See what happens when Dems and media are distracted - ANWR drilling passed

[blm]

Kerry and Cantwell couldn't get their amendment through to strip it from the budget bill.

This is the FIRST TIME that the battle was lost on ANWR - We better ask ourselves WHY? We fought for it EVERY TIME - and won - but not this time.
Because a censure THAT HAD ALREADY MOVED ON INTO COMMITTEE was the story. A censure that has no legal backlash whatsoever for Bush was the story.

>>>>>>

The Senate has just passed the $2.8 Trillion 2007 Budget, which contained a controversial measure to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Below is a statement by Senator John Kerry on tonight’s Senate vote 51-49 to pass President Bush’s budget:

“For all the talk of America’s addiction to oil, this budget vote proved it’s Washington that’s addicted to oil. Insisting on drilling in the Arctic Refuge is like treating a drinking problem by suggesting the alcoholic do more of his drinking at home.

“It’s time we stand up and demand a real energy policy that will actually reduce our dependence on foreign oil. We aren’t going to drill our way there, we’re going to have to invest in renewable sources of energy and promote bio-energy and energy efficiency.

“Drilling in the Arctic Refuge will do nothing to bring gas prices down, but it provides special interests with a sweet deal at the cost of real energy independence. Dick Cheney’s friends in the oil industry wrote our non-existent energy policy, and look what it’s gotten us – record home heating costs, some of the highest gas prices in history, and a nation beholden to Middle East oil.

“This fight against drilling in the Arctic Refuge is a fight about our principles. It’s about standing up for our environment, our families and our future, and I won’t give up this fight.”

[KoKo]

1. Hey...as a Kerry Fanatic...you should realize this was a "done deal."

Let it all RIP! Bring it DOWN....

[blm]

3. ANWR was NEVER a done deal. NEVER has this battle been lost.

Kerry warned this was happening, but you didn't exactly see it pinned to the top.

Dem blogs can alert us to alot of important matters but they are able to makie sure important work isn't heard as well.

[KoKo]

10. Yeah...well I belong to all the Environmental Groups....

Forget it....

It's a done deal. DLC FOREVER!!! after all...it's in our national interests just like Iraq Invasion.

:puke:

[KoKo]

12. Don't you ALL UNDERSTAND?

FASCIST AMERICA....And..."Who Counts the VOTES?"

Think about this.......

[blm]

22. I understand that YOU dump on Kerry whenever you can and

trust others when no one comes close to uncovering as much government corruption as Kerry has.

You can't name one person who has gone after corruption the way Kerry has, yet you can name plenty you trust without naming Kerry.

The way I se it, you side with the corruptors every time you attack Kerry.

And I think about who the corruptors are every day.

[KoKo]

29. Excuse Me? You really are not telling the truth, here.......n/t

[blm]

36. What's your truth? Kerry is one of them? Then it should be easy for you

to name hundreds of Democrats who have worked more to uncover government corruption than Kerry. Have at it.

You have no loss of words when you push Kerry off as one of the bad guys. Name the heroes who have dedicated themselves to work against corruption more than Kerry.

[KoKo]

47. blm...I don't diss Kerry on this Board...I worked for him....

:shrug: You must have me confused with someone else..

[Hutzpa]

57. EXCUSE ME..........can we stop this, why attack each other, hey

I have a chill pill for each one of you.

Here have some :beer: the both of you.

[leftchick]

41. I understand KoKo

that is why I want the fuck out of here. Most DEMOCRATS do not see it is too fucking late or damn close to it for everything.

[KoKo]

48. It's hard to deal with it all. Dems against Dems...Repugs against Dems

It's a damned Civil War with brother against Brother, Sister agains Sister and mixed up.

I wish I could get outta here, too. It's not the country it was even 10 years ago.....Who could imagine it would be this bad...and not know it's going to get worse.....

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

43. What Are You Talking About?

First, God Bless President Kerry. He is one of our Dems I am PROUDEST OF!

Aside from that, they've been fighting for this for what seems like forever. We've always held them off. WTF HAPPENED???

[stop the bleeding]

2. did this already pass in the House? I am assuming yes.

So much bad news today.

:argh:

[Patsy Stone]

80. Apparently, not yet:

"The Senate resolution authorizes oil drilling in part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, but that provision won't go into effect unless a final budget compromise is reached with the House."

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/16/senate.budget/index.html

There's still a bit of hope, yet ANWR doesn't seem to be one of the things believed to be a sticking point.

[mdmc]

4. wish it didn't happen, but I'm very glad for Russ and the censure

debate.

[blm]

7. Really? Read the transcript from Russ' press conference and his THIRD

dismissal of impeachment. He wants NO LEGAL REMEDY.

Us folks supporting censure and the congressional case for impeachment are kicked to the curb.

