TODAY’S UPDATES AND SOME DIRT DIGGING ON TOM DAVIS. YOU DON’T NEED A BIG SHOVEL OR HAVE TO DIG VERY HARD. The Good News Is That If He And Senator Warner Work Out A Timing Deal So He Can Run For That Seat; He Will Likely End Up Facing Former Governor Warner (August 18, 2007…Below… “The Winner Of That Contest Could End Up Facing Former Democratic Gov. Mark Warner, Who Is Widely Considered To Be A Likely Senate Contender, Assuming John Warner Retires. The Two Warners Are Not Related.”) That Being The Case, Davis Is Now In My Cross Hairs. I Was Ready To Support And Work For Mark, And You Can Be Sure I Will If He Runs For The Senate Against Dirty Money Davis!
OH, AND IF YOU GET ONE OF THOSE MAILINGS SOLICITING FUNDS FOR A CANDIDATE OTHER THAN KUCINICH…USE IT AND RETURN IT. IT’S WORTH THE POSTAGE TO INCLUDE A NOTE AS TO WHY THERE IS NO CHECK OR CHECK OFF!
Sept. 15: Impeachment Movement Comes to Washingto...By Mars that rebel artist(Mars that rebel artist) By plane, train, cars and buses thousands of ImpeachBush.org members are traveling from all 50 states to Washington DC for a massive march on September 15 demanding Impeachment and an end to the war in Iraq. ...Self-Evident Truths... - http://marscaulton.blogspot.com/
August 19, 2007 at 20:41:31
Impeachment: It's now or possibly never for Democracy
by Mikael Rudolph
http://www.opednews.com
Take action -- click here to contact your local newspaper or congress people:
Impeachment may be the only hope for salvaging the American Dream
Click here to see the most recent messages sent to congressional reps and local newspapers
www.ImpeachforPeace.org
TWO WEEKS.That's what we have left of the August "Summer District Work Period" - realistically our last local opportunity to push for impeachment while 'our Representatives' are home.
If there isn't a surge of cosigners the week following Labor Day when Congress returns to D.C. onto H. Res. 589 calling for the impeachment of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and/or H. Res. 333 calling for the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney and/or new articles introduced against either of them or President George W. Bush then the likelihood of anything actually moving forward drops off noticeably.
Zero or little progress in this direction wouldn't be the death of the possibility of impeachment taking place and most certainly shouldn't lead to the accountability and justice movement's heat being turned down, but clearly the momentum needed for critical mass to be reached and impeachment proceedings to begin would not have been actualized.It's likely now or never.
Unbelieveably, members of the House of Representatives are still arguing with their constituents against impeachment in fear that Cheney will become President, that there are no impeachable offenses on record, that impeachment would be harmful to Democratic Party chances in the '08 elections, that impeachment proceedings will extend the Iraq War and that the proceedings would get in the way of important legislation the Democratic Congress is pushing forward.
Facts to educate your under-informed Representatives with posthaste:
1). H. Res. 333 and H. Res. 589, which call for the impeachment of Vice President Cheney and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales respectfully, are the only impeachment resolutions currently filed with the House.
There is no resolution in the 110th Congress at this time to impeach President Bush. It makes perfect sense to impeach and remove consigliere Gonzales first to remove the Bush Administration's criminal shield, then go public with investigations of Cheney.
Impeachment of Bush would be a slam dunk after evidence revealed in the Cheney impeachment were front page news across the nation.
2). There have been hundreds of articles written detailing the impeachable offenses of the Bush Administration.
One of the best was done in series form by my ImpeachforPeace.org cofounder Jodin Morey, entitled "Bush's Impeachable Offenses":PART 1: Illegal WarPART 2: Illegal SpyingPART 3: Illegal Leaking of Classified InformationPART 4: War Crimes/Geneva ViolationsPART 5: Illegal Use of Signing Statements
To argue against these facts can only be due to ignorance as a result of intellectual laziness or chronic denial.
