let's keep that name and send it everywhere! McCain Torture Act is exactly right.

What the hell is wrong with those 12 Dems?  Wait, scratch that.  11 Dems?  Lieberman doesn't count.

If the Democrats don't take this opportunity to campaign as "anti-torture" politicians, then we might as well resign ourselves to a one-party state.

What the fuck...

I'm disapointed with Menendez and Lautenberg. Lautenberg is supposed to be Mr. Liberal and Menendez is having a tough re-election, and need progressive support. This might piss off some potential volunteers and get them to not help him. Almost everyone else I expected, especially that dump putz Lieberman.

Salazar has developed a troubling habit of voting non-progressively. Has the local progressive movement in Colorado been holding his feet to the fire at all? Anyone know?

Good Lord, I thought it was at least going to be close.

Rockefeller too??????????????

You know what, Democrats are too weak to fight the War on Terror effectively.  If they can't stand up to President Bush for American principles, then how the hell can they stand up to Osama bin Laden?  Goddamn cowards. . .

It all comes back to Lieberman.  If Lamont can come from behind again and unseat him, then liberals will gain some leverage in the party.  If not ...

Lamont-Lieberman looks to be the most consequential senate race in a generation.  

What's up with that???  He's in a can't lose position going up against Katherine Harris for god's sake????  He can't lose.  Is this how he really feels about this legislation???  I'm aghast.  I will not vote for him November 7th.  that's the last straw.  He votes for repeal of the estate tax.  He always votes with the rethugs on the really important bills.  I'll vote for Davis for governor, but I'm passing on my Senate vote.  I wish someone would have challenged him in the primary now.  

loser.

Even the Dems who voted for the bill are to blame.  They let the Kabuki Three (McCain, Graham, and Warner) fight their battles for them last week, then were caught surprised and flatfooted when it all turned out to be show, when lots of people out here could see this one coming a mile away.

Finally they started to speak up, but only yesterday.  Too little, too late, got creamed.

An especial fuck-you to my two Senators, Barbara Mikulski and Paul Sarbanes.  Yes, you wound up voting against the bill, I called your offices after 5pm yesterday, and your people couldn't tell me which way you were going to go.  Profiles in courage.

Christ, even Fred Hiatt was way out in front of you guys on this one.  Doesn't that just say it all?

I agree with everyone else who is totally shocked that so many Dems would go along with this.

This plays so much more into Rove's hands than if they had voted as a block- now the people who voted against the bill will be called super leftest extreamists and the people who voted for it will be called flip floppers who obviously are liberal terrorist traitors, they just tried to cover their butts by voting yes.

Nice job guys.  Jesus.

The Nazis didn't torture our POWS because we lived, seriously, by the Geneva Convention.  How in God's name can the so called religious right support this?

There's a long thread on Daily Kos about Reid and how he failed to muster a fillibuster against this bill.  Those who defend him (in the sense that they say he did the best he could) point out that he just couldn't get the votes for such a move.  I don't know why he couldn't have gotten at least 7 of those above to support a delay (better not to call it a fillibuster) in this legislation until after the election.  He surely has some leverage over Lieberman, if he wants to use it (he has resisted throwing his weight solidly behind Lamont).  He surely should be able to get Lautenberg and Menendez to go along with a delay.  Stabenow has no excuse; nor really do Carper, Nelson (fl), Salazar, or Rockefeller.  None of them are electorally threatened except maybe Stabenow and Menendez, and this is not a make or break issue in New Jersey or Michigan.

I'm in the camp that says Reid failed miserably here, and should resign from his leadership position.  This was too important, and even if these senators would ultimately vote for the bill, surely there was a way to get them to side with the party for at least the sake of denying Republicans a major PR victory 6 weeks out from the election.

Total failure.

Ump.

Oh man, Salazar. That breaks my heart.

I know progressives here call and write to him and his office all the time on his reactionary voting patterns, but I get the impression that Salazar doesn't think he really owes us anything. His position in the state is pretty solid.

I am confused now. Is that John Salazar that voted for the bill, or Ken? Square State is saying Ken voted no.

I don't know much about John, I'm in Udall's district.

Generally, the cloture vote on a bill has more Dems voting for it than vote for the bill on passage.

So, if 12 Dems go off the reservation in the passage vote, that shows that it wasn't even close on cloture. In fact, to go for cloture would have been plain ridiculous.

The personnel is interesting: Carper, Menendez, the Nelsons, and Stabenow are Class I senators (up this year) and defending their seats. The rest (except Salazar) are Class II.

(Lieberman I treat as airbrushed already.)