Snip...
QUESTION: Senator, this resolution, if it were passed, would
have no legal effect.
FEINGOLD: No.
QUESTION: So the only thing that would affect the NSA program,
if it's illegal, is to cut off the funding? You don't support that,
do you?
FEINGOLD: Well, there are several things that could affect the
program. First of all, one would hope, if this passes, that the
president would acknowledge what Congress has said and would bring the
program within FISA, which is what he should do.
Another approach, of course, is the legal system, is hoping that
we could get some kind of a court order and a response in the legal
system ordering the president to come within the law.
So I don't think that necessarily the idea of cutting off funding
-- even cutting off funding, how are you going to enforce that? If
the president has inherent power, he'll just shift some money around.
He'll just keep doing it. I mean, that's the problem with this
doctrine. If the president isn't going to acknowledge that a law we
passed, such as FISA, binds him, why should the cutting off of funding
affect him?
QUESTION: Senator, for those who are your critics who would
liken this or they talk about your central resolution in the same
breath that they talk about impeachment, and just say this is nothing
but one step ahead of impeachment. How do you counter that,
especially when they're using it as a weapon before the midterms to
say: The Democrats get in power, you're going to see impeachment.
FEINGOLD: Clearly, I chose to pursue censure rather than
impeachment, certainly at this point, because I believe at this point
it's a way to help us positively resolve this issue.
In other words, without getting the country in the middle of a
huge problem, like we had with the attempted Clinton impeachment, we
have a passing of a resolution of censure, and hopefully the president
would acknowledge it and say that he maybe went too far, and we would
be able to move forward and stop worrying about this and get a pledge
from the president that he's going to come within the law or make
proposals to change the law to allow it.
I think this actually is in the area of an impeachable offense.
I think it is right in the strike zone of what the founding fathers
thought about when they talked about high crimes and misdemeanors.
But the Constitution does not require us to go down that road,
and I hope that in a sense I'm a voice of moderation on this point,
where I'm saying it may not be good for the country to do this, it may
not be good for the country in a time of war to try to remove the
president from office, even though he's surely done something wrong.
But what we can't do is just ignore the wrongful conduct. So
this is a reasonable road. And anybody who argues this is a sort of
prelude to impeachment forgets the history of the Clinton impeachment,
where censure was offered by some, especially Democrats. Senator
Feinstein offered a censure resolution of President Clinton after the
impeachment trial as an alternative because impeachment was regarded
by many as too drastic of a step.
Snip...
QUESTION: Do you see any chance whatsoever that your resolution
would be passed by this Republican Senate?
FEINGOLD: I'd be pretty surprised. But this president,
presumably, will be president for several years. And it is very
possible that others will later on control the Congress. And this is
something that could be examined at different points.
If the president changes course and indicates that he understands
that this was not lawful and that he should not have done it, then it
becomes less important.
But if he continues to assert not only this but other extreme
executive power doctrines, it will continue to be important to push
back and to ask the president to return to the law.

[mdmc]

65. 49-51

:patriot:

[mdmc]

85. what is your point?

:kick:

[blm]

102. That censure is being sold as an alternative to impeachment when we were

originally told it was in addition to impeachment.

I am for censure and also for impeachment case to continue. This transcript shows Russ is offering censure INSTEAD of impeachment. He wants no legal remedy for Bush's crimes because it wouldn't be good for the country during a time of war. He offers censure as the moderate approach.

[mdmc]

106. got it thanks for the reply

:yourock:

[Nutmegger]

5. Oh NO!

Damn, this sucks.

:nuke:

[SammyWinstonJack]

91. Won't the little bit of oil found be sold to Japan or whatever country

bu$hco decides? It won't be shipped to the lower 48, will it? A lot of good drilling in ANWR will do us.

[BiggJawn]

99. Sure will. All 6 month's worth of it.

This isn't about Murka's "Oil Jones", this is about Bumblya sticking it in Carl Pope's eye.

[Patsy Stone]

6. Truly a shame

It's a bad day for America. K&R

[jsamuel]

8. don't blame the censure if the Dems let ANWR pass and the Repubs voted for

it

Stop looking for any reason to oppose censure. It seems to me that you want to oppose it for some reason.

[blm]

15. I blame all of US - us stupid people who ratcheted up on censure

even AFTER Feingold wanted it slowed down and got it in committee.

Cuz Dem ACTIVISTS are the ones who can't walk and chew gum at the same time.

And NO MEDIA even NOTICED ANWR - normally the whole left media would have been on this. - but they were duistracted by something that had no legal ramifications whatsoever.

Not to mention Russ's CLEAR statement that this censure IS an alternative to impeachment.