We of ImpeachforPeace.org have not ever had a single legitimate charge-by-charge challenge of these facts. We can only conclude that they stand on their merits.
3). What is proving most harmful to Democrats in Congress is that they are revealing themselves to be far better enablers of every bad thing the Bush Administration has wreaked upon the world than the honorable defenders of the Constitution they swore an oath to be on our behalf. My own freshman Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) personally saw to it that my 4th Amendment protections against illegal search and seizure died a gruesome death on August 3rd by inexplicably voting "yea, I favor fascism" on S. 1927. It is misguided 'leadership' such as this that has many activists and the most extremely politically engaged considering running for office or pushing for third party support across the nation, setting up another "Nader-effect" possibility.
4). The Iraq War will not end while Bush is in office. The House does not have enough votes to override any veto, and the supposed 51-49 Democratic Party majority-led Senate has, for all intents and purposes, a one vote Republican majority while Tim Johnson (D-SD) has been ill, Political Shapeshifter Joe Lieberman (Whatever-CT) continues to be morally bankrupt and President of the Senate Cheney holds the tie-breaking vote.
Bush has made clear that American forces will remain in Iraq as long as he is in charge, so impeachment is the only way that we will possibly move toward peace before 2009. Pleading for peace without insisting upon justice through investigations leading to impeachment is akin to supplying an alcoholic with booze and begging them not to drink.
5). Madame Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) grandious promises last November notwithstanding, the only meaningful legislation to have survived Bush's veto and signing statements is a minimum wage increase. That important gain could only be made at the cost of more 'blank check' funding of Bush's war-profiteering cronies. Far more progressive legislative progress was made during the Clinton impeachment trial.
Educating your Representatives of the impeachable offenses and negating their specious arguments against honoring their oaths isn't all that you can do. The benefits of pursuing justice and putting honor and integrity before political expediency are legion.
Decades from now, if man is still alive and woman should survive we may find that among the enduring benefits of the impeachment of Alberto Gonzales, Dick Cheney and George W. Bush was that the American electorate, less than half of whom had historically turned out for even the most important national elections, were suddenly made aware that indeed, America had proved to be 'of the people, by the people and for the people' despite all evidence during the Bush Administration to the contrary.
Every good thing the Pelosi-led Congress claims to be fighting for would have the tidal wave of support of the newly enfranchised citizenry.The Democratic Dream may come to fruition after all. It cannot happen without you. You are the one you have been waiting for.
U.S. SENATE ROLL CALL VOTES 110TH CONGRESS - 1ST SESSION
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00309
as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate
Vote Summary
QUESTION: ON PASSAGE OF THE BILL (S.1927 AS AMENDED )
Vote Number:
309
Vote Date:
August 3, 2007, 09:16 PM
Required For Majority:
3/5
Vote Result:
Bill Passed
Measure Number:
S. 1927
Measure Title:
A bill to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to provide additional procedures for authorizing certain acquisitions of foreign intelligence information and for other purposes.
