Democratic Congressional Unity - Democratic Underground

paineinthearse

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Wed May-18-05 09:35 PM
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Democratic Congressional Unity

http://blog.dccc.org/mt/

This afternoon, Democratic Leaders of both chambers came together for an event on the Senate steps. The announcement ran like this...

On Wednesday, May 18, 2005, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid will be joined by CBC Chairman Watt, Senator Ken Salazar, and the Democratic Caucus from the House and Senate as they march down the Senate steps and stand with the American people against abuses of power by Republican leadership in Congress.

The American people have rejected Republican attempts to abuse power -whether it is Tom Delay's attempt to rewrite the ethics rules or Bill Frist's attempt to pull the Nuclear trigger. The fact is Republican leaders in Washington are out of control. Instead of governing and doing the people's business, George Bush, Bill Frist and Tom Delay are simply on a quest for absolute power.

Pictures from the event follow. Throughout, you'll notice a full roster of Dem Leadership including Pelosi, Reid, Hoyer, Schumer, Kerry, and many others. We were blocked from view for the speech of Rep. Mel Watt, the Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, who discussed a letter that the CBC will deliver to Frist tomorrow. He said the letter will address two main points: 1) The Courts are not a mere obstacle to government, they have been responsible for upholding progress and knocking down injustice repeatedly. 2) There is a profound irony that the filibuster, having been used to defy minority interests in the past, will now be eliminated in the same vein.

Democratic Leadership descends on the Senate steps for the event.

Senator Reid: "They want it all - all the control, all the power... their way or the highway. Well, that's not the American way."

Senator Salazar speaks on the Republican demand that they have their way all the time, and the fact that their way is the way of the extreme religious right.

These were Leader Pelosi's remarks:

Thank you very much, Leader Reid. I know that I speak for all of my colleagues when I say, 'Thank you Mr. Leader, for helping to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.'
"We come here to join you in this fight. We have been with you since day one because, Senator Reid, as you said in your opening remarks, 'This is the hour of decision for this nation's Senate. It is a historic moment, as well for our country and our country's future.'

"While Democrats are working on an agenda that focuses on the real needs of American families, the Republican Party is busy undermining democracy here at home. This is about our nation's future.

"What the Republicans are doing with their attempt to end the filibuster is to try to silence the minority and break the rules. They are using any means to justify their extreme agenda, even if it violates the rules and destroys more than 200 years of Constitutional checks and balances - not to mention fundamental decency and trust.

"Democrats stand united against the Republicans' abuse of power. We will not let them undermine one of the tenets of democracy - the rights of the minority. And make no mistake: that is what the Republicans are attempting to do: silence the voice of the minority and thereby deny millions of Americans a voice in Congress.

"So the fight you are making, Senator Reid and other Democratic Senators, is a fight for all Americans, so that their voice will not be silenced in the Congress of the United States. This great Congress was ordained to be a marketplace of ideas for the American people to be represented, not to have their voices silenced, and their ideas squelched.

"In the House, a handful of Republican leaders dictate the party line and ram bills through committees, and permit few if any amendments on the floor. They have even attempted to gut the ethics rules, holding themselves above the law.

"Their abuse of power is not limited to Congress. We have seen Republicans threaten federal judges, disregard the separation of powers, and show contempt for our Constitution.

"And now they want to silence the Democratic Senators. Democrats will not be silenced. We will not be intimidated by the Republicans' arrogant power plays.

"At stake is our ability to preserve our freedoms. Our Constitutional checks and balances are essential to the preservation of our freedoms. We must not allow the Republican Party to impose its radical views and extreme judges on the American people.

"Instead, we must get this behind us and get back to work on the agenda of the American people, and to do so with the fullest array of ideas without silencing anyone in the Congress: creating good jobs; better access to health care; and the best possible education for our children. And above all, we must guarantee national security with a strong system of homeland security and a military that is second to none.

"We must do this in a way that honors the sacrifice of our Founding Fathers, is worthy of the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, and is worthy of the aspirations of our children. Only then will we be honoring the oath of office that we all take to protect and defend the Constitution."

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Besides Sen. Reid and Rep. Pelosi, two others spoke: Sen. Salazar and Rep. Mel Watt, head of the CBC. The CBC will be delivering a letter to Frist tomorrow morning making two points

1. The current rules of the Senate define how to change the rules of the senate. A ruling by Cheney abuses the process.
2. The irony of the fact that the filibuster has historically been used to retard the progress of Blacks and minorities, now it is being taken away in order to perpetuate the wrongs of the past.

Stay tuned for a copy of the CBC letter.