What time is the torture vote tomorrow?

[WildEyedLiberal]

Apparently, I need to call Obama, since his office said he was "taking tallies" of constituent calls.

Seriously, Barack: do you need a fucking PUSH POLL TO TELL YOU THAT TORTURE IS WRONG?????

x(

*simmers with anger*

[beachmom]

1. Not sure about the time, but Obama voted yes for the Levin

amendment today. Surely he is voting against the torture bill tomorrow, right? Is this something about stopping it? Because I think Reid has already capitulated as far as I know. I think it's over.

[WildEyedLiberal]

2. I can't take it for granted - which is SAD AS HELL

I know I should have called sooner but I hate talking to strangers on phones. It's just a deep, deep near-phobia of mine. So I haven't. And realisitically I know I don't NEED to call Durbin because he rocks and would never vote for torture. But it's sad as hell that I don't have the same certainty about Obama.

[beachmom]

3. I'm with you on the phone calling! It also makes me nervous.

I didn't call my senators because they are unpersuadable. It's John Warner's bill after all, and actually, I no longer recognize the junior senator of Virginia. Considering the most horrible, shameful, awful history (and present) he has, there's no way in HELL I'm calling that office ever again and suffering while I'm on hold with his redneck music (I love bluegrass and country selectively, but THIS music was downright scary). In fact, even "Barfbag" doesn't work for me anymore. To me, he just doesn't exist.

Oh, so where was I? I don't believe in calling senators from other states. You have to be a constituent to really matter. But if Warner is in play, I call him. I called him on the nuclear option and he joined the Gang of 14. I called him to support the Kerry/Feingold Iraq amendment and although he didn't support it, he decided to engage in a half hour brilliant debate with Sen. Kerry which I want to think was in tribute to constituents who wanted him to really explore seriously the debacle that is Iraq. I think since then, he is moving in Kerry's direction.

Last week I did phone banking locally, and it was good for crashing my comfort zone, but after several hours of calls over a couple of days, I really was glad to be done. Next time I volunteer for that campaign, maybe they'll have some data entry for me :).

So, yeah, call his office tomorrow and tell us what you find out. I think I saw Obama on the floor today and he seemed really anxious. Not sure what's up there. Kerry, OTOH, voted, chatted for a couple minutes, and then took off immediately. I don't think he was in the mood for being chummy with people who want to get rid of 700 year law.

[WildEyedLiberal]

8. I was a telemarketer for a year.

It left me with deep, permanent psychological scars. :scared: I don't call strangers unless I *HAVE* to.

And.... Allen has REDNECK COUNTRY hold music??????

:spray:

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

For some reason, in light of all the black horror going on in the world on this terrible, awful, no-good, very bad day, I find that HYSTERICAL. Thanks for the laugh.

[karynnj]

14. Warner is moving in Kerry's direction?

That sounds great. Moving towards doesn't imply this, but wouldn't it would be nice if Warner and Kerry re-introduced the bill as co-sponsors. Warner working with Kerry would get across what Kerry is saying about it being a plan to suceed. It might be the only make it possible to get out.

[beachmom]

16. Oh, he has a long way to go, but . . .

He has talked about introducing a bill that re-authorizes troops in Iraq for a civil war. Like another IWR to restate that they're there in the middle of a civil war. That tells you something. Of course, in light of his "compromise" with the WH on torture, I wouldn't trust him alone, but if there are more Dems in the Senate next year, maybe he would have more cover to do the right thing.

[TayTay]

17. Yeah, I saw that vote and the fact that Sen. Durbin pulled him aside

for a second for a quick chat. As Sen. Sweetie is the assistant Minority Leader for the Dems in the Senate, maybe he wanted to check and see if the taller Senator from Mass wanted to be put on the schedule to speak on the pending amendment. Could be.

Barfie is beyond awful. My deepest sympathies on having that awful man as your Senator. (Ahm, I have lent my taller Sen out to VA for the primary there. Here's hoping he goes back again before the general election to help Webb. I cannot imagine that he would not see getting rid of that moron and bully Allen would be anything but an ultimate good for the nation.)

[TayTay]

4. Sen. Obama made a speech on the floor tonight

And voiced his opposition to the bill and his support for the Specter Amendment which preserves habeas. He is on the side of the angels on this one.

[beachmom]

5. Oh good to know. I missed that.

So it looks like you don't have to make that call, WEL, other than to thank him.

[WildEyedLiberal]

6. Oh thank Gawd

I was really dreading that call :scared: Also because every intern I've ever dealt with over the phone of various pols' offices was rude. (Not that I blame them. If you answer calls at a politician's office, you get SO USED to having your head bitten off that you just start assuming that everyone calling is a rude, disrespectful ass. It's a hideous cycle that never ends because people are rude, meanspirited assholes.)

So anyway, my two Senators are with the forces of Goodness and Light. I can rest easier now. Thanks Tay.

[beachmom]

9. Really? They're rude?

I was always told to be very polite when calling a Senator's or Congressional office. I guess not everybody got the memo.

[WildEyedLiberal]

10. 75% of the people who called when I was manning the phone were DICKS

Horrible, rude, terrible people who thought that Kerry should stop, put down everything, and cater to them personally, and were rude and occasionally profane when I told them they'd have to deal with a staffer instead of actually JK personally himself.

That, or they were freepers who called us "fucking stupid" or worse.

[beachmom]

11. Well, I'll keep that in mind and be EXTRA nice next time

I have to call. Even Republicans. As if being mean to a staffer or intern is going to change anything. How did you manage to keep a positive attitude through all of that? I guess the answer would be working for a man of such high integrity as Sen. Kerry.

[WildEyedLiberal]

12. That, and I avoided the phones like the plague

I'm serious, I would rather scrub the bathroom than answer phones or phonebank.

[TayTay]

15. Ahm, gee and that was probably only the in-state people

who like him. (Or Herald readers. When in doubt, blame the Boston Herald.)

Geez, if I worked there i would have a field day collecting e-mails and having contests to see which one was the worst. They must get some positively lovely stuff from the in-state freepers. Teddy K must get it even worse.

Ahm, I think you have to have some pretty thick skin to be a Senator these days.

[ProSense]

7. It's tragic!

They are forcing Democratic voters to compromise their core principles to regain Congress. What a choice: Torture or a Democratic majority in Congress!

[Mass]

13. I am not that optimistic about the fact that all those who voted

for Levin will vote against the amendment and against the Fence bill. I can remember a number of cases where they voted to change the bill, and then, when the bill was not changed, they voted for it. I do not feel to confident it will not go this way, so I think it is better to continue calling people until we know how they will be voting on the final bill.