Vote Counts:
YEAs
60
NAYs
28
Not Voting
12
Vote Summary
By Senator Name
By Vote Position
By Home State
ALPHABETICAL BY SENATOR NAME
Akaka (D-HI), Nay
Alexander (R-TN), Not Voting
Allard (R-CO), Yea
Barrasso (R-WY), Yea
Baucus (D-MT), Nay
Bayh (D-IN), Yea *
Bennett (R-UT), Yea
Biden (D-DE), Nay
Bingaman (D-NM), Nay
Bond (R-MO), Yea
Boxer (D-CA), Not Voting *
Brown (D-OH), Nay
Brownback (R-KS), Yea
Bunning (R-KY), Not Voting
Burr (R-NC), Yea
Byrd (D-WV), Nay
Cantwell (D-WA), Nay
Cardin (D-MD), Nay
Carper (D-DE), Yea *
Casey (D-PA), Yea *
Chambliss (R-GA), Yea
Clinton (D-NY), Nay
Coburn (R-OK), Yea
Cochran (R-MS), Yea
Coleman (R-MN), Yea
Collins (R-ME), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Yea *
Corker (R-TN), Yea
Cornyn (R-TX), Yea
Craig (R-ID), Yea
Crapo (R-ID), Yea
DeMint (R-SC), Yea
Dodd (D-CT), Nay
Dole (R-NC), Yea
Domenici (R-NM), Yea
Dorgan (D-ND), Not Voting *
Durbin (D-IL), Nay
Ensign (R-NV), Yea
Enzi (R-WY), Yea
Feingold (D-WI), Nay
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea *
Graham (R-SC), Yea
Grassley (R-IA), Yea
Gregg (R-NH), Not Voting
Hagel (R-NE), Yea
Harkin (D-IA), Not Voting *
Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Inhofe (R-OK), Yea
Inouye (D-HI), Yea *
Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Johnson (D-SD), Not Voting
Kennedy (D-MA), Nay
Kerry (D-MA), Not Voting *
Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea *
Kohl (D-WI), Nay
Kyl (R-AZ), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea *
Lautenberg (D-NJ), Nay
Leahy (D-VT), Nay
Levin (D-MI), Nay
Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea *
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea *
Lott (R-MS), Not Voting
Lugar (R-IN), Not Voting
Martinez (R-FL), Yea
McCain (R-AZ), Not Voting
McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Menendez (D-NJ), Nay
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Murray (D-WA), Not Voting
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Obama (D-IL), Nay
Pryor (D-AR), Yea
Reed (D-RI), Nay
Reid (D-NV), Nay
Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Rockefeller (D-WV), Nay
Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Sanders (I-VT), Nay
Schumer (D-NY), Nay
Sessions (R-AL), Yea
Shelby (R-AL), Yea
Smith (R-OR), Yea
Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Specter (R-PA), Yea
Stabenow (D-MI), Nay
Stevens (R-AK), Yea
Sununu (R-NH), Yea
Tester (D-MT), Nay
Thune (R-SD), Yea
Vitter (R-LA), Yea
Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Warner (R-VA), Yea
Webb (D-VA), Yea *
Whitehouse (D-RI),
Nay Wyden (D-OR), Nay
Vote Summary
By Senator Name
By Vote Position
By Home State
GROUPED BY VOTE POSITION
YEAs ---60
Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Burr (R-NC)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hagel (R-NE)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Inouye (D-HI)
Isakson (R-GA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McConnell (R-KY)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Roberts (R-KS)
Salazar (D-CO)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
NAYs ---28
Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Clinton (D-NY)
Dodd (D-CT)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kohl (D-WI)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Obama (D-IL)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)
NOT VOTING - 12
Alexander (R-TN)
Boxer (D-CA)
Bunning (R-KY)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Gregg (R-NH)
Harkin (D-IA)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kerry (D-MA)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
McCain (R-AZ)
Murray (D-WA)
Vote Summary
By Senator Name
By Vote Position
By Home State
GROUPED BY HOME STATE
Alabama:
Sessions (R-AL), Yea
Shelby (R-AL), Yea
Alaska:
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Stevens (R-AK), Yea
Arizona:
Kyl (R-AZ), Yea
McCain (R-AZ), Not Voting
Arkansas:
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
Pryor (D-AR), Yea
California:
Boxer (D-CA), Not Voting
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Colorado:
