Chafee won't rule out voting to censure Bush

[Coexist]

http://www.eyewitnessnewstv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4639438&nav=F2DO

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee says he won't rule out voting to censure President Bush over domestic spying.

Chafee says the censure vote, introduced Monday by Senator Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, would be a drastic way to punish the president for authorizing the wiretapping of U.S. citizens without a warrant.

But Chafee, a Republican, tells The Providence Journal that it's possible he could eventually support such a vote. Chafee is in the midst of a re-election campaign. He faces Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey in the Republican primary later this year.

Laffey issued a statement saying it was a "bad idea" to censure the president.

[Skinner]

1. How embarrassing for the terrified Democrats in the Senate.

Here's a Republican saying he might vote to censure Bush, yet we've got a bunch of Democrats who are afraid to say anything.

[sasha031]

4. I am speculating

but I don't think the Dem's are going to abandon Feingold, they are trying to get ANWAR out of the budget

I won't listen to the hype in the media, why isn't the MSM talking about ANWAR and the catastrophic spill that took place?

[DoYouEverWonder]

5. It's up to us to force the change

The people in DC from both sides of the aisle no longer represent us. We should stop expecting them to do anything, that is not in their self interest. That way we won't be so disappointed everytime this happens.

(I just wish we could talk about alternatives a little more freely around here.)

[Skinner]

7. Don't even get me started.

Feingold is a DEMOCRAT. He's not leaving the party. We should be backing Democrats who do the right thing, not abandoning the party in some half-baked self-defeating third party pipe dream.

[SammyWinstonJack]

10. !

:thumbsup:

[DoYouEverWonder]

12. Then we need some major house cleaning

because I can count the Feingolds on the fingers of one hand at this point.

I don't have any great desire to start a new party, too much work and we don't have time for that right now anyway, but I would much rather take our party back. The question is how? All I see is more of the same old bullshit and I don't see very many people running for election in 2006 that will be that much better. For example, I get to vote for Bill Nelson again because the only other choice is Katherine Harris. Why does this not give me much hope for anything actually changing in DC?

[Coexist]

13. Dr. Phool threw his hat into the ring

:evilgrin:

[DoYouEverWonder]

14. Cool for Dr. Phool

When? Where?

[Skinner]

15. You have primaries in your state, don't you?

If you don't like Bill Nelson, run someone against him. The primary date is September 05, 2006 -- get to work.

[DoYouEverWonder]

17. Come on

let's be realistic? I certainly don't have the ways and means to launch a viable candidate against Nelson between now and the primaries. Look what they just did to Hackett?

Besides it's not like I haven't been doing everything I can (in my spare time) for the last five years and I have been involved in local politics since I moved to No FL. I currently sit on my local Cultural Affairs board because I was looking for something that wasn't too demanding but would keep my toe in the water has they say.

[Skinner]

18. I'm all for being realistic.

I wish more people here would base their opinions on something remotely resembling reality. For example, this:

Splitting the progressive vote helps elect Republicans. That's reality.

I'm going to back off now because this is not particularly fair to you, considering the fact that our rules don't permit third-party advocacy. If you want the last word, you can have it.

[Coexist]

8. it makes you think, doesn't it!

Think it'll make a difference? I don't know.

[ProSense]

2. Drastic?

This is a call for an apology:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=674371&mesg_id=674371

[Coexist]

9. That interview was discussed yesterday as it was going on

and after.

Not everyone heard it though. Feingold stood by Reid and I was glad - I prefer party unity on important issues.

[Devlzown]

3. drastic?

Just how is censure drastic?

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. It's only been done to one other president

Andrew Jackson and it means that the Senate has found the president guilty of a crime. It would be grounds for further prosecution and hopefully impeachment.

[Devlzown]

11. Looks to me like a slap on the wrist.

They don't have the numbers to impeach him, so they try to get enough Senators to simply say he did something wrong.

[dubyaD40web]

16. This smells like Rove.

Every Repuke that says they might centure Bush makes the Dems look bad. Bait and switch.