"Roll Call" behind the scenes: Dems angry with Kerry re. failed filibuster

Failed Filibuster Bid Worries Democrats
By John Stanton
Roll Call Staff
January 31, 2006


Although the Senate on Monday soundly defeated the 11th-hour decision by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) to push for a filibuster of Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito, some Democrats worry privately that the failed filibuster could have long-term effects on the party’s ability to regain control of the chamber in November....

***

Officially, Kerry’s Democratic colleagues have avoided directly criticizing Kerry or addressing frustrations with its 2004 presidential candidate....Privately, however, many Democratic aides and lawmakers — including those who adamantly oppose Alito’s nomination — expressed growing frustration with Kerry....

***

“While I don’t think it will amount to a hill of beans in the end, the White House should send him a bouquet of flowers for this,” one senior aide said, adding that “the timing couldn’t have been worse ... for a Member like this to open us up to criticism of being a divided party.”...

***

Although Kerry’s announcement Friday, made while the he was on a trip to Switzerland, stating that he would champion liberal calls for a filibuster, won praise from hard-line Web loggers and left-leaning activists, it prompted significant hand-wringing by party officials.

Democratic aides in the Senate said that many within the party were particularly surprised, since Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had asked his colleagues not to attempt a filibuster, arguing that the party would be better served by focusing on the GOP’s recent spate of ethics controversies and by trying to frame today’s State of the Union address in a favorable way....“The story would have been that Reid kept 90 percent of the Democrats together, which would have been a great story,” this source said.


http://www.rollcall.com/issues/51_75/news/11961-1.html
(subscription)

I am furious at Reid not to have attempted the filibuster.

As for anonymous sources, I am sure they are all very innocent.

Reid should have endorsed the filibuster, then had all the safe senators vote No, all the contested Senators vote present.
We would have lost. We would have given all we could to stop Bush. "Now its up to the US voter in 2006."

Kerry did the right thing, so now they will blame him when the chickenshit Repugs in Dem clothing lose in Nov.

This line says it all: "for a Member like this to open us up to criticism of being a divided party.”..."

Kerry showed us the truth. We didn't like what we saw, but he didn't insult our inteliigence the way the 19 did. Or worse, like the dozen or so Senators who voted Yes on cloture and No on Alito. They were exposed for the posers they are.

These pols sure are thin skinned. They sound just like Repugs. Why don't they just change parties and get it over with.

they think we aren't watching.

They think they can go back to their actions months from now and say they voted NO on Alito.

*uck them.

We KNOW.
We ARE watching.
And we are speaking amongst ourselves.

Thank goodness for liberal radio. Many political novices understand what happened, too. They will not be fooled twice er ...won't get fooled again.

Oh I knew this was coming. "See here Kerry, we voted against your plan 'cause it wasn't going to work 'cause we were going to vote against your plan". Got it. Worthless, gutless, spineless, fascist facilitators.

worthwhile, party arises.

'cuase we're never gonna let 'em forget what bastards they were. :grr:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x280092

< tom, of course i remember you. those were the best of times and the worst of times, as has been said. it's nice to hear from you, and i'm glad that you appreciate jk's efforts to block alito. he's taking a lot of heat for it. i bet not too many senators want to talk to him right now. such is life. i'm glad he did it. >

top of the thread an e mail I got from a friend who works for Kerry.

We need to be supportive of Kerry and show him that we're with him whether anybody else is with him or not. Just like BCCI.

70-30 edge in the Senate! It's not us! It's not our policies! It's him! Look at Kerry! Over there! Stop looking at us! Him! Honest! Look! Look!

Kept 90% of the Dems together would have been a great story? That's delusional. That would have been a no story (just as the filibuster was mostly a no story).

thousands dead in Irag, 3000 missing on the Gulf Coast, where is the glory from their
unity, it makes me sick.

"pooped their pants"

seriously folks, enough with the crybaby act

If these people are so afraid of "criticism of being a divided party" then they should have voted for the fucking filibuster.

And what the hell are they so afraid of? When has any candidate ever been defeated because they opposed a nominee for the Supreme Court? It's a non-issue.

Won a lot of points for the 06 election. The logic is all over the place. Voting no to Alito was a win win situation.

