Dean strongly suggests filibuster on some nominees. "Go down fighting"

[madfloridian]

They talk very cautiously. I am glad to see him pushing this issue. He mentions Owens and Brown as two who might, but he does exclude others. I edited the subject line because it confused.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/27/AR2005092701652.html

The upcoming battle over a successor to Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor threatens to plunge the Senate into another bitter confrontation over filibusters and the "nuclear option," with Democrats already threatening to use any means possible to thwart President Bush if he nominates someone they regard as too conservative.

The roster of those threatening a filibuster includes liberal and moderate Democrats, supporters and opponents of John G. Roberts Jr., Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, and at least one of the seven Democratic senators who were part of the bipartisan "Gang of 14."

In an interview, Dean said Democratic unity is essential in the upcoming battle and that the party "absolutely" should be prepared to filibuster -- holding unlimited debate and preventing an up-or-down vote -- Bush's next high court nominee, if he taps someone they find unacceptably ideological. He cited appellate court judges Priscilla R. Owen and Janice Rogers Brown as two who would be likely to trigger such opposition.

"Those people are clearly not qualified to sit on the Supreme Court, and we're going to do everything we can to make sure they don't," he said. "If we lose, better to go down fighting and standing for what we believe in, because we will not win an election if the public doesn't think we'll stand up for what we believe in."

"Dean said a straight party-line vote would show Democratic unity but would not be sufficient to block a nominee. "That's not a fight to the death," he said. "A fight to the death is a filibuster, which is the only way we can reject an unqualified nominee -- because the Republicans don't seem to have any qualms about putting unqualified people in all manner of positions all over the government."

[bettyellen]

1. "Republicans don't seem to have any qualms about putting unqualified

people in all manner of positions all over the government."
Nice.

[madfloridian]

2. Very unqualified people everywhere.

Yes, well said.

[bettyellen]

5. tks for posting it. Go Howard!!

[CrazyForKucinich]

3. and what of John Ashcroft?

[madfloridian]

4. He cited Owens and Brown as two who "might". He did not exclude others.

I think the article was pretty clear that he was giving examples. I am glad he is urging this. We need to do that.

[madfloridian]

6. And Ben Nelson say maybe. He'll "know it when he sees it."

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), who was instrumental in forging the May agreement, said: "I'm not anxious to speculate what might trigger an extraordinary circumstance. If there is one, I'll know it when I see it. It's just very difficult to try to do that without a particular nominee in place."

[The Magistrate]

7. Governor Dean Is Quite Right, Ma'am

"The art of war consists in a reasoned and extremely circumspect defensive, followed by audacious attack."

[DemoTex]

9. I side with you, sir.

As usual.

[Silverhair]

8. That requires 41 votes in the senate to uphold a filibuster.

And we have enough Democratic senators that are from deep red states that we just will not have the 41 votes needed.

Don't misunderstand me. I posted that the Roberts nomination needed to be fought as soon as the news came out.

But I knew from the start that it would be a losing battle.

[madfloridian]

10. He says we go down fighting. He is right.

That is all we can do. At least he has some fighting spirit. So many do not.

[Gold Metal Flake]

11. Perhaps that is the wrong phrase.

Er, cliche? Anyway, why can't we go UP fighting? Isn't the time right to attack from the standpoint of *co's bad appointments? Brownie can lie all he wants, but the rains of Katrina and Rita have washed the hazey film of self delusion from the eyes of many Americans. It's time to push the "whys" of the appointments. Cronyism, personal profit at public expense, government for the rich.

I like that Gov. Dean is talkin fight. I guess it's up to us to make sure our Dem Congress critters hear that message. These fuckers are as vulnerable as they have ever been. Are we to wait to see if they become more vulnerable? Is it impossible that they might regroup in the meantime?

I knew I had a bad head gasket in my truck, but it was not leaking into the crankcase. I thought I could get just one more days drive out of it. Juuuust one more day. Juuuust put it off for one more day.

Popped a radiator hose, overheated, had to get towed, and now, instead of a head gasket, I'll probably have to rebuild the head.

Wait? If you wanna wait any more, thinking it will be OK or get better, just keep in mind what might GO WRONG.

[madfloridian]

13. That does sound better.

I guess I know how hard it will be. I know, they just keep waiting. The truck analogy is quite apt, I think.

