IF you are not "passionate" about taking back America -(HR2673 passes)

HR2673 was the Conference deformed Omnibus Appropriations Bill which contained all the goodies the Bush Administration wanted.

Loss of overtime protection for over 8 million workers, including police, firefighters, etc.

Privatizing the Air Traffic Control system.

Delaying by 2 years the country of origin for food.

Requiring the FBI to destroy gun purchase documents in 24 hours.

Allowing more media consolidation.


(I just saw this on LBN. Our candidates are all we have to stop the madness)

Where was Daschle?

These are the senators who voted to cut off debate, leading to the subsequent vote on the bill:
Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Allen (R-VA)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Bond (R-MO)
Breaux (D-LA)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burns (R-MT)
Campbell (R-CO)
Carper (D-DE)
Chafee (R-RI)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
Dayton (D-MN)
DeWine (R-OH)
Dole (R-NC)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Fitzgerald (R-IL)
Frist (R-TN)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hollings (D-SC)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Inouye (D-HI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Leahy (D-VT)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
McConnell (R-KY)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Miller (D-GA)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-NE)
Nickles (R-OK)
Reid (D-NV)
Roberts (R-KS)
Santorum (R-PA)
Schumer (D-NY)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Talent (R-MO)
Thomas (R-WY)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)

I believe I count 16 Dems in there.
Ensign, McCain and Snowe were the only Republicans who voted against.
Lieberman, Kerry and Edwards did not vote (no surprise there).

The roll call vote for the final vote on the bill itself is not available at the senate.gov site. At least not yet.
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/vote_menu_108_2.htm

Yes, Lieberman's misconduct isn't surprising, but Kerry and Edwards?

Also, I see Washington State's Patty Murray is continuing with business as usual. I guess her criticism of Bush was just a flash in the pan.

I can't defend her vote here, but she was one of the 23 that stood up against the war. I'll still be supporting her this year.

because innocent people will be hurt, but when people die from lack of health care due to an obscene appropriations bill, it's not that bad.

And, I will be writing her to ask why she voted for it, and my disappointment in it. Having dealt with her in the past, I'm sure I will get an explanation.

As to the difference between people possibly dying due to lack of health care, and surely dying due to war, something I suspect that you might be able to understand if you would take a little time away from defending the IWR and looking at the casualties inflicted.

But IWR votes can be attacked becuase those innocent Iraqis are somehow more dead than those poor people in the US.

Having dealt with her in the past, I'm sure I will get an explanation.

So how does she explain letting poor people die from lack of health care?

As to the difference between people possibly dying due to lack of health care, and surely dying due to war, something I suspect that you might be able to understand if you would take a little time away from defending the IWR and looking at the casualties inflicted.

It's bizarre to think that people are "possibly dying". There's only one type of dead, and when someone dies from a lack of health care (and there are thousands every year) they are just as dead as any Iraqi victim of war.

interesting

Well that'll make ABB harder to sell.

THANKS A LOT, GUYS! (And yes, that includes Feinstein and other female enablers.)

They have betrayed us! Feinstein was already on my list for the Medicare Bill, but look at the assholes on this list. REMEMBER them come time for their re-electon and vote their asses out of office! Someone, please explain to me how those Democrats could vote for that bill? John Breaux is expected...he a republican like Zell Miller, but these others have NO excuse.


Bingaman (D-NM)

Breaux (D-LA)

Carper (D-DE)

Dayton (D-MN)

Feinstein (D-CA)

Hollings (D-SC)

Inouye (D-HI)

Landrieu (D-LA)

Leahy (D-VT)

Mikulski (D-MD)

Miller (D-GA)

Murray (D-WA)

Nelson (D-NE)

Reid (D-NV

Schumer (D-NY)

that did not include any of the dem candidates.

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=2&vote=00003#position

It woulda been very nice to be able to shove this bill in Bush face during the debates next year, and ask him to defend his positions.