Snip...
QUESTION: Senator, this resolution, if it were passed, would
have no legal effect.
FEINGOLD: No.
QUESTION: So the only thing that would affect the NSA program,
if it's illegal, is to cut off the funding? You don't support that,
do you?
FEINGOLD: Well, there are several things that could affect the
program. First of all, one would hope, if this passes, that the
president would acknowledge what Congress has said and would bring the
program within FISA, which is what he should do.
Another approach, of course, is the legal system, is hoping that
we could get some kind of a court order and a response in the legal
system ordering the president to come within the law.
So I don't think that necessarily the idea of cutting off funding
-- even cutting off funding, how are you going to enforce that? If
the president has inherent power, he'll just shift some money around.
He'll just keep doing it. I mean, that's the problem with this
doctrine. If the president isn't going to acknowledge that a law we
passed, such as FISA, binds him, why should the cutting off of funding
affect him?
QUESTION: Senator, for those who are your critics who would
liken this or they talk about your central resolution in the same
breath that they talk about impeachment, and just say this is nothing
but one step ahead of impeachment. How do you counter that,
especially when they're using it as a weapon before the midterms to
say: The Democrats get in power, you're going to see impeachment.
FEINGOLD: Clearly, I chose to pursue censure rather than
impeachment, certainly at this point, because I believe at this point
it's a way to help us positively resolve this issue.
In other words, without getting the country in the middle of a
huge problem, like we had with the attempted Clinton impeachment, we
have a passing of a resolution of censure, and hopefully the president
would acknowledge it and say that he maybe went too far, and we would
be able to move forward and stop worrying about this and get a pledge
from the president that he's going to come within the law or make
proposals to change the law to allow it.
I think this actually is in the area of an impeachable offense.
I think it is right in the strike zone of what the founding fathers
thought about when they talked about high crimes and misdemeanors.
But the Constitution does not require us to go down that road,
and I hope that in a sense I'm a voice of moderation on this point,
where I'm saying it may not be good for the country to do this, it may
not be good for the country in a time of war to try to remove the
president from office, even though he's surely done something wrong.
But what we can't do is just ignore the wrongful conduct. So
this is a reasonable road. And anybody who argues this is a sort of
prelude to impeachment forgets the history of the Clinton impeachment,
where censure was offered by some, especially Democrats. Senator
Feinstein offered a censure resolution of President Clinton after the
impeachment trial as an alternative because impeachment was regarded
by many as too drastic of a step.
Snip...
QUESTION: Do you see any chance whatsoever that your resolution
would be passed by this Republican Senate?
FEINGOLD: I'd be pretty surprised. But this president,
presumably, will be president for several years. And it is very
possible that others will later on control the Congress. And this is
something that could be examined at different points.
If the president changes course and indicates that he understands
that this was not lawful and that he should not have done it, then it
becomes less important.
But if he continues to assert not only this but other extreme
executive power doctrines, it will continue to be important to push
back and to ask the president to return to the law.

[KoKo]

50. You are saying you are angry at Feingold for his "Censure Motion?"

You think Bush shouldn't be reprimanded? You think that No One should speak out against his CRIMES? How much more should we take in America before some attempt is made to hold this Crime Family Accountable?

What would it take to get you on board? :shrug:

[rockymountaindem]

89. I'd rather have this spying stopped than Bush reprimanded

He's already going to go down in history as a failure, censure or no. I mean, censuring James Polk didn't make or break his legacy either. I'd rather we found real ways to block his agenda rather than trying to give Bush a slap on the wrist, besides the fact that it'll never happen unless we win back the Senate.

This whole thing is a useless gesture that is distracting from real issues and dividing the Democrats. Pardon me if I don't get too excited over tilting at windmills while the real monsters are staring us right in the face.

[blm]

94. I'm angry at US, get it thru your head.

.

[Oversea Visitor]

9. The power rest with those who can vote

So why blame anything
More vote in favour than against PERIOD
If at all you feel disappointed that be wary who you vote for to vote for you.

Basically after all with what bush has done and he still around
What do you think is the message

No the greatest responsiblity of those elected representatives is to the people
When that duties is make a mockery of then the people lose the power

Hence if the representation is not for the people then they might as well vote to represent their own best interest.

The fact that the vast majority are silence can only do great harm by sending a simple message that the people does not care on this issue.

We can survey as much as we like (poll) fact is it does not matter as long as feeling are not represented in form of actions.

[blm]

28. Every time before we made noise. we made news and made it unpopular

and this time there was no noise, no news, and no one in America even KNOWS this was passed today.

[Oversea Visitor]

42. Simple

Election fraud has allow the power hungry to be elected base on manipulation.
No more the will of the people
Just need maintain an illusion of trying to represent the people

As an outside observer I will say that people fearing elected representative are no more
I mean look at all the bills that is pass
One would say passing this kinds of laws would be political sucide
Hence one need to ask what gives them the confident that the people will not throw them out.

With 2006 around the corner one would think they will change their way
I think the 2006 result will be a rude awakening for the people in the US
I think they will have to ask themself if that is possible
Is this what we voted for.