[Gold Metal Flake]

15. Today, on the national Thom Hartmann show, he said

Something like:
"When Washington was president, if he had an attitude of, well, lets NOT fight this one and we wait until the next one to fight (refering to Britain), America would be owned by the Brits today!"

The Krylon bloom is off the polyethylene rose. Time to bring the heat and melt their plastic garden! (ow, sorry) We ask "if not now, when?" We have been asking a long time.

Well, I think we stop asking, and we say "now".

We use Gov. Deans words as reinforcement, sure, but it's past time to wait for supporting words, events or personalities.

The time IS now. Start by setting up a steady stream of calls, emails and letters, at least one every other day, to your Dem critters to act agressively at every turn. Assume that there will be a kind of lead time. You know how you take antibiotics to build up an environment in your body that is hostile to a bioloical intruder? The level of antibiotic in your body must build up to a certain level before it's effective. Assume that your methods of contact are little antibiotics of freedom. :-) and that it will take some time for an effect to build up. But, imagine if we all here at DU did this. Some folks do, I don't do it enough. But several messages a week, in different ways, each encouraging them to fight. After a while, they just might start to think that there exists some kind of support for opposing evil people.

The truck thing is real. Happened tonight. I'm pissed that I fooled myself. I know better.

[madfloridian]

18. LOL. That makes it even better.

You fooled me.

I call Senator Nelson's office like clockwork. I call my GOP congressman as well. I still get no reply from Nelson except very occasionally, and my GOP guy is getting nervous. I can tell, he is sounding interested in us now.

[calimary]

12. God BLESS that man!

To all those, including this complainer, who say they wish Dems would grow some backbone, this guy gets it. Yes.

"If we lose, better to go down fighting and standing for what we believe in, because we will not win an election if the public doesn't think we'll stand up for what we believe in."

Sheer music to my ears, anyway. Our Dems on the front lines NEED TO stand up. Otherwise it'll be the same complaint that I heard last year about Kerry and the swiftboat swifties: "if he can't stand up to them when they're attacking him personally and lying about him, how can we expect him to stand up to terrorists if they attack us again?" Not that I had doubts, but many others did, and it's a fair objection they raise. Further, there are the Michael O'Hanlons from the Brookings Institution - one of those rare creatures known as a LIBERAL-leaning think-tank - who wastes more on-camera time agreeing with his conservative opponent. He once explained to me that he thought it was important not to be contentious and show people that we could agree on something. I thought it was STOOOOOpid because THAT is where the understandable claim is born that "there's no real difference between the two parties - they're both pretty much the same." Which then leads them to question - "why should I vote for these guys if they sound the same as those guys, when those guys are already in? Heck, stick with a winner." Because we're pretty much known as the party that doesn't stand for anything. Nobody willing to stick his/her neck out, with rare exceptions. And that's the problem. They're EXCEPTIONS.

God BLESS Dr. Dean - I hope the other establishment Dems are LISTENING TO HIM, and taking his words DIRECTLY AND EAGERLY TO HEART. If we don't stand for something, we don't stand for anything.

[madfloridian]

14. We have got to be contentious now. What are we waiting for, I ask?

He keeps urging a fight, they keep hedging. I guess being in DC so long does that to them.

I hope the good doctor can avoid the DC syndrome.

[Pobeka]

16. Why trust dems to fight for our freedom in the world? --

When they won't even fight the GOP in a debate and a vote?

This is the core issue I think. Howard is right, better to be strong and lose than to be weak and lose. It ain't entirely about the nominee, it's also about how the public perceives the dems.

[ourbluenation]

17. finally - some cajones of steel

it's about frigging time

[madfloridian]

19. Amen.

I also like his write-up about his meeting with Cindy Sheehan. It was very nice.

http://www.democrats.org/a/2005/09/meeting_with_ci.php

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

20. Dems need to forget the...

...Compromise and wipe this shit-eatin' smile right off Conductor Frist's neo-fascist face. FILIBUSTER NOW!!!!!

[corbett]

21. There's Still Time To Stop Roberts - Please Help

The grass roots is making its voice heard and there is still time, even though the odds are against us. Please help by reading

http://www.millionphonemarch.com

and taking the requested action.

[Czolgosz]

22. Keep the faith and good luck.

[bobbieinok]

23. so when do WE filibuster??? some think NEVER???????

ya just gotta wonder about all this

[bemildred]

24. Absolutely, let's see some spine. nt