunity for any of them to become better known and start building higher profiles for more overall national prominence. It's understandable. But things change.

It's one thing when it's in the immediate months after a colossal crisis like September 11th, and you just might be a little shell-shocked. Remember, Pearl Harbor was the last time any assaultive event was brought TO America. It wasn't on the continental U.S. and it was way out in the ocean, hours away by air. And that was years before Hawaii even became a state. We're not used to having a calamity of this magnitude, a MAN-MADE calamity of this magnitude, hit us HERE, and straight in the face.

It's one thing when you do NOT have all the facts - for any number of reasons, either because nobody paid attention or opposing voices weren't given decent public forums in which to be heard, or because people were to scared to become whistle-blowers, or maybe they hadn't had a belly-full yet and weren't very upset about it. Some of this stuff just started coming out recently in the mainstream media.

It's one thing when, to capitalize on the aforementioned crisis, the reaction from the highest quarters in the land was to boil the whole damn thing down into a simplistic, no-nuance, cut-'n'-dried, black-or-white manifesto: "you're either with us or you're against us." Easily sold, too, because the salesman-in-chief is famed for his own grossly simplistic mind.

But things change.

And if they're still capitulating NOW, when we know SO much more that debunks everything they've said and lied about and insinuated and threatened, and so much sneaky shit has been busted open all over the republi-CON landscape, then I'd say they're pretty worthless. And I don't want to hear excuses about how we now have to start pandering to the lowest common denominator in hopes of gaining more votes, like Hillary seems to be doing these days. Dammit, our guys need to STAND FOR SOMETHING. And by NOW, we have PLENTY that's favorable and credible and genuinely in line with the majority of Americans (check the polls, especially the breakdowns on issues). People are CRYING for someone from our side to step forward and stand, tall and strong, for something. And say so flat out. Speak some of the simplistic language, rather than a "I voted for the 87 billion before I voted against it" detour. Especially NOW, the tides have turned. A LOT of people are waking up. The current is flowing along with us now - we're not fighting upstream anymore. The momentum is ours. And if they don't seize that, Feingold will be proven correct again as far as our results this November and in November 2008.

This is the time to REVITALIZE and SHOW OFF our backbone. America wants leadership. Let's lead! How can we be the opposition party if there's no opposition? I want to see some opposition. The rubber-stamping should be left to republi-CONS only, and THAT is something that needs to be said, also.

And remember this, too: there are undoubtedly many more who aren't yet sure it's okay to distrust the president because they're just not used to doing it anymore. They've heard and seen bush get the kid-glove treatment and the HUGE defensive armies he has - keeping all attacks from touching him. I'll bet these stirrings are already present in their hearts, too, but they're afraid to say so - they might be shouted down, too. All they need is the validation of their own feelings because they're hearing those same feelings from others all over the place. It sure worked for limbaugh and the rest of the hate radio crowd - gave voice and attention to deep inner stirrings and feelings that you didn't think anybody else shared - especially (for them) some dirty-little-secret feelings like intolerance and racism and the rest. I think one of the reasons why we're starting to hear more public questioning and more reporting of more stuff you know the White House doesn't want or doesn't like or doesn't want you to know about is simply because more people ARE talking about it. Whether they're in the op-ed pages or on the air or in line at the movies or the checkout counter or the coffee bar. It breeds on itself and gains momentum and soon becomes the prevailing thing. Things change. One would hope our Dems can, too.

Being spineless and mute and acquiescent is SO yesterday.

K & R :kick:

Now, can you urge your colleagues on the hill to come out of their foxholes, as well.

It would give Americans more courage, gain tons of respect and rally everyone because just about everyone I know is waiting for strength in leadership, and getting us out of the horrible mess * got us in.

While there is truth to power, there is power in numbers, too.

to start.

this bill needs to stop, if not..why do those who are barely holding on to their healthcare coverage have to vote? Healthcare is the issue that keeps me and others I know voting!