The trend are there in your face
Denial is fine but reality cannot be avoided
Again at some stage in time this will blow
There is little pretense anymore on representation
Evil untilmately eat itself
In this case what I see is that it has gone out of control
Greed dominate self interest and money
It is so blantant it is unbeleivable

Do you beleive it can happen in USA
Before Al Gore I say NO
After Al gore I say things not right
After Bush reelection I say something stinks
After all the bills I see pass and the scandal I say they are very confident of their survival
So in the end wheather it can happen in USA or not does not matter
The facts is that this goverment or administration does not has the good of the people in mind.
Prepare for another shocking result in 2006 not long more to wait HEY.

[tom_paine]

46. Sir, I wish I could say you were wrong

but I cannot.

Yes, the freight train is coming.

"not long more to wait"

the only question is a matter of when, not if anymore.

You might want to consider getting back to your home country, wherever that is, before you are trapped here when the darkness reaches the Final Stage.

Maybe as many as 50 years, but that seems wildly optimistic.

It could be tomorrow.

[Oversea Visitor]

54. Have more faith

The people will will never be ignored for long
America has a very long good time
Hence the people tends to be more relax and more secured in the bubble

But at this rate the bubbles being burst very very fast
No I say within the next 2 years the people anger will be felt.

It is all a question of damage done to the US
It is sad to see the icon of this world for freedom democracy and liberty so badly abuse
The greatest challenge I see ahead is the challenge of putting back the pieces of this nation to make it whole again. The people has been divided with issue more of faith which is best leave to the self than of good of the country.

2006 hopefully will wake the people up of the threath within.
Whatever might be the result one thing is for sure things will change greatly after that.
There is only so much abuse a nation can take before it crumble
For US the damage done has already pass the easy recoverable path
Long painful road to recovery ahead.
As to the cabal and repuke that rules history will show them in all their moronic glory
That is inevitable

Do note that republicans are people too
The party has been hijacked
Neither party is good or evil
That is determine by the leaders
And we can always be sure that the majority of people are good
In that I have faith
In the goodness of people as shown in history
Or what humanity has acheive till todate
Sad that this can happen in USA.

[tom_paine]

69. Well said, sir. I try to have faith, but the trend indicators are

unmistakable.

Is there still hope? There is ALWAYS hope. Do I intend to give in to despair? Read my signature line.

Is recovery possible? Yes. Is it probable? Not from where I sit.

You said:

Do note that republicans are people too
The party has been hijacked
Neither party is good or evil
That is determine by the leaders


I agree 100% with that sentiment. However:
Can good people be made to do (or stand by while) very bad things given the correct mix of fear, lies, and propaganda? History answers resoundingly YES. And the science of advertising/public relations/propaganda has never been so advanced. What the Busheviks use makes the tactics of Hitler seem rather antiquated and unsophisticated.

I try to have faith in the American People, but I know about the Milgrim Experiments which states quite clearly that most people are as good or evil as the society in which they live:

http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/psychology/milgram_obedience_experiment.html

I am not suggesting that you abandon your relatively optimistic view. Humanity needs optimists as much as it need pessimists or realists. But be aware that, historically, psychologically and sociopolitically, history suggests it is not the most likely of the outcomes

[Oversea Visitor]

74. Unless you have a succession

of madass bush there is hope
However I do agree that historically, psychologically and sociopolitically, history suggests it is not the most likely of the outcomes.

A bad leader never last they die all man die sooner or later
To look around us and see the ability of world leaders to talk
The number of peaceful years we enjoy this are all signs that stability and good thinking prevails
It is undenialable that now and then we face instability that is but facts of life
But that will pass and a period of peace will reign
Either that this world goes kaboom..... nothing left.

[KoKo]

77. But, there weren't any big alerts from our Enviro Sites!

I belong to Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund and Natural Resources Defense Fund...and there were no alerts. PLUS we have DU'ers who are on this all the time...

I think there's something yet to be revealed about this.....But, I understand your angst just think you are striking out at folks that don't deserve it...

[Rainscents]

109. I got alart from them and others...

[LittleClarkie]

11. What a great line!

Treating a drinking problem by suggesting the alcoholic do more of his drinking at home.

[Cocoa]

13. this isn't the first time we've lost on ANWR

there have been many votes that made it seem like drilling was inevitable, and it was stopped later.

This can still be stopped. I'm not sure how, but Kerry suggests the fight goes on when he says "...I won't give up the fight."

[KoKo]

14. Yes...when Kerry says: "I won't give up the fight" we all better believe

him.

[blm]

20. Blame Kerry. So odd

that you have so much trust in so many but NOT Kerry, when no one even comes close to his congressional record for investigating and exposing government corruption.

Seems to me only the corruptors have reason to dump on Kerry.

[roguevalley]

26. I live in Alaska and I don't trust ANYBODY on ANWR. This is the

saddest damned day ever.

[Pastiche423]

49. lol!

[KoKo]

21. It's "Reality America." We need the Oil and no Congress or Senate

Critter who's Seat is "on the line" in 06 wan'ts to be seen as not ALLOWING OIL DRILLING to save all of us who are suffering under higher heating and cooling costs with Oil and Natural Gas.