People who live in red states complain about their fundie hick citizens, then get mad when red state Democrats vote the way they do. AND, when you suggest that perhaps they need to focus on changing the minds of those red state voters, you get told to get off your high horse and the politicians are all crooks anyway.

The party is divided and neither side is willing to talk to the other and as long as that's the way it is, we'll lose.

I get mad a red state Dems, of course. Why wouldn't I? I'm in a red state and I don't like how it votes for it's leaders nor how those "leaders" vote when they get there.

I also try to change the voters' minds. It's a tough slog.

What I don't like is when DUers blast all of the South for the actions of a smallish majority when us blue minorities are fighting an uphill battle against radio and media that's 90 percent Reich wing. Heck, no one in my city has even HEARD of Air America - and won't unless they listen to satellite radio or can stream it at work.

And all I ever get when I suggest that the targeted effort should be some select red states is either criticism for daring to suggest we need to change the minds of the voters, or the Dems are as bad as the Pubs anyway. Several times, from several different DUers in southern states. There's a thread about Utah right now that is just atrocious. At the same time, when you try to address biased attitudes in certain regions, all you get is denial and attacks of bigotry. So I'm about at the point of just throwing up my hands because we aren't moving to the left at a fast enough clip to win in November and it is looking more and more like we could actually lose some seats that we've got because the truth is, the party is divided and both sides are at fault.

Not from me, sea!

If you want to come to my red state (Tennessee) and help me spread the word against the Reich-wing media, I'd welcome you with open arms!

I'll warn you, though, most of these people have had 12 to 15 years of Rush and Faux News pounded into their heads and they simply do not understand that they're voting against their economic interests. Seriously, they don't get it.

However, I will take some offense to your assuming that Southerners or mid-Westerners are "biased." They're no more so than any other region, so that stereotype really isn't true. At least, if you mean biased against other races. What they're biased against is being treated as though they're stupid.

That's why attempting to change their minds and point out how wrong they've been led is a delicate thing and has to be attempted without even pretending to "look down one's nose" at them. I'm from here and am a blue voter and I HATE it when people treat me as though I'm dumb because of my address.

Hope this makes sense to you. The South and the mid-West ARE different in a lot of aspects, but they're not so different that they don't have the same problems as the far West and Northeast.

I'm telling you that people all over the country need to get together with one strategy to counter this right wing bullshit, you and DUers from every other red and southern state, where you live. With whatever help outsiders can give. And all I ever get is the same damned response, you're doing it. Well good then. I guess you don't need or want any help from anybody. Fine. I am just sick to death of it. But stop bitching when a Democrat manages to break the trend and has to make right wing votes in order to keep the seat.

where in the hell did you see that I didn't?

I just said that changing people's minds down here would be difficult, but still welcomed.

I think you need to re-read what I said.

Sounded like another "I'm doing all I can" and if you don't think so "why don't you come down here and see if you can do better". Dead end. If that's not what you meant, I misunderstood. But that's how this particular conversation usually ends.

I WANT you guys to come down here and help, but I still wanted to warn you that people down here don't like to be told what to do by "outsiders" and, therefore, it would be delicate thing.

It was a legitimate invitation, coupled with a gentle warning.

That's all.

Peace?

:hi:

We can't come down there and help, we can only provide structural support from the outside. You tell us which counties we can make inroads in, we write nice LTTE's or money for a flier campaign or pick up the phone and encourage and/or correct "liberal label" impressions with your local Dem leaders. Although believe me, I can't think of much I'd rather do than hop in an RV and toodle around the red states and organize little groups to start fighting back.

OK... so what do we need to do to organize this?

IM me. Where are you from?

Oh, my hubby's from all over and he even understands this after living down here for years.

I need to hear your accent - I may... oh, I have a funny story to tell you sometime about the day I got married. It's cute - my accent vs. my husband's and what a difference it made. Seriously. We're weird about that down here (And, in my working life, I don't use my accent much, but I can pour it on like honey when I feel the discomforts).

PS. My husband was born in South Africa, but was raised from 3 years old to 16 in Boston, Brooklyn and Baltimore. And then, went South. ;) :loveya: my hubby

You are the ones who can convert neighbors, friends and co-workers - probably very slowly, and only by being able to show that Democratic values really aren't inconsistent with theirs. It's not easy and often not possible.

