Okay, somehow Mitch McConnell and his band of right wingers in the Senate think they can trick the American people into thinking McCain is somehow different from Bush. But when all the Republicans support a bad policy, like torture, McCain is implicated. He's one of them and everyone knows it. It's all Bush-McCain policy now:
Senate Republicans are circling their wagons around Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) — a significant strategic shift to protect their presumptive presidential nominee and leave President Bush more isolated.
They opted to avoid a showdown with Democrats on Wednesday over an intelligence bill dealing with torture. By punting the issue to the White House, the GOP helped shield McCain from claims he and his party condone waterboarding, which simulates drowning, and other harsh interrogation methods.
Instead of blocking passage of the bill using procedural maneuvers, Republicans let it come to a vote. It cleared along party lines, 51-45, and now goes to President Bush, who has promised a veto.
Figures a Capitol Hill publication fell for this attempt at GOP spin, but it doesn't make any sense. There is no shield for McCain. Based on today's vote it is clear that he and his party condone torture. McCain and Bush lead the GOP now. A Bush veto is a McCain veto. They're the same thing. It's really not that complicated.
Harry Reid announced that the Senate will be taking up the Employee Free Choice Act later this week:
Last year, the top three hedge funds earned $4.4 billion in profits, and the ex-CEO of Exxon got a $400 million golden parachute. Today, hourly wages are down while the number of uninsured is up. Today, household income is down, while the average CEO makes 411 times more than the average worker. Today – for far too many Americans – that New Deal has become a raw deal. It’s time to give working families a square deal. A square deal that honors workers and their families by giving them a real chance for a better life.
You know what the Employee Free Choice Act will mean: higher wages. Better health insurance. Safer working conditions. And by the way, we all know that employees who receive a fair standard of living are more productive. This is a win-win for employers and employees alike.
Treating American workers with dignity, respect and fairness -- can't have that say the Republicans Senators. So, true to form, GOP Senators, who have become the obstructionist caucus, are planning to block the bill. They just filibuster every piece of progressive legislation:
Despite a pitched lobbying battle between business and labor heavyweights, Senate Republicans are largely closing ranks against a Democratic union-organizing bill, using the measure to project unity after their party has been weakened by tense debates on immigration and energy.
As Democratic leaders and presidential hopefuls flocked to labor rallies yesterday to promote the union-organizing bill, which is slated for a vote early next week, the GOP embraced the standoff. Centrist Republicans who are reeling from grassroots pressure on the immigration bill and the war in Iraq appeared unfazed by the top-dollar campaign to win their votes for the union legislation.
Great. Show unity by beating up on working men and women. That's so Republican.
Republican Senators have been in a filibuster frenzy. Last week they filibustered the immigration bill. Earlier this week, they filibustered the no confidence vote on Gonzales. Then yesterday, the GOP Senators filibustered energy reform in order to protect the power companies:
Senate Democrats, facing their first significant battle over a wide-ranging bill intended to reduce oil consumption, found themselves blocked by Republicans on Thursday and postponed all significant votes until next week.
Republicans vowed to filibuster over a Democratic proposal that would force electric utility companies to generate a big share of their power from renewable fuels, and Democrats failed to muster the 60 votes needed to close off debate.
Hey, it's not like we need to do something about energy. The GOPers would rather play politics then work on an issue of national importance. The GOP energy strategy is "hey, we can always go to war for oil." And, don't forget, the Republicans have never put the national good ahead of the profits of their benefactors.
Interesting article in today's edition of The Hill about how Bush is not the fundraising champ that he used to be. The first line says it all "Financial projections for the President’s Dinner tonight confirm that Republican confidence in the president is in a state of collapse."
That's pretty tough, but tucked into that piece are some harsh words, very harsh words about George Bush from Maine's Olympia Snowe. Keep in mind, she said this on the very day Bush trekked to Capitol Hill to plead his case for immigration. If what Snowe thinks is pervasive among her caucus, then Bush is in trouble. Now, Olympia Snowe isn't your average Republican Senator. She's somewhat moderate...way more moderate than any of the others, including her colleague from Maine, Susan Collins. But, Snowe gave the sense that Bush is leading Republicans off the cliff:
Bush visited the Senate Republicans’ weekly luncheon yesterday for the first time since September to build support for immigration reform. Lingering concerns about the president’s stubbornness and his stance on the controversial issue may undermine his outreach effort.
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) said she thinks her former GOP colleagues Sens. Mike DeWine (Ohio) and Lincoln Chafee (R.I.) lost reelection because of Bush’s unpopularity.
“It’s definitely because of the president and his policies, more from the standpoint of immovability and not being willing to adjust policies in response to real-time circumstances,” she said. “It wasn’t just the fact that things weren’t working well in Iraq, it was the president wasn’t willing to adjust his policy to recognize and acknowledge that.”
Last year’s losses at the polls have shaped her Republican colleagues’ view of the president in 2007, she said, adding, “All of that had manifested itself in ways this year, leading to concerns about the president’s policies.”
Snowe said that during yesterday’s meeting, her thought was that Republicans would still be the majority if not for Bush’s failures.
“What’s disconcerting is that Republicans shouldn’t be in the position of having lost the majority,” she said, adding that because of the president Republicans had an “uphill battle” running for reelection in New England last year.