They want to be "on record" as voting FOR THIS...It's our "National Security" and all that involved with this issue.

After all...the Earth is Warming and those NorthSlope fields are really "reeing up." The Caribou and Polar Bears, Seals and all that crap are gonna die anyway...so the TIME IS RIPE...LET'S DRIL, DRIL, DRIL.

All that "Enviro Stuff" is Sooooooo 20th Century. IT'S A NEW WORLD...we need to MOVE FORWARD and NOT Look BACK...

Agree...It's great...I don't want to be some "slacker" here. I just love my Air-Conditioning where I live. Couldn't exist without it. And with BIRD FLU COMING...I WANT THE DAMNED BIRDS GONE TOO...along with "them" Polar Bears and other crap who are stopping that DRILLING!!!

GIVE ME OIL...GIVE ME NATURAL GAS...I have a BIG HOUSE...I NEED TO BE TAKEN CARE OF!!!

[Cocoa]

23. actually ANWR drilling is unpopular

there's a significant number of republicans who vote against ANWR.

[LaPera]

16. Just 3 more MPG in vehicles (which Bush got rid of) would make up how many

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's?

But they want us to get less Miles Per Gallon (MPG) so we'll spend more for their oil (gas)...and now they'll get corporate welfare to explore and exploit one of the last pure wilderness on earth They will soak up all the profits and continue to gouge us at the pumps...That oil belongs to all of us...NOT the oil companies who will get subsidies from our tax dollars to drill for it and they'll reap the profits...Not to mention the destruction of one of the most pristine parts of the world...

[rsmith6621]

17. Cantwell Isnt Worth A Pile Of..........

OWL SHIT.......

Shell be toast in November either to another DEM or a PUG......

[Catamount]

18. This is shocking...again, just like last year...and yet we held them off

I'd like to know if anyone has heard or read about the 'biggest oil spill in US history?
The only source I've had so far was Laura Flanders.
Everything ruined...so sad.

[Minnesota Libra]

19. Boy, did democrats play into neocons hands on that one or what.......

......we democrats/liberals certainly know how to give neocons what they want when they want it.:rant:

Instead of bombarding the Senate with letters about ANWR all day we democrats/liberals have to nitpick each and every Democrat Senator for supporting or not supporting Feingold. Aren't we just proud of ourselves now.:banghead: Oh, and please don't even bother with the argument that the neocon controlled Senate would have gotten it through anyway, or that it was a done deal.:eyes: If we hadn't been so busy picking apart our own we might have had the time to figure out there had to be a reason why the neocons were playing up the Feingold situation so much.:spank: Well we know what that reason was now that they wanted to keep us so busy don't we??:hi: Proud bunch aren't we??:sarcasm: :sarcasm:

BTW, I'm talking just as much for myself here as I am anyone else.:spank: Yes, I was focusing on the Feingold issue too instead of trying to figure out why the neocons were so hell bent on making this censure bill such an issue right now.:freak: Too bad we Democrats/Liberals aren't as focused on the big picture as the neocons are, we might just be able to get somewhere.:wtf:

edited for spelling

[KoKo]

24. Don't feel bad. We can't have the WHOLE WORLD on our SHOULDERS

We can't put out EVERY FIRE. We are ATTACKED FROM ALL SIDES. It's NOT our falt that this went down. We've kept on top of this and donated to all the enviro groups who have lawyers and lobbyists who could help us with this.

It's a failure of our whole Political System. We are in the DARKEST OF TIMES...

[donkeyotay]

90. Just something else the people didn't want but our "representatives"

got done anyway. Look at any recent policy or legislation; it's all been a disaster for us. I am very sad to hear this ANWR passed, but we can't change this anymore than we could stop the war. It's broken. Our government has been hijacked, and all we do is blame each other. It's not our fault. We've tried. We've done what we can do. Personally, I think I'm just going to get out of the way now and watch it burn. I'm tired.

[Cocoa]

25. explain what this vote meant

and where it goes from here.

What happened today, where does drilling on ANWR stand, etc.?

[Minnesota Libra]

56. ANWR passed, drilling in ALaska goes ahead now nt

[Cocoa]

61. I meant facts

my question was about the process, and what this vote was and where it fit into bringing about drilling in ANWR.

If you don't know, that's fine. I'll admit I don't know, though I've tried to figure it out by reading news stories.

When I figure it out (maybe someone else will help) I'll be sure to let you know.

[Minnesota Libra]

64. It was an ammendment attached to the Senate budget bill..........

.....that is about all I know for sure. I know the ANWR bill allows oil drilling in Alaskan prisine lands but I couldn't pick the area out on a map. So I'm not going to be much help to you but I'd certainly like to learn the facts too.

