The word from bloggers in the know is that the Dems are wondering whether we've got their back and if that will be enough to protect them from the inevitable mass hysteria in the GOP and the equally inevitable shit storm it will stir up in the corporate media:
Kennedy says the press have been able to convince people that the Dems are obstructionist; they have been successful in spreading the perception that Daschle was an obstructionist, and look what happened to him. This is something the Democrats have seemed to internalize. They believe that voting their conscience on this matter is "obstructionist," and they think they will pay a fearsome price back home if they are perceived thusly, so PLEASE let them know that just the opposite is true.
I've called and/or faxed nineteen senators over this filibuster. I want this filibuster. But how can I guarantee that the Dems who stand up to do the right thing won't pay a fearsome price for doing it when I know this to be true:
But rather than a Democratic triumph, the Alito hearings have thrown the dichotomy between the netroots and the Democratic leadership into even starker relief, illustrating the profound dysfunction of the left’s triangle. As well, the depth and breadth of media complicity and the obliviousness of so many Democrats to it, is alarming. From the choreography of Specter and Alito creating the "open mind on abortion" soundbite that media outlets dutifully ran with, to the Sen. Graham/Mrs. Alito tear-fest that should have prompted Dems to slam the Republicans for bringing the Judge's wife to tears but instead turned into another Dem-bashing occasion, to the complete failure of the Democratic leadership to create the appropriate tone of outrage (in soundbite form), the chronic breakdown of the establishment and media sides of the left's triangle is apparent.
You don't stand up to that kind of institutionalized corruption and incompetence with a bunch of people who need to be begged to do the right thing and only will if we, the powerless of the Broken Triangle, can guarantee them that resistance will be painless. Greg, at the Talent Show, thinks we're being played:
It's a scam folks. The Democrats may see the attempts to block Alito as the equivalent of putting a speedbump in front of a runaway train, but even their half-assed opposition is only a facade to ensure that we, the liberal base, stay calm and help deliver the votes in November. They'll turn this defeat into another fundraising appeal, fretting about the out-of-control Republicans while hoping we all forget how much they've folded time and again to the extreme right.
Now that's harsh. I won't send them a dime, (my money goes to real Democrats) but I'm still going to keep faxing over the next 36 hours and start calling again Monday morning. Annatopia says Mikulski and Salazar are key votes. It's six to seven and pick'em.
Here's the contact information, phone and fax. I lifted it from Lean Left:
Blanche Lambert Lincoln (D- AR), 202-224-4843
Joseph I. Lieberman (D- CT), 202-224-4041
Thomas R. Carper (D- DE), 202-224-2441
Daniel K. Inouye (D- HI), 202-224-3934
Tom Harkin (D- IA), 202-224-3254
Evan Bayh (D- IN), 202-224-5623
Barbara A. Mikulski (D- MD), 202-224-4654
Carl Levin (D- MI), 202-224-6221
Mark Dayton (D- MN), 202-224-3244
Max Baucus (D- MT), 202-224-2651
Frank Lautenberg (D- NJ), 202-224-3224
Jeff Bingaman (D- NM), 202-224-5521
Jack Reed (D- RI), 202-224-4642
Patrick J. Leahy (D- VT), 202-224-4242
Maria Cantwell (D- WA), 202-224-3441
Patty Murray (D- WA), 202-224-2621
Herb Kohl (D- WI), 202-224-5653
John D. Rockefeller, IV (D- WV), 202-224-6472
James M. Jeffords (I- VT), 202-224-5141Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D- DE) , 202-224-5042
Bill Nelson (D- FL), 202-224-5274
Daniel K. Akaka (D- HI), 202-224-6361
Mary Landrieu (D- LA), 202-224-5824
Byron L. Dorgan (D- ND), 202-224-2551
Olympia Snowe (R- ME), 202-224-5344You can also fax them for free through this service at these numbers:
AR: Lincoln(D) (202) 228-1371
AR: Pryor(D) (202) 228-0908
CA: Boxer(D) (202) 226-6701
CA: Feinstein(D) (202) 228-3954
CO: Salazar(D) (202) 228-5036
CT: Dodd(D) (202) 224-1083
CT: Lieberman(D) (202) 224-9750
DE: Biden(D) (202) 224-0139
DE: Carper(D) (202) 228-2190
FL: Nelson(D) (202) 228-2183
HI: Akaka(D) (202) 224-2126
HI: Inouye(D) (202) 224-6747
IA: Harkin(D) (202) 224-9369
IL: Durbin(D) (202) 228-0400
IL: Obama(D) (202) 228-4260
IN: Bayh(D) No FAX listed
LA: Landrieu(D) (202) 224-9735
MA: Kennedy(D) (202) 224-2417
MA: Kerry(D) (202) 224-8525
MD: Mikulski(D) (202) 224-8858
MD: Sarbanes(D) (202) 224-1651
MI: Levin(D) (202) 224-1388
MI: Stabenow(D) (202) 228-0325
MN: Dayton(D) (202) 228-2186
Local (612) 727-5223
MT: Baucus(D) (202) 224-0515
ND: Conrad(D) (202) 224-7776
ND: Dorgan(D) (202) 224-1193
NE: Nelson(D) (202) 228-0012
NJ: Corzine(D) (202) 228-2197
NJ: Lautenberg(D) (202) 224-9707
NM: Bingaman(D) (202) 224-2852
NV: Reid(D) (202) 224-7327
NY: Clinton(D) (202) 228-0282
NY: Schumer(D) (202) 228-3027
OR: Wyden(D) (202) 228-2717
RI: Reed(D) (202) 224-4680
SD: Johnson(D) (202) 228-0368
VT: Leahy(D) (202) 224-3595
VT: Jeffords(I) No FAX listed
WA: Cantwell(D) (202) 228-0514
WA: Murray(D) (202) 224-0238
WI: Feingold(D) (202) 224-2725
WI: Kohl(D) (202) 224-9787
WV: Rockefeller(D) (202) 224-7665
WV: Byrd(D) (202) 228-0002Vulnerable Republicans:
Lincoln Chafee Fax: (202) 228-2853 / (401) 453-5085
Susan Collins: Fax: (202) 224-2693 / (207) 990-4604
Olympia Snowe: Fax: (202) 224-1946 / (207) 874-7631
Ted Stevens: Fax: (202) 224-2354
We all know what Bush is going to say Tuesday night, and how he'll say it. What's more we know that immediately afterward Karl "turd blossom" Rove will get the propaganda machinery running at full speed to paint a rosy picture for that brain-dead 42 percent of the electorate who eagerly swallow this Fascist filth whole.
There's one way to affect the news coverage of the upcoming Bush/Rove tap dance. And that is when Bush begins his SOTU lies, every Democrat in the chamber should simply get up and walk out. No shouting, no banner waving. Just a silent and dignified protest against Bush's attempt to destroy the founding fathers' conception of balance of power, judicial review, and congressional oversight.
Yes, I know. This will never happen. Bush will blather, and the conventional media's stenographers will just repeat his bullshit as if it isn't bullshit.
And then back to business as usual.
Posted by: John Palcewski | January 29, 2006 at 02:26 AM