Did you get to hear or read many of the speeches on Monday by the Democrats against Alito? I have wondered whether the ARGUMENTS used by Senator Kerry would have played in a red state. (His case was made mostly on the transfer of power from the individual to the corporations and to the government and the shift of power from Congress to the the President.) These seem to be libertarian arguments as much as anything. If the home state Senator had expounded the same idea would his constituents agree? (I am purposely separating content from messenger intentionally - which is not intended to disparage Kerry who was as eloquent as ever and stunningly good.)

The party is divided. On the solution, I tend to think its a lot simpler than you think. The National party apparatus needs to put more pressure on candidates to stick to a unified message. And that message should be crafted specifically to win in purple/red states. Place to start, look hard at some changes in our language and emphasis on social issues. Polls consistently show that this is where we take a beating.

But it was still right, just not presented in a way those red/purple voters could hear. I don't think we need to change our values, just the way we present them to those red/purple states. I am not liking this chipping away at the edges strategy, the edges are too wishy-washy.

I'll take a shot at one. Trying to present something you don't believe in is what makes it wishy washy.

How many more seats do you want to give up in the House and Senate before we change a couple values at the federal level? In other words on issues you can't just go and win at the federal level there needs to be a real alternative that will win (either keep the issue at the State level or come up with a new campaign and fund it nationally). We need candidates that believe in the message. And the message has to have a big enough audience to win. This ain't rocket science.

In 2004 we ran a candidate that planned to win on a blue state strategy. How dumb was that? Pretty dumb.

People attack Red State Senators like as if they can replace them with something more to the left. Fat fucking chance. How about lets just give up another seat to the repukes.

Trying to present something you don't believe in is what makes it wishy washy.

This also goes for the blue states. Are you suggesting they will always been Democrats if the Democrats continue to ignore them?

I agree that the Alito story was very poorly managed since the beginning. They should have adopted a strategy that explained to people how Alito would affect them in their daily life. They should have done that since day 1 rather than being afraid to say the truth. There was no leadership ready to do that.

However, we are all in there together. What you are proposing is exactly the same thing that what those you are criticizing are proposing. Forget one side or the other and you will lose. Find the common points and you will win.

We ran on a strategy that most blue staters would have said was too centrist. Still, it was a strategy that should have appealed to red staters if red staters had supported it instead of running away from it and/or believing the right wing bullshit. We don't need to change any values. Most people support abortion. Most people support sensible gun regulation. Most people support civil unions. Democrats in red states need to stop being such chickenshits about these issues and Democrats in blue states need to stop demanding all or nothing. Really not complicated.

... fucking chance. It is a fat fucking chance that the majority of the constituents in these red states were actually for "bankruptcy reform" and numerous other odious legislation pushed by Bush, but the effers voted for it anyway.

There is a concept called "leading" and it does not ALWAYS mean voting EXACTLY what 51% of your constituents are polling AT THE PRESENT TIME.

Someday maybe you'll meet one.

.... but that legislation has NOTHING to do with financial conservatism.

This discussion is tiring. Statements with little substance in them to actually debate.

http://bankruptcy.findlaw.com/new-bankruptcy-law/new-bankruptcy-law-basics/key-changes.html

what if any of the red state Democrats would have tried to get a group of their home state people to listen to the arguments on Monday and call in before 4:30 with their yes or no. My guess is that many many red state people would have been blown away by the content of Kerry's speech (rudely broken up by McConnell). I really think we could have sold the reasons to vote "NO".

I grew up and lived in a very red state for the first 21 years of my life. The story Kerry brilliantly recounted of the an unarmed Vt farmer family who were driven off their foreclosed property by armed officers who put a gun to at least one person's head sounded like a 1940s movie of the depression - that Alito thought this was reasonable is amazing. (In one of the Kerry biographies he was said to have been the best naturally gifted lawyer a fellow lawyer had seen - from this it would be easy to see why he was excellent on either side)

Similarly the arguments of giving much of Congress's power to the President goes against the few things remembered from high school civics. Alito is NOT mainstream.

Red staters out there is this completely off base. After all, I've been in lovely Blue NJ for over 33 years - has my memory of Indiana deteriorated so much or are things more RW as opposed to just conservative?

lost for that reason.