While 34 Dem reps (say 17% of the total) voted for the equivalent bill in the House, those 12 represent around 26% of the Dem Senate caucus.

Of course, Uncle Harry has thwarted a major national security bill before: the Patriot Act renewal bill HR 3199 - where, in December 2005, Frist failed to secure cloture by a whopping eight votes.

Of course, it was a nine days wonder. But it happened.

Because he had the votes. For the torture bill, he was clearly miles off.

I go to the main U.S. Senate page on my way to look up the vote tally.  You know what it says, smack dab in the middle?

"We the People: Celebrating the Constitution"

Yeh, riiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

And then when I get here to MyDD, right underneath the post about how Menendez was one of the eleven Dems to cave to Bush on torture, there's the Menendez ad: "Democratic Senator Bob Menendez is standing up to George Bush on Iraq."  

Standing up to Bush on Iraq, and caving to him on torture.  Wonderful.

With regards to how the Democratic Senators voted on the McCain Torture Amendment. We should first thank the 33 Democratic Senators who voted NO.
1)Blanche Lincoln(AR)- Too bad her home state colleague Mark Pryor(AR)did not follow her lead.
2)Diane Fienstien(CA)- blue state up for re-election in 2006
3)Barbara Boxer(CA)-No surprise
4)Chris Dodd(CT)-blue state democratic senator(potential 2008 Presidential candidate
5)Joe Biden(DE)- same as Chris Dodd.
6)Daniel Inouye(HI)-blue state democratic senator
7)Daniel Akaka(HI)-No suprise
8)Richard Durbin(IL)-No surprise
9)Barack Obama(IL)-No surprise
10)Evan Bayh(IN)-red state democratic senator- but potential 2008 Presidential candidate.
11)Tom Harkin(IA)-No surprise
12)Paul Sarbanes(MD)-No Suprise
13)Barbara Mikulski(MD)-No Suprise
14)Ted Kennedy(MA)-No Suprise
15)John Kerry(MA)-No Suprise
16)Carl Levin(MI)-Blue State Democratic Senator- Too bad his home state collegue Debbie Stabenow did not follow his lead
17)Mark Dayton(MN)-No suprise
18)Max Baucus(MT)- Deserve high praise- Conservative Democratic Senator from a Red State.
19)Harry Reid(NV)-No suprise
20)Jeff Bingaman(NM)- could have went either way.
21)Chuck Schumer(NY)-Blue State Democratic Senator
22)HIllary Clinton(NY)-Blue State Democratic Senator and 2008 Democratic Presidential candidate.
23)Kent Conrad(ND)-Red State Democratic Senator
24)Byron Dorgan(ND)-Red State Democratic Senator
25)Ron Wyden(OR)-Blue State Democratic Senator
26)Jack Reed(RI)-No Suprise
27)Patrick Leahy(VT)-No Suprise
28)Jim Jeffords(VT)-No Suprise
29)Patty Murray(WA)-No Suprise
30)Maria Cantwell(WA)-Blue State Democratic Senator- up for re-election in 2006
31)Robert Byrd(WV)-To bad his home state colleage Jay Rockefeller did not follow his lead
32)Herb Kohl(WI)-Blue state democratic senator up for re-election in 2006
33)Russell Feingold(WI)-No Suprise

*(No suprise means the Senator's vote was predictable based on their ideological principles).

With regards to the Democratic Senators that voted for the Torture Bill.
I am pretty shocked and stunned at Lautenberg(NJ),Menendez(NJ)and Stabenow(MI). These three have been partisan democrats from a blue state. Those three could have voted NO. (62-37)

That leaves us The gang of 9
Out of the 9.
Nelson(NE)and Lieberman(CT)were lost cause. Nelson is a conservative Senator from a red state and Lieberman(CT)is a bush lackey.
Johnson(SD)was worried about being Daschled in 2008- when he faces tough re-election campaign against Republican Governor Mike Rounds

Pryor(AR),Carper(DE)and Rockefeller(WV)could have followed their senior colleagues lead and vote NO.  (59-40)

Lets assume that we onvinced Salazar(CO),Nelson(FL),and Landrieu(LA)not to pander to the Republicans. The vote count would be 56-43.

If the Democrats regain control of the US Senate.
Democratic Senators replacing Democrats - Cardin(MD)- like his predecessor would have voted NO
Klobuchar(MN)- like his predecessor would have voted NO.
Sanders(VT)-like his predecessor would have voted NO.
Democratic Senators replacing Republicans
Whitehouse(RI)-like his predecessor would have voted NO.