[Cocoa]

73. that amendment was never put forward

and this vote was on the budget resolution which included ANWR drilling, but was not an ANWR bill per se.

Most important, however, is the fact that it's not over.

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/7537792p-7449459c.html

WASHINGTON -- The Senate narrowly passed a budget bill Thursday that could lead to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Resolution, but there are more hurdles ahead and an end to the decades-old controversy is far from certain.

"We recognize that this is just the first step, but you've got to get through the first step so you can move it down the road," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

The vote Thursday evening was 51-49. It came without the emotional debate and poster-sized wildlife photos that have come to characterize the fight over the coastal plain in Alaska's far northeast.

An expected Democratic amendment to strip ANWR from the bill never materialized, and ANWR got hardly a mention on the Senate floor. It wasn't for lack of interest. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who led the anti-drilling battle last year, decided to try another tactic this time

more...

[KoKo]

75. I did some Googling, too and checked my Enviro Sites and didn't

see much more than you posted here. I wonder if there isn't more to this thatn we know. That all is NOT LOST yet.

I watched C-Span this afternoon and saw lots of stuff on the Senate floor that made me think something was going on "behind the scenes" as well as on the floor meaning it's not a done deal yet.

If it was Passed and ready to go the Repugs would be "crowing from the rooftops" about how they managed to finally overcome the Dems on Artic Refuge Drilling. But no matter how many ways I put it into GOOGLE I wasn't getting anything that mentioned that drilling was passed and ready to go ahead. :shrug:

[Blue_In_AK]

70. The way I understand it,

it still has to be passed in the House and then in some joint budget bill. I don't see it as a done deal yet. And then there are no guarantees that the oil companies will go for it. The Alaska legislature is at this moment working on increasing the amount of taxes that the oil companies have to pay to the state. They may decide that the cost of drilling a new area is just too great. I'm not giving up on this yet.

[ulysses]

27. wow - ANWR drilling is Feingold's fault now?

:wtf:

[blm]

32. No - it' s the people who didn't LISTEN to Feingold when he said

censure is moved into committee and everything's on track.

No one focused on ANWR here at DU or any other lefty forum and no media gave it the coverage it had in the past - it got snuck through because of OUR inattentiveness. every time before we beat it back.

[KoKo]

34. blm...doesn't this go back to the Senate for approval where Kerry has

always prevailed at killing it...due to our Enviro Lobbyists?

:shrug:

[ulysses]

35. ok, my bad.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. Fair point.

[Mass]

30. It is not so much that it passed, but frankly, nobody seems to care

that it passed. This budget (not only ANWR) is terribly bad and people are going to suffer about it, but who cares?

It is obviously not Feingold's fault, but some people here dont seem to be able to care about two things at the same time.

[Atman]

31. ANWR passed BECAUSE of the Censure story on DU?

Hmmm...got anything besides your emotions to back that up?

[blm]

33. get real - I said because all of the left is DISTRACTED and all the media,

too, and all of America is going to bed tonight not even aware of this vote.

So easy for Repubs to push it through.

[KoKo]

38. Get Real..yourself...you seem to blame all

on Lefty DU'ers....accusing folks who worked their butts off for Kerry for not working hard enough...praising Kerry when he caved on Ohio Vote and praising every time he goes to the john, fgs!

It sounds almost like some kind of "hero worship."

Where WERE YOU when we here in North Carolina needed HELP on Verified Paper Ballots? Where were you when we needed help on the MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE OF OUR VOTING! You were with Kerry...who thought he "lost" fair and square and you weren't going to put "yourself" on the line to help put a bill through our NC legislature...you didn't believe it....and neither did Kerry....

I'm sorry...your "Partisanship" might be admired until it looks like it's "EMPTY ADORATION." :-(

[blm]

39. baloney - I never said ONCE the election was fair

and Kerry knows it, too.

And I work for NC causes in every anonymous way I can. I don't know how many times I need to say that.

[KoKo]

52. Why do you need to be

anonymous? :shrug:

[mondo joe]

53. Distracted with what precisely?

[ProSense]

37. McCain: ANWR drilling would be a dereliction of our duty to posterity.

That was in 2002, today he changed his mind:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2518269&mesg_id=2518269

[blm]

40. That's a REAL flip-flop. I guess Bush has promised his campaign team

to McCain.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

44. WTF!!!!!!!!!! I DON'T BELIEVE THIS PASSED!!!!!!

There's no way to undo this? Is it already too late?

[blm]

45. He'll have to figure it out - submit NEW Legislation ....AGAIN.

I don't know - but, I trust they'll do it.

I just feel guilty knowing this wouldn't have happened if WE had been in an uproar over it and the media had to cover it.

[jsamuel]

60. Bullshit, this would have happened anyway because the Repubs would have

never have let us stop it. They have enough votes to do whatever they want to with ANWR. Quit using this as a reason to oppose a cesure when the two have nothing to do with each other.