Even after the 2006 election losses, most of the Republicans on the Hill are still willing to do Bush's dirty work. We'll see over the next couple weeks whether Republicans stick with Bush on Iraq. My bet is they will.
Senate Democrats are planning a series of votes over the next couple weeks on Iraq. They're going to start the pressure on Bush and the GOP again. The main problem has been the Bush-protectionist Republican Senators -- and that includes Joe Lieberman.
The GOPers have blocked every reasonable proposal to curtail Bush's war. Bush is leading them on a political death march, and they're happily following. The American people have had it with the Iraq war. Over the next couple weeks, we'll see if they GOPers are still sticking with Bush and his failed Iraq policy:
The first amendment, crafted chiefly by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), mandates the start of a troop withdrawal from Iraq within 120 days of passage. The second amendment, crafted chiefly by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), would set strong troop readiness standards and ensure a minimum period between Iraq deployments.
The third amendment, a hotly sought goal of Reid’s that was crafted chiefly by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), would block spending on a future military presence in Iraq after April 2008, save for troops on counter-terrorism and training missions.
A possible fourth vote could come on revoking Congress’s original 2002 war authorization, a tactic favored by many but agreed upon by few. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) has suggested “de-authorization” followed by a new, targeted mission, while Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) have suggested forcing President Bush to seek a new authorization from Congress.
It'll be pretty clear where Senators stand on Iraq after these votes.
Early morning blasts Wednesday destroyed two minarets at the same Shiite shrine in Samarra where an attack last year demolished the mosque's gilded dome and plunged the country into a wave of deadly sectarian violence.
The 9 a.m. explosions at the revered Askariya shrine in Samarra, about 65 miles north of Baghdad, is the sort of event that could spark a spiral of retaliatory bloodshed. U.S. officials have long worried that a major attack in Iraq could lead to uncontrollable bloodletting and undo recent gains in reducing violence made by the addition of thousands of extra U.S. troops stationed at high-profile posts on the streets of Baghdad and elsewhere.
The Senate will take a no confidence vote in Alberto Gonzales tomorrow. Besides being a liar, he is a disaster as Attorney General. But that doesn't matter. Bush sent his messenger, Tony Snow, out to tell GOP Senators to stick with Gonzales. And, GOP Senators always do what their leader, George Bush, tells them to do:
The White House on Sunday dismissed Senate plans to hold a no-confidence vote on the attorney general and said the outcome will not undermine President Bush's resolve to keep Alberto Gonzales at the Justice Department.
"Not a bit. Purely symbolic vote," presidential spokesman Tony Snow said. He was asked in a broadcast interview whether Bush might reconsider his decision to support Gonzales should a sizable number of Republican senators vote for the no-confidence resolution.
"It is perfectly obvious that the president has the right to hire and fire people who serve at his pleasure," Snow said.
On Monday, the Senate planned to debate the one-sentence measure that declares Gonzales "no longer holds the confidence of the Senate and of the American people."
Can't wait to see how Susan Collins, Norm Coleman, John Sununu and the others explain their fealty to Bush on this one.
John Warner only $500 raised in the first quarter. Senator Mark Warner sounds good:
U.S. Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.) reported Thursday that he has raised only $500 in campaign contributions during the first three months of the year, fueling speculation he may not seek a sixth term next year.
If Warner retires, Virginia could again become a key battleground in the fight to control the Senate as Republicans would be forced to hold onto a Senate seat they've had since 1978. Democrats control the Senate 51-49.
Warner, 80, has been coy about his political future in recent interviews, saying he would like to continue to serve but will ultimately do what he thinks is "best for Virginia." Among the candidates likely to be interested in succeeding Warner is Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.). On the Democratic side, national party leaders are talking to former Gov. Mark R. Warner.
In his quarterly report to the Federal Elections Commission, Warner reported raising $500 in January, February and March, which was 60 times more than he spent during the same period, according to the FEC. Warner has $667,272 in the bank.
Yesterday, Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN), who is facing a very tough re-election next year, voted against the real stem cell research bill. Instead, he offered the watered down, competing version. Coleman is sticking with the hard core theocrats. No surprise, then that Coleman is the featured guest for the Family Research Council's "blogger briefing" conference call today about stem cells:
Every Thursday Family Research Council hosts a Bloggers' Briefing conference call that gives bloggers the opportunity to communicate directly with politicians, policy makers, religious leaders, and others who set the agenda within our nation's Capital. Tomorrow at 12:00 PM EST (9:00 AM PST / 10:00 AM MST / 11:00 AM CST) we'll be talking with Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) about the embryonic stem cell bill currently being debated in the Senate.
Coleman chose to be a hero to the theocrats. He's going to be a one-term Senator.
Republicans have no plan for Iraq. Never had one. Never questioned the war. Never challenged Bush. Now, they're offended by legislation that would start the process to get our troops out of the civil war:
"The final bill is likely to have the offending language in it," the Senate minority leader said as the Senate prepared to begin debating the war-funding bill, which sets March 31, 2008, as a goal for removing combat troops from Iraq.
At that point, he said, Bush would have to veto the legislation and lawmakers would have to get to work again.
Veto the bill because there's a plan to end the war. That's what will offend the American people.
I've been out of town so hadn't seen the latest MoveOn ads. The ad below is running in the DC media market. They hammer the Republican Senators who are preventing a debate on Iraq. If they don't debate, Bush escalates. It's that simple. MoveOn calls them out -- they "don't have the courage to face a vote":