The change in outcome would have been up to
Lamont(CT)
McCaskill(MO)
Tester(MT)
Brown(OH)
Webb(VA)
Those Senator would have likely voted NO. (51-48)

It would have been up to us to convince Casey(PA)and Ford(TN)- to vote NO.  (49-50)

Down with Reid. He sucks.

It's not about having the votes for a filibuster. It's about getting the votes for a filibuster. Use a little political capital, for crying out loud. He's like a babysitter who's scared by a bunch of unruly toddlers.

It's what the caucus gets for electing someone from a battleground state.

And now it is time to pray to the Supreme Court gods. Save us, Judge Kennedy...

I want Reid gone as Minority/Majority Leader.   I want him gone on January 5, 2007.

Here are his words:
"Second, this bill authorizes a vast expansion of the President's power to detain people - even U.S. citizens - indefinitely and without charge. No procedures for doing so are specified, no due process is provided, and no time limit on the detention is set. . . .

"History will judge our actions here today. I am convinced that future generations will view passage of this bill as a grave error. I wish to be recorded as one who voted against taking this step."

HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT AND NOT FILIBUSTER????  HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT AND AGREE TO LIMIT DEBATE????

Inexcusable.  I will work to get the majority and I will continue working for McCaskill here in MO, but I  W A N T   R E I D   G O N E!

And no, I don't care that he didn't have the votes.... If you know it's wrong; if you know it's evil - you fight with everything you've got.

And my congressman wasn't even there in the House.  I hope his reason is that he was here in MO helping McCaskill....  

Does anyone really believe that sancioning torture is going to make us safer? Are we really this dumb?

These Dem's and ALL the Republicans are dangerous  for democracy.  We really should work against Carper, Johnson, Landrieu, Lautenberg, Lieberman, Menendez, Pryor, Rockefeller, Salazar, Stabenow, nelson, nelson. I will not vote for Nelson in Florida, I don't give a crap. That blood sucker won't get my vote.

Four years.

Four years in which the Democrats have had the opportunity to observe that the Republicans play dirty and can't be trusted.

Four years in which the Democrats have been able to see for themselves that any "compromises" with Republicans result in quick backstabs.

Four years in which the Democrats have had ample opportunities to deal with the craven depravity of the Bush White House.

Four years in which the Democrats have been subjected to an avalanche of Republican lies and bad faith.

Four years in which the Democrats have experienced one electoral defeat after another, despite all their attempts to "look tough" by incessantly voting for one Republican atrocity after another.

Four years in which the Democrats have kept their powder dry, to save it for the "really important" legislative battles.

Four years in which the Democrats had a chance to work on effective strategies for combating Republican power grabs.

So now the ultimate battle arrives -- the battle that will determine whether America remains a democracy or becomes a police state -- and the Democrats...keep the powder safely in storage, nice and high and dry.

John McCain and Bill Frist say, "Trust us". Harry Reid believes them. "The last four years? Huh? What about them? Is there something we should be aware of?"

The American Enabling Act is now official. And it was the Democrats who did the enabling.

The history textbooks of the year 2100 will be vicious to these bastards -- on both sides of the aisle.

May every senator and congressman who voted for this bill rot in hell for all eternity.  

Ask not who your government can torture, ask what you can do to save our country!

Clarion Call for a Tortured Republic:

Ask not who your government can torture, ask what you can do to save our country!

It will have to go to conference committee....

But then the 2006 budget that Bush signed should have gone to a conference committee, but they just cheated that one....

It is not too early, in fact the time is now, to start to identify, promote, fund and encourage primary challengers to every Dem who voted in favor of this scandalous, un-American, fascist bill.

The most important race in this cycle may be in Connecticut. If Lamont unseats Lieberman perhaps other quisling Dems may get the message. Of what value will a Dem majority be if it is a majority of torture enablers and Constitution wreckers?

IF Dems think caving on an issue as important as this will work in their favor they are sorely mistaken, on every level.

...I'd see to it that these twelve never got another dime of the party's money ever again, and had a well-funded challenger running to the left of them in every election they ever take place in for the rest of their lives, even if they're running for president of the god damn PTA.

To vote against the Democrats and side with Republicans is one thing.  But theses people voted against America and for fascism.  Shameful, despicable and unforgivable aren't words enough to describe it.

What's worse is, both of my Senators are on that list.  I've got to move back to New York... not that it'll make much difference.  I can be arrested without charges and tortured no matter what state I live in.

Sadly, both of my Democratic Senators were on the list of sell outs. It is hard to remain optimistic. It will be hard to vote for him in November. It was a very crappy vote and when some ugly thing is done in our name and defended with this bill the Republicans can point to our Senators and say that they supported this.