Feingold gets it, I hope others are listening because our party doesn't have long before it can only be found in history books. Dean has fallen off my list of primary candidates..Feingold, Kerry, Gore, and Bayh. If Democrats don't stop the Enzi bill, don't win back Congress, or are too afraid to criticize Bush this year..we may not have a party in 08!

Do you know what time it will be on? I hope Feingold indeed filabusters!

Today's vote came around 1 pm eastern. Since I am in Cali. I will be up before 7 to start watching, may have to miss my workout for this. Hope it just gets a defeat on the cloture vote and I can breath then. I will post a time as soon as I know it.

Bush is in the White House and GOP controls both houses of Congress. Ergo, we lost. Did they cheat? Certainly. But they still won. Despite the hoary saying, cheaters almost always win when the other side plays by the rules.

and your right. We lost. And if other weak-kneed Dems would join Russ in calling for election reform, we might be able to do something about the "cheating" part.

...most are probably waiting for permission and instructions from their corporate financiers...

at crucial times?

When Kerry was the first one hitting Bush on Tora Bora, why didn't Feingold back him up?

When Kerry called for Rumsfeld to be fired in 2003 and 2004, did Feingold help that effort?

When Kerry asked the senators to sign his letter of inquiry letter to investigate the Downing Street Memos, did Feingold sign on - Intel Committee Dems were CRUCIAL to that effort succeeding or not - where was Feingold?

When Kerry and Kennedy BEGGED other Dems to lead the filibuster of Alito, did Feingold jump in to lead it after the Judiciary Committee hearings he participated in? Or was Kerry who was NOT on the judiciary committee and scheduled to be in Europe for his own committee duties forced to fill that void?

Seems to me that Feingold CHERRY-PICKS - and his crack about terror is pure BULLSHIT. As if HE is serious about fighting terrorism and Kerry wasn't. Ever READ the 1997 book The New War, Senator? It would have helped if you and the other senators had read it BEFORE 9-11.


Listen, I don't WANT to pick on Feingold here, but, really, he and many here are forgetting how often Russ, himself, refused to follow when it was the right and NEEDED thing to do. And at a time when it would have made the most difference.

And, I wasn't crazy about him saying that he and McCain are always on their own and that he'd be alone if McCain wasn't in the senate. That's pure BS to tap into the media darling portrayal of two lone wolf mavericks.

Damn, it's been so long since we've seen one, I thought they were all extinct! Glad to see there's one person left who understands that the purpose of an opposition party is to provide opposing positions and not just cheerlead for the dictator in chief.

leader for the opposition. Feingold has remained silent on many issues, and he chose to vote silently over the years instead of putting his neck on the line and pushing the opposition into the public eye.

Then he ramps up a few RECENT causes and everyone jumps to bestow him with UNIQUE qualities that no other Dem has. Even Kennedy is being redefined based on Feingold's mischaracterizations of Democrats.


Sorry, but Russ missed TOO Many real battles that could have made a difference - he is being disingenuous here and pandering to those who only tuned in to politics in recent years.

Russ went MIA many times. Check how vocal he chose to be throughout his career and on what issues. I don't begrudge his work as a senator - he has a decent record - but to act as if all the others are fearful and spineless and that he's the only Dem who really OPPOSES is just too much to swallow.

I can name a handful of crucial timeframes and issues that Russ was needed but chose to ignore right off the top of my head.

The greater point is that Russ was never called out as spineless or not a true Dem for any of the times he chose to stay quiet, but for him to turn around and say that is exactly what others are doing is just PLAIN WRONG - and it plays into the stereotypes the media uses against Democrats.

Given how rare it's become for anyone in the minority party to actually act like an opposition party, one has to be grateful for what one can get. Who knows? Maybe Russ finally found his voice and his true calling. Maybe he's just an opportunist. Ultimately, what difference does it make? He's out there calling for accountability in government while Lieberpuke stands ready to nuke the planet at the whim of his beloved Fuehrer and the greatest problem facing the US today in Hillary's mind is M-rated video games. If those are my only choices, Russ, at least for the moment, comes closest to representing my concerns. How can I not be thankful? It's not like anyone else has had the balls to say what has to be said.

have have been leading opposition voices for YEARS while Russ stayed silent.

