"Not With a Bang But a Whimper"

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

"As the protest against Bush's certification fell flat and they rolled over for Gonzales, it was a day of humilation and futility for Democrats.


By Tim Grieve

(snip)

For Democrats, the election protest was at least a momentary triumph. Four years ago, with Al Gore presiding, Congress met in joint session to certify the results of the 2000 election. One after another, African-American members of the House rose to protest the vote from Florida, where thousands of black voters had been disenfranchised and the U.S. Supreme Court had called off the recount. Again and again, the members were gaveled down because they couldn't get a single senator to join them in protesting the election results.

It was different this time. When Ohio Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones rose in the House chambers, she announced that she had a protest to lodge against the Ohio vote, in writing as required. "And," she said, "I do have a senator." The senator was California's Barbara Boxer, who said she joined in the protest because it was the only way to shed light on the voting irregularities in Ohio and the need for election reform nationwide.

(snip)

The protest put a hold on the vote certification so that each house could retire to its respective chamber for debate and a vote on the issue. But Boxer -- or anyone else who thought the protest would lead to serious discussion of election reform -- must have been disappointed by the sorry spectacle that followed. There was no sense of history being made, no sense that anything was really happening at all. Although a few hundred people protested in the drizzle across the street from the Capitol, the visitor galleries in the Senate were mostly empty. Fewer than a dozen senators showed up for the debate, and only the ones who spoke -- among them, Hillary Rodham Clinton and, in his first floor speech, Barack Obama -- seemed to take it seriously. As Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin made an impassioned plea for a bipartisan effort to improve the electoral system, Dick Cheney and Sen. Rick Santorum sat slumped in a couple of chairs on the edge of the Senate floor, talking and laughing. They weren't listening. With solid majorities in both houses, they didn't have to.

And the Republicans weren't the only ones who seemed to give the protest short shrift. Minnesota Sen. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, took to the floor to criticize Boxer for facilitating the protest, saying she would undermine the country's confidence in its democracy if the protest were to succeed and the election were thrown to the House of Representatives. And while Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid ultimately spoke of the need for election reform, he spent much of the protest debate on the other side of the aisle, kibitzing with Santorum and a few other Republican senators. "

htttp://www.salon.com

Very depressing....

[Kurovski]

1. Not a whimper

just a whole lotta WHIMPERING.

[placton]

2. Sadly, this is not our party anymore.

I read this article first thing this AM - I subscribe. All our national Dems are interested in is: keeping their own jobs. The poor? Minorities? Working folks? Screw 'em, say Hillary, Harry, John Kerry (oops, he couldn't even bother to attend).

[bemildred]

3. Forcing the congressional leadership to openly show their contempt

for democracy was worth doing, and they will pick a fight with Ms Boxer
at their peril. I especially dislike Mr. Dayton's comment:

"saying she would undermine the country's confidence in its democracy
if the protest were to succeed", true Orwelliam doublespeak; what he
means is that it would undemine the illusion of confidence that such as
he rely on to maintain their hold on power.

[IndianaGreen]

5. Most democrats were annoyed that they had to vote on the resolution

they acted as they were upset with the voters that had forced this issue upon them. What an inconvenience, two hours of their time in a debate about voting rights when they could be drinking martinis with their Republican friends!

Pukes all of them!

Kudos to Barbara Boxer, Dennis Kucinich and the Congressional Black Caucus. Kudos to my Congresswoman, Julia Carson, for voting for the resolution to challenge the Ohio electors. Boo to Hillary, Biden, and Kerry, and all the other 2008 wannabees for being AWOL for the American people.

[patdem]

4. Kick this to the front page since it is being brought up again in a dupe

:kick:

[Raster]

6. sadly, just about everyone in congress would like to go back...

...to business as usual, and that doesn't include increased scrutinization from the electorate.