Our leadership offered no cover whatsoever for moderates or dems from conservative states who would've supported the filibuster. Perhaps if there'd actually been some kind of plan of action things would have gone differently. Reid seems to have a knack for procedure. I'm not so sure about his organizational skills.

Cleland was defeated for blocking the bill which created the DHS.

that was all good cause they were traitors and spineless. With this kind of thinking we will forever be fighting to stop the other parties agenda instead of setting it which you can only do when you are in the majority.

what planet are these people from?

We really showed 'em this morning huh? Too bad about that messy filibuster nonsense yesterday.

success rate as a great moment in Americal political history. If only that damn fillibuster attempt hadn't happened.

Yes, it would have been a great story for those Democrats. It's a helluva lot of Democrats to thumb your nose at too.

90% together for nothing at all is stupid.

Kennedy,,,, and those that voted No on cloture,,,,,

soooo which Senator was this quote from??

“While I don’t think it will amount to a hill of beans in the end, the White House should send him a bouquet of flowers for this,” one senior aide said, adding that “the timing couldn’t have been worse ... for a Member like this to open us up to criticism of being a divided party.”...

The answer for that situation, of course, is to get your act together then, DEMS...Senior Aide...you had the stupidity to make this comment, so why not let us know who you are?....In a way, you are right, it couldn't have come at a worse time...The Senator's constituents told the Senators what they wanted from them, and about half of them forgot who put them where they are....hopefully, most of them are coming up for re election....time to replace those who don't represent us...(Cantwell you're on my list)
windbreeze

I'm angry with the 19 Dems who voted for cloture. Kerry's a hero. But, then to the wingnuts up is down, black is white and right is wrong.

(probably the same who were talking to GQ a few weeks ago).

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

You are quite the democrat. :sarcasm:

Why even make a big deal out of Kerry and Kennedy's attempt to filibuster? Wasn't it the DLC that liked Kerry over Dean? Now what is the DLC trying to do, put Hillary in?

They didn't like ANY candidate in 2004 except Holy Joe; if you don't believe me, witness the PISS POOR support Kerry got from the party in 2004. Carville and Begala, the DLC's resident MSM talking heads, snarked about Kerry right alonside Fucker Carlson and Bob Novak and the rest of their media buddies and reinforced every media lie about Kerry. The DLC and the DNC did jack shit for Kerry in 2004. They hung him out to dry then, and it shouldn't surprise you that they're doing it again.

...Massa bush GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY PARTY!!!!

Kerry puts up a fight, and some so called dems complain like a bunch of whiney whores.

nothing new until we clean house..

The message must be clear, there can be no support for these people.
Throw the bums out!
Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Carper (D-DE)
Conrad (D-ND)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Inouye (D-HI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

Ned Lamont for US Senate!

http://www.nedlamont.com

Not only that, he's a jinx on the Democratic party.

Gotta love the juxtapositional irony of your name "peaceistheway" with your message "I fucking hate him." Welcome to DU! :hi:

else to take their seat....

I already wrote both Cantwell and Landrieu...I've contributed to them for years and let them know never again.....If they are defeated for re-election, so be it....

I'm not supporting them anymore....for christ sake, they voted AGAINST a DEBATE on a lifetime committment on someone who will affect my and my children's lifetime?

Screw that....

If the Dems want to be angry, let them be angry at this list of people...Kerry as far as I'm concerned showed me that he cares about our country....unlike these "19"....

That's what it sounds like to me and I say these folks who behave this way MUST GO!

We should take names and kick them out. Enough pandering to the right - we need opposition to the status quo.

Byrd or Lieberman

Good grief! Why bother showing up to work?

The story would have been that Reid kept 90 percent of the Democrats together, which would have been a great story,”

Yeah, a great story for the repugs. It would read “The story would have been that Reid kept 90 percent of the Democrats cowering in fear together, which would have been a great story,”

Casting a vote they knew was worthless? The story is Reid couldn't pull together 90% of the Dems insupport of a filibuster! We need a new Leader!

Bunch of cry babies. Time for them to be held accountable.

GOOD JOB KERRY!

,...yella' spined whiners!

:grr:

If all they have to fight for is which way the damn wind blows, they are in the wrong freakin' occupation!!!!

Geez. Crap like this really drives me bonkers. :silly:

either way. Sounds like a RW'er to me. We'll rub their nose in it win or lose. That's the way to continually keep the other guy on the defensive.