[dogday]

104. That's what I am thinking too

The repubs are always voting for the President's interest and he swore years ago he would drill in Alaska.. Also swore he would invade Iraq, so I hate to say but the King gets his way again....

[Hutzpa]

62. Bullshit... stop this bullshit blm n/t

[Patsy Stone]

81. It has to go to the House

"But congressional aides predict the budget resolution will hit a roadblock in the House of Representatives, where conservatives have vowed to cut spending considerably."

The Senate resolution authorizes oil drilling in part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, but that provision won't go into effect unless a final budget compromise is reached with the House.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/16/senate.budget/index.html

There may still be a glimmer of hope...

[RB TexLa]

51. ANWR drilling has the votes to pass, distraction has nothing to do with it

[Hutzpa]

55. Don't get it......what has Feingold got to do with

bill not passing.....:wtf: you lost your mind, is Feingold the only Democrat that can vote, what happen to the others. Goddamn I hate when people act ignorant. There are so many underhand games going on it makes me sick just seeing it happen.







:mad:

[JohnnyCougar]

72. blm doesn't like Feingold

Feingold is worse than Bush according to blm

[blm]

98. Care to prove that charge against me? Can you try READING what I posted

and try comprehending it this time.

I said the LEFT was distracted and didn't LISTEN to Feingold when he said he got censure into committee - where he wanted it. It was the GOPs trying to puish it for vote quickly.

Instead of letting up on censure, DU and every other left blog and forum were dumping on senators left and right and flooding their phone lines on censure and taking up all the left media instead of adjusting to the important matters going down in the senate, and kicking the volume up on those matters.

The media followed suit.

[blm]

93. READ what I said - WE were distracted and didn't LISTEN to Feingold when

he said censure was now in committee where he wanted it. It was the GOP trying to rush it.

WE should have adjusted to the ANWR battle and DIDN'T - Why is that so hard to understand?

[high density]

58. The Alaskans are eager to destroy their own state for "jobs"

In 10 years they'll find out what a stupid idea it was, but to be honest I don't really give much of a shit since I don't ever plan on living there. Of course the environment is going to lose as well, but we're very used to that with this administration.

[Blue_In_AK]

71. Do not presume to speak for all Alaskans

especially if you've never been here and never plan to be.

[high density]

79. I think I was talking about the dumb shits who voted for Ted Stevens?

You might not have personally voted for these fools that represent you but "majority rules" (or 1/3rd rules?)

I know there are sensible people like you in Alaska. I'm just saying that I don't understand why a lot of people here in DU get their blood pressure way up about something that a whole lot of your neighbors think is a fantastic idea. I know we're worried about the environment, but shit happens and it seems we aren't in too much of a position to do anything about it.

[Blue_In_AK]

92. I think I understand what you're saying...

As for Alaska, I'm against drilling in ANWR, but so much environmental degradation is going on up here just by the sheer force of global warming, that it almost doesn't make any difference what happens in ANWR. The caribou herds, the polar bears, the indigenous people, the tundra, everything is going through very rapid change here -- we'll just either have to learn to survive and thrive in a different world or perish. That's just the way it is now.

[bpilgrim]

59. just like IWR

thank GORE, he 'invented' the INTERNETs... we ain't miss'n a trick ;->

peace

[Cocoa]

63. interesting that "after" threads get a lot more interest than the "before"

my thread about the dems' efforts to stop the drilling died pretty quick yesterday.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2169465&mesg_id=2169465

[bpilgrim]

66. hardly matters, eh... with the BUSH doctrine in effect...

welcome to the new world order


more...
http://GlobalFreePress.com

peace

[Cocoa]

67. they're going to have to rename that doctrine

the best thing about Bush is that he has discredited war. "Iraq" and "Bush" will be one-word antiwar arguments for decades.

[bpilgrim]

68. pfft... he got the NUKES on the table

he (the neoCONs) got it ALL figured out, bet

peace

[blm]

96. Thankyou Cocoa - that's EXACTLY my point. People are misreading what

was actually said.

[wordpix2]

76. thanks, Kerry, you tried, now we have to try harder so this won't pass in

House

[KoKo]

78. The bill still has to be "reconciled" with House from what little I could

find...but the Senate is the body that's always stopped it and Kerry deserves the credit for leading that fight. If it passed the Senate and goes to the House...I worry that it will go forward. I think the House has passed it before with wide margins. :shrug:

[KoKo]

82. Anyone have any updates on where this is going? I wasn't able to find

anymore info last night...and still don't have any alerts from my enviro groups. It's all very odd. I hope that somethings going on behind the scenes to stop this. I can't give up hope yet.

and a :hug: to blm...who thought I was dissing her and Kerry last night.

[dusty64]

83. Landrieu was the only

D who voted for this. Chafee, coleman, collins, dewine, and ensign crossed over and voted against it.

[dusty64]

84. Not much about this,

found this though. Sounds distinctly that Kerry and Feingold are NOT to blame for this so cut that out.