Allard (R-CO), Yea
Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Connecticut:
Dodd (D-CT), Nay
Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea
Delaware:
Biden (D-DE), Nay
Carper (D-DE), Yea
Florida:
Martinez (R-FL), Yea
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Georgia:
Chambliss (R-GA), Yea
Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Hawaii:
Akaka (D-HI), Nay
Inouye (D-HI), Yea
Idaho:
Craig (R-ID), Yea
Crapo (R-ID), Yea
Illinois:
Durbin (D-IL), Nay
Obama (D-IL), Nay
Indiana:
Bayh (D-IN), Yea
Lugar (R-IN), Not Voting
Iowa:
Grassley (R-IA), Yea
Harkin (D-IA), Not Voting
Kansas:
Brownback (R-KS), Yea
Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Kentucky:
Bunning (R-KY), Not Voting
McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Louisiana:
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Vitter (R-LA), Yea
Maine:
Collins (R-ME), Yea
Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Maryland:
Cardin (D-MD), Nay
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Massachusetts:
Kennedy (D-MA), Nay
Kerry (D-MA), Not Voting
Michigan:
Levin (D-MI), Nay
Stabenow (D-MI), Nay
Minnesota:
Coleman (R-MN), Yea
Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea
Mississippi:
Cochran (R-MS), Yea
Lott (R-MS), Not Voting
Missouri:
Bond (R-MO), Yea
McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
Montana:
Baucus (D-MT), Nay
Tester (D-MT), Nay
Nebraska:
Hagel (R-NE), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Nevada:
Ensign (R-NV), Yea
Reid (D-NV), Nay
New Hampshire:
Gregg (R-NH), Not Voting
Sununu (R-NH), Yea
New Jersey:
Lautenberg (D-NJ), Nay
Menendez (D-NJ), Nay
New Mexico:
Bingaman (D-NM), Nay
Domenici (R-NM), Yea
New York:
Clinton (D-NY), Nay
Schumer (D-NY), Nay
North Carolina:
Burr (R-NC), Yea
Dole (R-NC), Yea
North Dakota:
Conrad (D-ND), Yea
Dorgan (D-ND), Not Voting
Ohio:
Brown (D-OH), Nay
Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Oklahoma:
Coburn (R-OK), Yea
Inhofe (R-OK), Yea
Oregon:
Smith (R-OR), Yea
Wyden (D-OR), Nay
Pennsylvania:
Casey (D-PA), Yea
Specter (R-PA), Yea
Rhode Island:
Reed (D-RI), Nay
Whitehouse (D-RI), Nay
South Carolina:
DeMint (R-SC), Yea
Graham (R-SC), Yea
South Dakota:
Johnson (D-SD), Not Voting
Thune (R-SD), Yea
Tennessee:
Alexander (R-TN), Not Voting
Corker (R-TN), Yea
Texas:
Cornyn (R-TX), Yea
Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Utah:
Bennett (R-UT), Yea
Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Vermont:
Leahy (D-VT), Nay
Sanders (I-VT), Nay
Virginia:
Warner (R-VA), Yea
Webb (D-VA), Yea
Washington:
Cantwell (D-WA), Nay
Murray (D-WA), Not Voting
West Virginia:
Byrd (D-WV), Nay
Rockefeller (D-WV), Nay
Wisconsin:
Feingold (D-WI), Nay
Kohl (D-WI), Nay
Wyoming:
Barrasso (R-WY), Yea
Enzi (R-WY), Yea
Vote Summary
By Senator Name
By Vote Position
By Home State
Bush's Impeachable Offense
Bush Deserves Impeachment
Warrantless Wiretap Impeachable
Rep. John Conyers Calls for Censure
ACLU calls for special council
Michael Ratner on Bush's illegal spying on US citizens (audio)
The White House Criminal Conspiracy
Impeachable offense
First Steps to Impeachment
Raising the Issue of Impeachment
A Time to Impeach
Impeachment Appears in the Media
Senator Boxer for Impeachment
John Dean on Impeachment
David Cole and Ron Kessler discuss illegal spying on US citizens(audio)
BBC: Bush backed spying on Americans
Dodd: Impeachment effort would be mistake
Personally my early Connecticut roots show through here, as I like Chris, but I am so weary of the line that Impeachment takes so much time and energy away from the Congress.
They know damn well that in this case, they have been well informed as to how to expedite matters and so much research and documentation is already prepared. The only reason they can hide behind this spin line, is that not enough Americans have availed themselves of that information for all the reasons I, and everyone else have spelled out. Just tell them to get off that line. This administration has “Sucked The Life Out Of American” and it’s time to correct that!