And the critiscism levied at Kerry is perfectly valid.

“While I don’t think it will amount to a hill of beans in the end, the White House should send him a bouquet of flowers for this,” one senior aide said, adding that “the timing couldn’t have been worse ... for a Member like this to open us up to criticism of being a divided party.”...

....“The story would have been that Reid kept 90 percent of the Democrats together, which would have been a great story,”


and additionally, the story would have been not so much a victory, but that Alito did not get over 60 votes, a flibuster proof level, and that he was a controversial choice, out of the mainstream.

Great just swell. Like anyone will remember who Alito is by November! Do you think Bush voters even know about this? They are pissed Kery did their job for them and attempted to uphold the Constitution which is more than they did .I am sick of CYA Dems. I would rather have no one because that is what they represent.Even if we were the majority , They still wouldn't represent us. They would forever make "deals' and cower.

WITHOUT A FUCKING FILLIBUSTER!!!!????

without the votes to back it up?

'and additionally, the story would have been not so much a victory, but that Alito did not get over 60 votes, a flibuster proof level, and that he was a controversial choice, out of the mainstream.'

How is that a good story? It would have only opened Dems up for questions as to why no filibuster was attempted, and once again it would have served to portray Dems as spineless, and the loser party. Face it; Reid dropped the ball, Kerry picked it up, and those Democrats who were forced to make a choice are pissed because they couldn't hide behind Reid's enabling this time.
They want to play both sides and we, the people, weren't having any of it this time.

I suspect you might actually be singing a different tune if Kerry hadn't been involved.

Kerry showed real leadership, which is something this party has needed for a long time.

If someone goes to a reporter who just wants to spout criticism without any substantial information, the reporter should tell him to go to Hell.

The reporter should be an enabler of a coward.

...for a Member like this to open us up to criticism of being a divided party.” God forbid that the truth should rear it's ugly head. We are a divided party.

come to Kerry's side then they wouldn't have been divided.

Kerry's answer of why he did this is likely the same answer he gave as to why he jeopordized a future political career in 1971, his conscience said it was the right thing to do.

If Kerry didn't care, he could have just given his Wednesday speech saying he would vote no and then gone as planned to Davos for the economic conference with Teresa (who was also there). He then had a committment to give a speech at an Irish University that was part of a prestigous lecture series - Bill Clinton is a speaker at a different time. He would then have returned home and voted against Alito on Monday (as there would have been no filibuster). Judging from the CNN footage of the conference on Thursday where other participants were warmly greeting Kerry. Four days in Europe with Teresa talking issues with other world leaders sounds like a better time than leading a filibuster.

He could always have pointed to his no vote in the future to say he didn't vote for Alito. I think he tried because he thought not trying in every way he could was wrong.

I'm surrounded by a sea of red-staters, some sick of the Bush/Iraq/Medicare debacle. They're anti-Alito. They actually were excited at the prospect of the filibuster. And if we think WE aren't being represented by our Dem leaders, imagine how THEY feel.

Today I'm hearing, "what's the point of even voting?"

Way to go Harry.

most people are waiting for leadership,
they are thirsty for it,
some people are dying for it, literally...
they are waiting for someone other than the repugs to
step up to the plate and provide another voice..their voice!

(that's what I think anyway)

those sniveling little GOP appeasers knock off their bullshit and quit their whining when someone has the guts to stand up and do the right thing. This pisses me off to no end...I would so love to know which so-called dems are behind this.

I've yet to hear ONE coherent argument from one of those turncoats who sold out in defense of their vote for Alito.

Yeah, Reid wanted to unite the Dems in Failure.

Reid wanted the Dems to stand in line and have their "Clock Cleaned" by lil Lindsay Graham.

This report means Democratic "leaders" and Kerry's "colleagues" are mad at Kerry. The grassroots isn't angry with him at all - not the rank and file.

We workadays are angry that more Democratic "leaders" didn't vote with Kerry, for the most part.

This shows the widening gap between what our leaders think we want and what we actually want.

They can't filibuster AND go after the Republicans for ETHICS violations????

WTF is up with this Party?

Goddammit!

TC

this is bullshit. Kerry is the hero. The yes to cloture Dems are the ones who need to be very afraid. This sounds like puke spin to me.

everybody else is happy. I was at first skeptical of why Kerry was leading the charge so late...but I finally realized that he took over after it became obvious that the leadership was incompetent.