PLENTY say what needs to be said - they also did it WITHOUT attacking the others, including Feingold, who chose to not lead those battles.

Russ is NOT saying what needs to be said. You think praising McCain is honest and NEEDS to be said? I think he's trying to say that he and Mccain ae the only honest voices in the senate and that is self-serving BULLSHIT!

That people applaud that performance is sickening. We get that same crap from Joe Klein and Dana Milbank. Sorry, but Russ is BSing here and he knows it.

And there is no accountability with a censure. It's a mild slap on the wrist, and he was selling it as an ALTERNATIVE to impeachment - that takes BALLS????

Real accountability and investigation was not something he supported when the Downing Street Memos popped up. Now he's laying claim to being the only guy in the senate who OPPOSES Bush?

Where was mighty man the big opposer campaigning with his mighty self to use his voice in 2004? McCain did it for Bush.

Understand this - Feingold is FINE as a senator - but as an analyst who condemns the other Dem senators as somehow being lesser than he, he is being an ASSHOLE and mischaracterizing them to make his case.

Hear that, spineless faction of the Democratic party? (No, I'm not lumping all Democrats into that group.)

:sarcasm:

Thank you Sen Feingold!

Why isn't this obvious to the whole party? Oh yeah, it is...to the voters...just not those asking for the votes.

K/R for Feingold!

But you just can't stand back and watch then call yourself a leader. I want my reps to STAND UP. I voted for Bill Clinton waaay back when because he had PLANS. I want to hear a plan from my leaders. I like Russ' plan. Do SOMETHING!

help, but damn it's about4 time someone stood up and spoke the truth. does he have '08 ambitions?

Reynolds: “Come Out of the White House with Your Hands Up!”

Ex-Bush Official Busts 9/11 Perps at U.W. Historical Society

Madison, WI
Saturday, May 6, 2006

An enthusiastic standing-room-only crowd packed the Wisconsin Historical Society auditorium Saturday to hear ex-Bush Administration insider Morgan Reynolds prosecute top administration and military officials for the 9/11 inside job.

Reynolds indicted Richard Cheney, George W. Bush, former Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Meyers, confessed WTC demolisher and insurance-fraudster Larry Silverstein, and others for mass murder, conspiracy, and other charges including high treason. The enthusiastic response from the overflow crowd was a de facto vote for conviction on all counts.

The former Director of the Criminal Justice Center at the National Center for Policy Analysis, showed that the defendants conspired to create a false cover story of suicide hijackings in order to “blow the World Trade Center to kingdom come” with explosives—a shock-and-awe psy-op designed to coerce the American people into supporting a pre-planned “long war” in the Middle East, massive increases in military spending, and the rollback of Constitutional civil liberties.

http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/71971/index.php

Scream this from every rooftop ...

Bush is still unchecked at his perilous imperial grab for power and control of OUR government, and further entrenchment of the murderous schemes of the neocon fantasy and corporatocracy. Example..Gen Hayden, the architect and apologist for the warrentless wiretapping is now nominated for the head post at the formally civilian (check on military) controlled CIA! This guy is military and the right hand man of Contratologist Death squad Negraponte. Are you worried now? It won't end until we hold Bush accountable. Feingold is right, and the Dems need to stand up NOW!!! Before it's too late and we have a "Plan Columbia" in our backyards.

I think he's doing the same for New Hampshire, too.

I'm looking forward to meeting him and hearing him speak.

Don't hold back!

Time for the Democratic leaders to do what they should have done four years ago -- Stand up against the war and the "war powers" which Bush has vastly expanded and exploited ...to the detriment of our civil rights, security, and prosperity in general.