DesMoinesRegister.com - Des Moines,IA,USA
"Impeachment proceedings suck all of the oxygen out of the room," he told members of STAR*PAC, a group dedicated to political action against war. ...Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd, a U.S. senator from Connecticut, said today it would be a mistake for Democrats in Congress to launch impeachment proceedings against President Bush.
Dodd said Democrats could lose control of Congress in the 2008 elections if they pursued that course because many Americans would object to Congress spending 14 months on impeachment proceedings rather than focusing on other problems facing the nation.
"Impeachment proceedings suck all of the oxygen out of the room," he told members of STAR*PAC, a group dedicated to political action against war.
Dodd sharply criticized the Bush administration over the use of warrantless wiretaps and prisons at Guantanamo Bay. "I never thought you'd run for the presidency and have to talk about restoring the Constitution," he said.
How about enforcing it Chris?
Your View -- Americans demand impeachmentMankato Free Press - Mankato,MN,USAOh my, yes -- and impeachment should not be a partisan issue. Every member of Congress has sworn an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. ...
Merkley calls for impeachment of Alberto GonzalesBy BlueOregon.com In an email to supporters this morning, Jeff Merkley called for the impeachment of Alberto Gonzales. Under Gonzalez' embarassing stewardship, they've fired US Attorneys for political reasons. He's authorized illegal wiretaps of American ...BlueOregon - http://www.blueoregon.com/
Pelosi's Blocking Impeachment in the House is Killing the ...By Andy It's just the Constitution that's suffering because of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's nutty and unprincipled "impeachment-off-the-table" position blocking any effort to impeach President Bush or Vice President Cheney for their many crimes ...Andymatic - http://andymatic.com
Today, August 21st, is National ImPEACHment Day!It's National ImPEACHhment Day! Get PEACHy Publicly! Whether you wear a PEACHy color or eat PEACHes or share PEACHes - get creative, have some fun with it, and celebrate imPEACHment on its way!AfterDowningStreet.org - Impeach... - http://www.afterdowningstreet.org
ImpeachmentBy fredtopeka Hmm, the NY Times is now talking about impeachment. It's for AG Gonzales, but that'sa start. Here's there reasoning (by Adam Cohen):. Congress has heard extensive testimony about how Mr. Gonzales's Justice Department has become an arm ...Petunias - http://fredtopeka.wordpress.com
DICK CHENEY'S AMAZING FORECAST.By Saddam Hussein(George Bush's Impeachment) Last week, the internet was on fire over a recent YouTube upload showing Dick Cheney provide his analysis of Iraq under Bush 1. Working at American Enterprise Institute in 1994, he provided his analysis and view of Iraq after Gulf War 1 ...George Bush's Impeachment - http://bushimpeach.blogspot.com/
Dane County endorses impeachment of Bush & CheneyAbout a third of the board members left the meeting before the impeachment vote was taken shortly before 2 am The measure passed with 24 in favor, three against, two abstaining and the remaining 12 absent. 60 or more gathered in front ...Original Signal - Transmitting Buzz - http://buzz.originalsignal.com
Group calls for impeachmentGov. Rick Perry has yet another fight on his hands, with Independent Texans formally launching an effort to bring his tenure in public office to an end.Dailylight/news from www.waxahachieda... - http://www.waxahachiedailylight.com/
Pelosi's Stand on Impeachment is Killing the Democratic Party
Submitted by dlindorff on Sun, 2007-08-19 23:17. Impeachment
By Dave Lindorff
It's not just the Constitution that's suffering because of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's nutty and unprincipled "impeachment-off-the-table" position blocking any effort to impeach President Bush or Vice President Cheney for their many crimes and abuses of power.
Her position on impeachment is killing the Democratic Party too, by driving away not just progressived members of the party, but independents who voted for Democrats last November expecting some action in defense of the Constitution.