Unfortunately, they can't do that now. Cause he'll simply say "if it was so important, why didn't you bother to vote on it?".

:shrug:

http://appropriations.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=342

But I admit I can't find what that means. Anyone?

"We're not giving up," said Bill Samuel, legislative director of the labor organization AFL-CIO. "We'll continue our efforts on the next bill."


Daschle said Democrats would use special Senate procedures to try forcing a vote on a resolution rejecting the overtime regulations when they take effect.

Ignoring Other Candidates, Kerry Turns Focus on Bush
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/22/politics/22DEMS.html

Moving up in the New Hampshire polls, Senator John Kerry ignored his rivals on Wednesday and blasted President Bush on health care and charged that new rules on overtime supported by the administration would bar many veterans from overtime pay.

Mr. Kerry said the president had rightly praised American troops and veterans in his State of the Union address. "But once again it's an example of a say-one-thing-and-do-another administration," he said, pointing to the overtime dispute.

An omnibus spending bill has been stalled in Congress in a partisan dispute over provisions to which Democrats object. One would allow the Bush administration to press ahead with rules that Democrats say could strip millions of their right to overtime pay. Hitting that theme, Mr. Kerry said the president would treat those who trained for some skilled jobs in the military as professionals ineligible for overtime pay, adding that this "made my blood boil."...

He is still collecting a salary as a Senator. He misses a hell of a lot of votes.

.

Not Voting - 7
Baucus (D-MT)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Domenici (R-NM)
Edwards (D-NC)
Hagel (R-NE)
Kerry (D-MA)
Lieberman (D-CT)

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=2&vote=00002

It was such an easy way to get your message across! Why didn't he take it??

His time is better spent trying to get to the head of this party in order to better effect the change we want.

He did return to try to stop the Energy and Medicare bills when it looked like the vote would be close by voting to continue the fillibuster. But there is no opportunity to fillibuster budget legislation. It's prohibited.

A rush back to Washington to add his name to the losing side of this bill would be a publicity stunt. He can better effect that message in the debate tonight.

SHAME ON US....SHAME ON US...referring to his Senate colleagues who continue to place "political party allegiance" above the Constitution and the best interests of the American People. He asked why do we defer to this presisdent...a hired hand, like the rest of us, who demands that his party loyalists march step in step with him? I ask why did 28 Dems join this march and support this horrendous Omnibus Spending Bill??

Sen Byrd is my hero and continues to be the voice of sanity in the Senate...Bless his heart. I fear his warnings are falling on deaf ears, but the day will come when all of his impassioned speeches will come back to haunt all those who failed to heed his wisdom.

I would be proud to live in WV.

I posted about it, but no one here was much interested.

:shrug:

They voted YES for cloture or ending the debate so the motion could be brought up for an obvious passing of the Bill.

bullcrap. Don't wanna be called "crazy."

This is criminal. And right after the madness of the SOTU address.

I can't believe Chuck Schumer voted with the GOP either.

And they're going to "try" to use some "special" Senate maneuvers to strip out the overtime stuff.

Just like they tried to get Bush to seek support from the UN before going into Iraq.

Who do these f***s think they are kidding?

Hey, I've got a great idea!

Let's elect one of them president!

Yeah! That'll work.

Dean and Clark look better by the minute.

should drop Dean. Or never endorsed him.

<snip>
Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, one of Howard Dean's key supporters in the presidential caucuses, said Thursday that Dean hurt himself with his arm-flailing speech in Iowa following his third-place showing there.

Harkin also criticized the television advertising strategy that Dean followed in the last days before the caucuses, and praised rivals John Kerry and John Edwards for running "great" campaigns in Iowa.
<snip>

http://miva.dmregister.com/miva/cgi-bin/miva?news/live/display.mv+direction=showstory&showrec=5

to bring this to a vote, right?

While I know this enables a vote on this bill, I say you can be mad at Chuck Schumer and Tom Harkin IF they voted for THIS BILL.