League of Conservation Voters Statement on Senate Arctic Budget Vote

WASHINGTON, DC - League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Legislative Director Tiernan Sittenfeld today issued the following statement after the Senate narrowly passed a budget resolution that threatens the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with oil drilling.

"In yet another blatant abuse of power, anti-environmental leaders in the Senate are using the budget process in a misguided attempt to open one of America's most pristine wild places to oil drilling: the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

"We applaud Senators Maria Cantwell (WA), John Kerry (MA) and Russ Feingold (WI) for their tireless leadership in protecting the Arctic Refuge from oil drilling. Last year, they successfully fought back an effort by Senator Ted Stevens (AK) to hold hostage vital funds for our troops and Hurricane Katrina victims in order to reward Big Oil special interests. Now, on the heels of the biggest oil spill on Alaska's North Slope, they are once again standing up for this national treasure.

"We urge the House of Representatives to reject this cynical attempt to open the Arctic Refuge to drilling. This issue should be settled once and for all. The American public wants real solutions to our energy challenges, not more drilling that only perpetuates our nation's unsustainable dependence on oil."

http://www.lcv.org/newsroom/press-releases/page.jsp?itemID=28825908

[KoKo]

86. Thanks...for the info...........I don't know if the House can hold against

this....but at least it's not a "done deal" yet..

[SaveElmer]

87. I think Kerry and Cantwell let it go by...

Because they are planning on fighting the whole bill...I hear alot of Republicans are unhappy with it as well..

Also, it will have to pass the house, go to conference, and be voted on again...plenty of time to stop it...

[blindpig]

88. So, our Senators can't walk and chew bubblegum at the same time?

Incapable of holding more than one thought in their little heads at one time? Please...

This has nothing to do with censure and everything to do with cowardice and whoredom.

[LeftHander]

95. With GOP majorities and in election year...

It was inevitable that the GOP would tow the line and make sure this passes....

Otherwise....the money might not flow as easily into re-election coffers.

As long as big money buys influence in Washington...there will be justice or democracy.

American Democracy is bought and paid for by oil and the corporations that feed on it.

[Roland99]

97. WaPo: Senate panel to OK ANWR drilling bill by mid-May

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/17/AR2006031701030.html

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will approve legislation by mid-May to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, according to the panel's chairman.

The U.S. Senate late on Thursday approved in a close 51-49 vote a $2.8 trillion budget bill that calls for the government to raise $6 billion over 10 years in leasing fees from allowing oil companies to drill in ANWR. The revenue would be split between the federal government and the state of Alaska.

The budget bill instructs the Senate's energy panel to draft legislation to open the refuge to drilling in order to raise the required $6 billion.

Sen. Pete Domenici, the Republican chairman of the energy committee, said he will send the ANWR-opening legislation to the Senate Budget Committee by mid-May.

Republican leaders, with White House support, used budget legislation to give oil companies access to the refuge, because budget bills can't be filibustered under Senate rules.

[DrGonzoLives]

100. Blah blah I hate everyone but Kerry blah blah blah

Just come out and say it.

[blm]

105. Try reading AND comprehending. It works if you want it to.

I blame YOU. I blame ME. I blame DU and every other lefty blog who didn't UNDERSTAND that Feingold already got what he needed last Tuesday when censure moved into committee and it was the GOPs pushing for immediate action on it. Feingold said it himself and people weren't LISTENING.

Because of that deafness, no media or left blogs paid any attention to ANWR or other important issues like debt ceiling being pushed through this past week.

[DrGonzoLives]

110. I'm sorry, do the media and left blogs vote in the Senate?

Just curious.

[blm]

111. Not the point. You don't get moderate Rs to do the right thing without the

pressure of the activist voters or the media attention on the issue. Same for the Rs up for election in November.

Why pretend anything else?

[Cleita]

101. To look at it another way, if this indeed happens, maybe if

they take out what little oil is there, then they might go away and not come back. Then the environmentalists can go back in and try to repair the damage.

It's really a crying shame though. I can't believe that we the people no longer have a voice in how we want our country run.

[tabasco]

103. I guess the freepers will be expecting the gas prces to come down.

Dumb fucks.

[David Zephyr]

107. I am with you blm on this, but I don't blame the censure issue.

Our Democrats should be able to juggle more than one issue at a time. The Republicans sure can.

John Kerry has been the sterling voice on the Arctic Refuge and protecting it.

[0rganism]

108. Sadly, this was inevitable

I give full credit to the people who've tried to stand in its way for so long, but to continue Kerry's analogy, you've got a 500-lb alcoholic psychopath who wants a fix and knows there's a bottle of gin in the liquor cabinet. Eventually, he's going to get at it.

Presuming we continue our exponentially-growing demand for oil in the face of limited supply, eventually, every drop of drillable oil will be drilled, whether it be in a wildlife refuge or lower Manhattan.