I see this anger welling up among progressives and independents everywhere I travel, as people say they've simply had it with the Democrats. The support of the party for a bill continuing funding for the war through September was terrible. The Democrats' rush to pass a bill granting Bush the authority to spy without a warrant on Americans, and to expand the power to spy domestically well beyond phones and internet to even include break-ins was a last straw.
My own little call for people so sign an "I Quit This Party" petition has seen a jump from 300 to now 400 signers. (To sign up, go to www.thiscantbehappening.net and then scroll down the column to the right-hand side to the "I Quit" button.) When it gets to 500 I'll be sending the list off to Pelosi, as well as to the offices of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean.
Four or five hundred party defectors may seem like small loss, but it reflects a larger trend across the country.
Here's a letter I got from the head of a group of active Democrats in central Pennsylvania--the very kind of heartland area that Democrats will need if they are going to win the presidency and hang on to or make gains in Congress next year.
Writes Kathy Ember, a Democratic Committee member in Pennsylvania, and president of the Kutztown Democratic Club:
I am the president of a very active grassroots Democratic club just outside Philadelphia in PA. Recently, I got an email from Nancy Pelosi, asking all of us to help build the grassroots.
EXCUSE ME Nancy, but we have been working our butts off out here for years trying to do just that. WE are the ones that put that Democrats back in power in Congress. We've been there for you, but you have let us down by not holding the current administration responsible for their crimes.
Not only are you losing us...you are making it impossible for us to "build the grassroots". Do you know how people look at you now when you ask them to join the Democrats? They laugh in your face. Why, they want to know, should we join or support a party that has done nothing toward getting out of Iraq or impeaching this president?
I am in contact with other Democratic clubs across PA. Some have recently changed the word "Democrats" in their name to a lower case "d". Others have abandoned their association with the Democrats altogether and have formed instead "citizen action groups."
When will the Democrats in Washington wake up and realize that it's not impeachment that will hurt the party...it is the lack of it.
I believe that the aptly named Ember is just one spark in a prairie fire that is going to sweep away the conservative Democratic establishment in 2008. Whether it is by turning to third party candidates, or just sitting out the next election, these angry and frustrated Democrats are showing that they've been betrayed one too many times by the Democratic Party.
Either Pelosi--who is facing an election challenge by Cindy Sheehan in her own San Francisco district--better do an about face and open the path to impeachment of Bush and/or Cheney. Otherwise, she and her fellow party leaders are going to find themselves either ousted in primaries, or back in the position of minority "leaders" in 2009.
Dave LINDORFF is a Philadelphia-based investigative reporter and columnist. His latest book, "The Case for Impeachment," co-authored by Barbara Olshansky (St. Martin's Press, 2006) was just released this summer in a paperback edition. His work is available at www.thiscantbehappening.net
Robert Meyer column: Con - Democrats don't have stomach for ...Appleton Post Crescent - WI, USAWhy would Feingold want to censure Clinton, then vote against his impeachment? Well, perhaps, after hearing the case against former president Clinton during ...See all stories on this topic
Letter BoxBrattleboro Reformer - VT, United States13, Warren Morse opposes impeachment because "the votes are not there" in Congress. Of course votes aren't there at the beginning of a congressional debate, ...See all stories on this topic
Dane County Board Considers Impeachment ResolutionWISC - Madison,WI,USADane County's Board of Supervisors met Thursday night to decide whether the county will formerly ask Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against ...See all stories on this topic
Elizabeth Edwards and the Case for ImpeachmentBy torridjoe If there was any mention of impeachment in the interview I didn't see it, but there was an important section that I think holds the key to persuading people why impeachment is the important and ethically proper course to pursue. ...Daily Kos - http://www.dailykos.com/section/Diary
Impeachment Day!By rich_of_spirit(rich_of_spirit) Impeachment Day www.house.gov. www.senate.gov.Thumb Jig - http://thumbjig.blogspot.com/
Yahoo! News Report on Dane County WI Impeachment ResolutionDane County's Board of Supervisors met Thursday night to decide whether the county will formerly ask Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. ...AfterDowningStreet.org - Impeach... - http://www.afterdowningstreet.org
Dane County endorses impeachment of Bush & CheneyAt the end of a marathon seven-hour session, the Dane County Board early today became the second county government in the nation to endorse the impeachment of President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. ...Clipmarks Live Clips - http://clipmarks.com/
"I Support The Impeachment of Vice President Cheney" Add your name ...By dandelionsalad Dennis Kucinich wants to put the name of everyone who supports Dick Cheney's impeachment in to the Congressional Record! The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. ...