I just don't believe the story. It's just spin like "Democrats don't have a plan", or Dems are just anti-*", "Democrats don't have any message". That's all crap. I don't buy it.

Boy, are they going to be surprises when the understand they no longer have a free ride.

self delete

I'm proud Kerry at least gave a damn and tried!!! Alito was such an obviously flawed, biased candidate, all that the Democrats who voted for cloture but against Alito showed us is that they have no principles that they really stand for. And that is what hurts us the most in the middle!!!

article earlier this week? Whom are they close to? Care to guess?

:sarcasm:

(dickheads. just sayin'.)

and chose not to.

They divide, then blame him.

Total B.S.

The base is NOT mad at Kerry for attempting it - we are mad at the quislings who did not support it.

They are the ones who need to watch out for challengers in their next elections.

All of the Dems on that list are dead wood. It made it easier to see who's who, that's all.

Time for all of them to go. Wimps.

as he goes through the proverbial trial by fire for daring to lead.

All these so called "leaders" are mad about is that Kerry called them out, put up or shut up, and thus exposed them for the craven cowards that they are. I'm not a big Kerry fan, even though I did vote for him in '04. But I have to give him, Kennedy and the other twenty three major props for standing up and fighting like a real opposition party should. Sadly, the rest punked out, and now we get to live with the results.

It's KERRY'S fault because he made the dems look divided. Hey, dems...WE ARE DIVIDED. Between real democrats and DINOs. The DINOs are pissed at Kerry for rocking their gravy boat. They want in on all the tax cuts and contracts, too, you know. Besides...it's rude to criticize someone publicly. Got to keep our powder dry, after all.

Fuck that noise. Kerry did the right thing. The trouble is, with no party "leader" there was no one to call Kerry's move "legit" or not, so the the democrats just ran around in circles bumping into one and other. Surprise.

Sometimes you have to fight on principle, and let the chips fall where they may. This was one such time.

Even the votes we lost know they have got to get right with the left as best they can. The squeaky wheel still gets the grease.

All these naysayers who lament the effort and pine about how it might affect the election in November are full of it.

It was a worthwhile effort, and something for the party regulars to take pride in.

There is a stand you see Democrats excelling, they are really going after ethics problems. :sarcasm: Make a few shows of confrontation then let it slide away.


The Prosecutor in the Abramoff scandal gets a Judgeship which is exactly what is wrong with this entire mess. Republicans have seized the WH, intimidated Congress and are now consolidating the Judiciary and Democrats are worried about appearing divided? Democrats could have at least postponed by a couple days the Alito nomination to make their point by speaking on the floor of the Senate. Bush would not have had his way with instant gratification and probably would have lost his temper. Just too many cowards and hypocrites.

someone who made them look bad...

someone who tested the winds before taking a position...

who didn't have the intestinal fortitude to take a stand and fight...

LOOK IN THE MIRROR!

(Sorry for yelling.)

They say Friday. It was all over the media on Thursday, with the nice video of Kerry walking out of a meeting of a meeting in Davos with the other attendees, waving to every one. We heard it on the web on Wednesday.

This sounds though like it might be from Reid.

And here I was thinking that they were bought with some favors (I still do, BTW).
To think that the people the country needed have no more depth than "you look fabulous" fernando - it just boggles the mind! :banghead:

who should hang their heads in shame for betraying, not only the party but the country.

The Wealthy Priviledge Class will NEVER get it.

Don't believe everything you read.

faxed and telegraphed upset with Kerry? I don't think so. In the end, we're the "Dems" who count because we cast the votes.

"some Democrats", "many Democratic aides and lawmakers", "party officials"

Are any names mentioned at all in the article? (i'm not going to subscribe to "the newspaper of capitol hill since 1955" just for this article).

Is there any reason to believe the author is not making it up?

by someone who knew I'd been involved in contacting Senators for the filibuster. I'm not a subscriber either, so don't know a lot about "Roll Call." As far as I know, it's not a right-wing publication.

nt

attack against Dean for a while now. Any excuse to remain in charge and control everything. There way is not working, It hasn't worked since Clinton. We have to work hard and we have to present the public with good reasons to vote for us. Haven't recent polls indicated that the public wants people who fight Bush? So the DLC and Reid wanted us to look like we were playing nice. Since when have Republicans ever won by playing nice.

