I'll give Mary Landrieu a pass today ( Y for Gonzales)

[NewYorkerfromMass]

She's in very red state and she barely won re-election 2 years ago.
She reminds me a lot of Daschle having to walk the tightrope in Bush country. She has to pick here issues carefully and frankly, for all we know she voted her constituents' wishes here.
Anyway, if we want to keep her seat Dem she'll need a bit of understanding from us all.

I can't speak for the Nelsons, and Lieberman has blown my incredulity meter.

[Liberal Veteran]

1. Sorry, but we need to stop compromising thinking it will help us.

Look where it got Daschle.

[meppie-meppie not]

6. I so agree! Now is the time to be looking for those people who can run

in place of her or against her...start grooming some TRUE democrats not these bloody DINO's.

[Supersedeas]

15. Exactly, and this was an integrity check (constituents or no)

It was time to stand by human rights or not.

She caved plain and simple.

[Jacobin]

2. She's my senator and she does NOT get a pass from me

She is pro-choice and proudly so and won the last election against a goober who pretended to be anti-choice. We have a tiny latino population, if she is thinking politics and race. She ran her last race saying she would vote with Bush* when she thought it was good and against him when she didn't like what he was doing, and her poll numbers went UP. The goober running against her said she would ALWAYS support Bush*. Her poll numbers went down.

He is a supporter of torture. He in effect gave 'legal' authority for this country to violate the Geneva Conventions.

I'm in the midst of writing her a letter asking why she thought she had to vote for Gonzales. I'll share whatever canned email response I get.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

4. Well, I read (scanned really) the Bybee memo

and basically what they are saying is that 9/11 means we have to be tough guys and not worry about the Geneva convention and nice guys basically will end up being dead guys.
I know and you know and we ALL know that maintaining principles is ALL and that we lower ourselves if we refuse to uphold principles- BUT they are playing up to the hilt this macho attitude of kill them all and sort it out later and a good defense is a good offense.
They are playing to the basest of basest instincts.
It sucks but our populace is crude and unsophisticated and it is very hard to "nuance".

[Jacobin]

8. Kerry got 44% of Louisiana's vote in 2004

The 'basest of the base' is not Landrieu's, errr, base. She is playing to the wrong end of the spectrum.

She did an EXCELLENT job of bashing RW judicial nominees last year when the repukes tried their little 24 hour debate. She was red-faced and furious and screamed "I will not yield the floor" to cheers from other dems.

She knows how to fight. She knows how to be progressive. She knows most of her catholic constituency uses birth control, get abortions, and are not happy about VietRaq.

I think this was a bad miscalculation on her part. She will gain absolutely nothing from this vote (unless she traded her vote for some pork barrel crap, which is a distinct possibility)

[liveoaktx]

9. But if YOU understand the nuance, approving what Bybee said is

the wrong thing to do, regardless if all the warmongering, crude and unsophisticaed populace likes it.

Some, though, are for it. I heard this witch on Cspan the other day- Bin Laden Talks Terrorism

[meppie-meppie not]

10. The last thing the democratic party needs is duplicitous politicians

like what you've described her to be. Depending on the type of email you'll be sending her I may indeed be curious to see her reply :-)

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

3. I suspect that there are a relatively few folks...

Who would not have understood if Sen. Landrieu had said "Alberto Gonzales signed off on a finding that said that torture of prisoners by The United States of America was acceptible. That is al the reason I need to not vote for his confirmation".

People would have understood reflexively.

Sen. Landrieu needs a tuneup. Perhaps something involving icewater enemas administered by high-pressure firehoses.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

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[Dr Fate]

7. Er- Mr. Tom "Lets work with the liars & criminals" Daschle LOST.

So I hope you are incorrect that she is following his "strategy."

[hiley]

11. explain to me why again

you would give her a pass ?
One of my fucking Senators voted for Torturer Gonzales and Mark Pryor is not , no way getting a pass from me. It is plain and simple if you voted for Gonzales you are voting for Torture.

[saracat]

12. No one gets a pass on this vote.

Anyone who puts expediency above basic morality doesn't sdeserve to be in office. Watch me be flamed. I wonder if anyone would defend segregationists if it would get us a southern seat?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

13. Well, she does need the "moderate" Nazi and KKK vote to win.

"Triangulation", you know.

[G_j]

14. don't see how this vote could threaten her reelection anyway

but regardless, no pass from me

[NewYorkerfromMass]

17. Sure. Some opponent would accuse her of being soft on terror

The same thing helped make that IWR vote so messy.

[G_j]

21. that will happen anyway

they will find some reason to say this if they have to make one up out of thin air.

[txaslftist]

16. I won't. The idea that red-staters support weak-kneed dems

is flawed. Even red state Murkans would rather see someone who puts up a fight, even if they lose.

No pass from this red stater.

[Still_Loves_John]

18. I give most of them a pass today

The way I figure it, while I like for as many senators to vote against Gonzales, it's a pretty symbolic vote since it won't make a difference either way. When it comes to Dem senators in red states, I would actually rather see them vote with the Repubs on stuff like this, since they won't be wasting their political capital when it comes to a real vote. That's why I tend to look at things like this from the point of view of being proud of the Senators that voted no, instead of mad at those who voted yes.

Lieberman, however, I am mad at. Mary Landrieu is from Lousiana; Liberman is from Connecticut. CONNECTICUT. bleh.

[saracat]

19. But we don't have any capital. That is why the symbolism is important!

[genius]

20. Landrieu is fine with your kids being tortured. I won't give her a pass.

[WritersBlock]

22. She gets no pass from me, and she's supposed to be my senator.

There is absolutely no excuse for voting for his nomination.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3055535&mesg_id=3056100&page=

[robbedvoter]

23. Sure, a little torture didn't kill anyone - oh, wait, it did. But them red

staters are very particular about torturing furriners so, we need to become like them in order to...why are we doing this again?

is there a limit over which we aren't willing to compromise? Should torture be it?

[Al-CIAda]

24. She has betrayed a fundamental American value. Screw her -eom

[last1standing]

25. Voting for Gonzales was not compromise it was appeasement.

I'm all for compromise, something the Dems have not been doing. I am against full fledged caving in, a specialty with some. To vote for torture, however, is inexcusable in any context as conservatives and liberals are all supposed to be against cruel and inhumane treatment of others. We are all supposed to be against raping children in front of their parents. If we're not then there is a problem in this country that goes far beyond politics and becomes a sickness in the soul of our hearts.

I won't give any of them a pass. Ever.

[mockingbich]

26. SELL-OUT COWARD

appeaser, traitor, liar, race-baiter, panderer

That about sums her up. She only voted for Gonzalez cuz he's hispanic. George Bush can get any one of his gestapo passed the Senate as long as they are non-white. Cute trick huh??? Don't want to be called a racist by the GOP do ya?!

[kentuck]

27. And if she votes for Bush's SS "reform".....?

Does she get a pass again? It's time for some of these people to decide whether they are Democrats or Republicans and stop thinking about the next election 4 years from now!!!

[leesa]

28. Nope. If she does not vote ethically, she gets no support or respect

from me. I am finished with the GOP appeasers.

[cidliz2004]

29. When most everybody was saying how "NICE" Lieberman was

I hated him, he seemed smarmy! (a real word?)

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

30. Of course you will.

:hi:

[Zhade]

31. Yes, approving torture is allowable for political expediency.

:eyes: