New York Times: filibuster

[Eric J in MN]

From
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/28/opinion/28thu1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

"If there was ever a moment for a filibuster, this was it.

We don’t blame the Democrats for being frightened. The Republicans have made it clear that they’ll use any opportunity to brand anyone who votes against this bill as a terrorist enabler. But Americans of the future won’t remember the pragmatic arguments for caving in to the administration.

They’ll know that in 2006, Congress passed a tyrannical law that will be ranked with the low points in American democracy, our generation’s version of the Alien and Sedition Acts."

[unschooler]

1. Better yet, win in November. Then take the bastards to school.

[babylonsister]

2. Or not. I want the Dems to fight, but I also want them to win. nt

[Nite Owl]

3. They are going to brand them

as unpatriotic anyway so why sell their souls and ours to do it? It's an excuse, there are plenty of ways that they could brand them with creating a Constitutional crisis, with unAmerican values. This bill isn't just politics it's the end of America as we know it.

[Bumblebee]

5. This is probably Rove's October Surprise because he knows how much

it will depress the Democratic base. And it WILL, no doubt about it. It is damn if you do and damn if you don't. But the Dems are making a big mistake yet again -- like they did on Iraq. People would actually give them much more credit for having spine and filibustering it than for running away from the fight. Here's their chance to prove Rove wrong. I am still hoping that I will wake up tomorrow morning and hear on the news that the Dems will try to stop it. Naive probably but it did happen before.

[BootinUp]

4. Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney's Gulag. n/t

[rudy23]

6. Democrats are in a catch-22 on this: be weak on terror or weak on Repukes

If they filibuster they will be branded as pro terrorist

If they don't, they will look spineless, which is how people gauge how well the Democrats would protect us if we were in charge.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

7. Americans Are MORONS!

They'll fall for any SPIN put forth by the facist leaders. There aren't enough bright people left to save us.....only the IDIOTS, and as has been stated, they can be counted on to fall in line with whatever BS talking points are put forth.

And you know what.....the Dems are pretty fucking spineless, so it won't be a surprise when they wilt and cower in their little corner. That's assuming they ask the repubs nicely in advance if they can sit in the corner. Maybe they can ask the repubs to take a shit for them too.

[Raksha]

8. Why fall into this trap again? If they don't filibuster

they won't just LOOK spineless, they will BE spineless! And I believe people will know it. I realize there are a lot of people out there who fall for the talking point du jour, but I think there are enough who still know strength when they see it. It's the Dems who DIDN'T vote for the IWR who are in the strongest position now, while the ones who caved in to election-year pressure have a lot of 'splainin to do.

[w4rma]

9. Except they won't be seen as "weak on terror" if they filibuster torture.

There is no Catch 22. The public will not punish Dems for filibustering torture. The Republican leadership just want the Democratic leadership to *believe* that they will be punished for voting against torture.

And the Republican leadership might actually believe, themselves, what they are telling Dems. But they are wrong. Rove is human, too. He makes mistakes.

[Raksha]

10. We should start painting the Republicans

as "soft on totalitarianism." Because they ARE!

[DearAbby]

11. Do you guys remember what you did when...

Judge Alito, confirmation was being debated? People called their senators, they called all the senators...Kerry took the call and tried to filibuster. ( I know we lost that battle :( But they knew we were out here...and we are watching)

We can do that again...call each and every Senator, fax them. Let them know that we are watching, and waiting for them to do what the people want. What the Constitution calls for, to be defended.

This is the battle here, they plan to abolish the Constitution with this torture bill. It is time for all of us, to fight for our country. Pick up the phone. Go to their offices, if possible. We have got to let them know. There will be no thinking American that would view them as TERRORIST APPEASERS. They will be patriots.

They pass this bill, in my view, they are accomplices in the crime. Just as guilty. Time to take a stand.

[Dover]

12. What we are experiencing in this country goes WAY beyond

party politics and even political corruption. In fact that all seems quaint. We are up against a multiheaded beast and we are going to have to figure out how to slay it.

If you haven't seen this speech by JFK please take a moment to watch. He describes what we are now up against and I can tell you it ain't business as usual.

http://welcome-to-pottersville.blogspot.com/2006/09/voice-from-grave_02.html

[DearAbby]

13. Exactly...Time to take a stand

All of us, this is beyond party lines. I am also angry beyond belief, and deeply saddened that it had gotten this far. There is a cancer in our government, and it is lethal. We have got to find the courage to take this stand.

[Dover]

14. We need to shift our focus onto the corporations who are spawning

these robots and infiltrating our system. THEY are the cancer.