The bloggers and grass root people like us have been around for awhile, surely they were aware of our numbers and our force. Did Reid really think we would just lie low on this nomination?

The divisions in the party were going to come out anyway. There has been to much frustration building under the surface. This is actually a healthy thing.
I also fail to see how this will impact Senators running in November other than in a positive way. Did they really think they were going to be elected by being the guy that isn't in the party that was wiretapping and taking money from Lobbyists and not offering anything new? So what they are actually saying is we were going to play nice with the Republicans until election time and hope we win. In the mean time we don't really give a shit about the people we are suppose to represent.

I am totally committed to the idea that Kerry did the best thing. Our party needed to be rattled up. They don't know what they are going to do with Kerry? How about giving him a leadership position and the rest of them just shutting up. There the problem not Kerry their the problem. You think they would want to take Kerry's advice he ran against these lying thugs.He know what they are all about.

I'd rather believe this involves a RW plant than your proposal. But, no matter what,...this shakeup will surely lead to better trials of commitments.

I still don't buy the "DLC IS EVIL" rhetoric. However, I don't deny that, their back-bending compromises have proven weak and a failure. They deserve the pressure they are receiving. BUT, the throwing the baby out with the bathwater bullshit is simply,...S.T.U.P.I.D.

an off script change of plan. A Gore breakaway from the DLC pack. A Hillary flummoxed into reversal. A bunch of jerks still thinking they run the show and run it well with the majority of the party(LOL).

Finally, does Kerry realize one of his major problems are the footdraggers in DLC lalaland who as is typical now mad at HIm and ready to pass the buck and the blame(sniff) for not scoring issue points withe mythical one per cent swing voters? Same old crap. Blaming the one guy who does something. Now he knows how Gore felt. This is how much they accord the forward leader of the party's standard. Well at least the New senile Democrats are amply symbolized by the sign of the donkey.

And Hillary, her feet palnted firmly on both sides trying to find primary traction, a high official in the DLC, welcome to the land of smoke and mirrors exposed.

We've been framed! More kudos to Kerry.

MYTHICAL!

without saying John Kerry was at an economic summit.

...and that is John Kerry's fault.

I'd like, for once, to see some great results.

:crazy:

no WONDER he was such a limp candidate.

SCREW THEM, KERRY, you're just getting started!

If you are reading this, make sure you send an extra fax or make an extra phone call to Kerry's office when you congratulate or chastise your own Senators.

Please...

the weasels hadn't voted for cloture.
Also, are these the same party officials that have presided over our loss of control of the Seante and House?

I'm pissed at whomever made those comments, whether it be a plant or a misguided dem. Kerry made his case.

Even if I was somewhat disappointed at Mr. Obama's performance the day before it.

totally an inside-the-beltway issue. Most voters don't know Harry Reid from Godzilla.

about Democratic senators voting against Democratic, and democratic, interests.

should instead worry about what "someone might think or say"?
What country are they living in?

The whole friggin' thing is DLC through & through.

Bash Kerry, bash liberals & the base of the party, point out "divided" Democrats.

If we didn't have so many frikkin' republican infiltrators (DLCers) in the Dem party,

WE WOULD BE UNIFIED!!!

:kick::kick::kick::kick::kick::kick::kick:

But mostly for being unable to organize a piss-up in a brewery.

“While I don’t think it will amount to a hill of beans in the end, the White House should send him a bouquet of flowers for this,” one senior aide said, adding that “the timing couldn’t have been worse ... for a Member like this to open us up to criticism of being a divided party.”..

At least Kerry has balls. They need to STFU until they support what WE THE PEOPLE want them to support or until they do their damn job.

Lead....follow....or get the fuck out of the way.

PERFECT time to use the filibuster option ought to be considered obsolete in this party. They aren't listening to their constituents at all so it is time to start looking for better candidates in any upcoming re-election campaign.

My Dem Senator was one of the idiots. He isn't up for re-election yet but he's going to have to do some really impressive things in the next three years to get me to back him over another Democratic candidate.

Cowards don't belong in the Congress or The House at this time in history. It's balls out or voted out as far as I'm concerned!