"The votes aren't there"

That phrase has become fact, excuse, rallying cry and entreaty.

But let's look at it a different way.

Lots of people defend the Democratic leadership by using this fact.

Lots of other people vilify the Democratic leadership by saying this fact shouldn't stand before principle.

Maybe what we need to do is, instead of blasting at each other and the leadership, start blasting away at the back benchers and Blue Dogs and, yes, the weak Republicans in whose districts many of us live and start blasting **them**.

You want to run an insurgent campaign, a campaign of protest, a campaign to make things change, run against THEM!

THEY are the reason, the embodiment of the phrase "The votes aren't there".

How can they sleep at night without saying they are against this war and would vote to end it!

It not about the votes, it's about honesty and standing up for what is right!

How can they sleep at night without standing tall and telling the American people,"The Bush/Cheney Crime Family must be impeached!"

Let the chips fall where they may,they may not have the votes but unless they are puppets,they can talk without help!

Which is why we blast them.

doesn't necessarily mean "impeach them RIGHT NOW!!", but to merely put it on the friggin' table as a 'bargaining chip' to help keep these thugs in check.

With impeachment 'off the table', they feel they have a free pass to continue to do as they damn well please..

and yes, I want the little bastards impeached... yesterday. I've wanted to get rid of the monkey in a man suit since the day he was selected. Not a day goes by that I don't hope to open up my browser and see that that fucker has resigned, been impeached, been assassinated, been locked up, something, ANYTHING, that means we are rid of him for good. It's been 6 long years that my hopes have been dashed every day... 6 long nightmarish years. If we don't do something about him, and quickly, it's going to be too late. They WILL pull off a false flag attack to suspend elections and to suspend congress so they can hold on to power. They all believed KKKarl about establishing a "permanent republican majority" and never thought they would be held accountable for anything...

Save our Country: IMPEACH NOW!!!

the "misadministration's" arrogantly dismissive contention that they "don't pay attention to polls."

Translation: they don't give a flying flop about the will of the majority of the people. In other words they don't get the little public servant aspect thingy of their job description.

Pssssssssssst. . .that leaves us damned near entirely bereft of representative leadership.

Now what was that thingy about the voting machines again. . .?

Time for pitchforks. . .I swear.

...has even been introduced, let alone debated on the floor of the House, is tantamount to saying that members of congress will cast partisan votes NO MATTER WHAT CRIMES BUSHCO HAS COMMITTED. It is tacit admission that the constitutional process has been undermined by partisanship in Congress, and more to the point, that Congress members are openly in defiance of their oaths of office.

all the misdeeds and certainly very, very few leaders have expressed their own honest opinions about how bad this dangerous, rogue group of corporatists are. I have heard very few non-triangulated statements about the big picture of this disaster in every policy area of government.

They aren't trying....with few exceptions.

So, in my mind at least, the phrase "the votes aren't there" is inaccurate and is an excuse. The votes MIGHT be there...the case can be effectively made (but hasn't)... we (dem leadership) just don't want to go there and find out...don't want to upset the apple cart...

...in some ways, I suspect that it is perceived on the hill that the real story is so bad, so obviously high crimes and misdemeanors, so corrupt, that an airing of the truth would damage our country internally and in foreign relations. We are asking part of our government to self-immolate. I personally think that would be healthy, but it may be that others think it frightening.

Don't count on my vote being there the next time you are counting on me...don't count on my money either. If you do not at least attempt to do the RIGHT THING(the job you swore to do)...you are just as guilty as Bush!

not the ones who are actually trying to do something about it.

Our party has MANY Lieberman democrats! I will not vote for another one...even if I have to leave the ballot unmarked.

the progressive democrats who run in my district get beat, but I vote for them time and time again. The best I can probably hope for is a moderate dem in the immediate term, but it's better than the republican tool that I've got.

Why bother, I said to myself? We will never win. In fact, I say nobody should vote for anything, ever. Let's just support our President, right or wrong.

as well as the spineless Republicans, but we can only know who they are if the vote is brought forward and we can see who voted how. So it is no longer acceptable for the Democratic leadership to say "the votes aren't there." We must be shown where they are, then we will act accordingly. And in an aside to the Blue Dogs: Democrats who vote Republican will not be elected as Democrats in the future. You are on notice. If you prefer the Republican Party, join it, we don't need you.

that's why so many of these Republicans will come back from a trip home and make some statement about getting out of Iraq only to backtrack later.

Turning up the heat on the Republicans is a good idea. We should recruit strong challengers, especially to Republican Senators, and write our Republican representatives in Congress to turn up the heat. They don't have to know you're a Democrat writing. It's like we write them off as completely unwilling to listen, but at some point they have to listen to their constituents because their survival depends on it, especially if they know a quality Democratic challenger is waiting in November 2008. I think alot of these Republicans are are the breaking point on Iraq. I plan on writing my Republican congress critter to turn up the heat, and I want to know that our local party is going to run a quality challenger before I give them any money.

In EVERY trial, as soon as the jury is seated, the judge should poll the jury. If the jury doesn't vote 'guilty' then dismiss the charges and terminate the trial! Voila! Wow! We could speed up the courts and save LOTS of taxpayer money.

The OP is about getting people to vote to move things along. NO one can deny that there's not reason enough to investigate. The only reason no one's doing anything is that they can't get some of these back bench blue dogs and imperiled repubs to vote to allow the process to move forward.

No one is saying they need to vote guilty now.