Curious as to what the Senate field will look like for this cycle? Well, September promises to reveal much. On top for this coming month:
Alaska
This wasn't supposed to be on the radar, but with the FBI swarming around Sen. Tubes Stevens' house and offices, it's now become a top Democratic pickup opportunity. The DSCC is really hoping that the state's Democratic wunderkind, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, will pick up the mantle. The DCCC was also trying to recruit Begich for a race against the equally tainted Rep. Don Young, but they'll probably have to "settle" for someone like House Minority Leader Ethan Berkowitz (which wouldn't be too shabby).
Begich is still mulling the bid, and a decision is expected "in the Fall", though everyone is hoping for a September decision.
Kentucky
It looks likely that Democratic Attorney General Greg Stumbo is our nominee, but Ben Chandler has stoked the flames a bit by saying he hasn't ruled out a run. The CW is that Chandler is waiting for 2010, when he faces either a senile jim Bunning or (more likely) an open seat. But with the GOP's position crashing and burning nationally and in Kentucky, Chandler could deliver a killing blow to the man who has bedeviled Kentucky Democrats for decades.
Nebraska
All eyes are on Republican incumbent Chuck Hagel, who is set to announce whether he runs for reelection, runs for president, runs for both, or retires from politics altogether. If he runs for reelection in the Senate, this race is off the board. No one seems to have the appetite to challenge him. And while he's terrible on just about every issue, he'd be a plus vote on our efforts to end the war. So all wouldn't be bad.
But if he does retire, look for former Sen. Bob Kerrey to make a bid. And if he does, Lieberman will have another ally in the Senate. Is that good or bad for us? The jury would definitely be out. We could also have a contested Democratic primary with Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey in the mix. He'd likely be infinitely better.
New Hampshire
Former Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen will decide whether she's getting in. If she does, she likely clears the field and goes on to defeat incumbent Republican John Sununu by 20 points. It wouldn't even be close.
If she doesn't run (only a 30 percent chance, per the rumors), Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand, Lieberdem Katrina Swett, and professor Jay Buckey would fight it out for a chance at taking out Sununu. Any of them would have an even chance to win (but god forbid another Lieberman ally in the Senate), while Shaheen makes it as close as a "done deal" as is ever possible in politics.
New Mexico
So far, the only "serious" Democratic challenger to corrupt Pajamas Pete Domenici appears to be Don Wiviott, an environmentally friendly housing developer. Seems like a nice enough guy, but with no name recognition or electoral experience. He could be a solid candidate (you never know from where the best candidates will emerge), but all eyes will still be on the state to see if anyone higher profile and with more electoral experience enters the mix.
North Carolina
Liddy Dole isn't an electoral tour de force, yet all's been quiet in this state this year. That's expected to change in September as we finally get the candidate who will make Dole fight for her life.
Tennessee
Has Sen. Lamar! Alexander even announced he's running for reelection? There's a persistent rumor in Tennessee that alum Alexander is eyeing the open Chancellor slot at Vanderbilt University. He has done little to distinguish himself as a senator, and the good life as head of an elite Southern educational institution likely suits him better.
If he retires, expect former Rep. and DLC Chair Harold Ford to join the fray. Or maybe not. Ford has his heart set on the Governor's mansion after current Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen vacates in 2010. The name often bandied about right now as a challenger to Alexander is Mike McWherter, the son of a former popular governor. A McWherter candidacy would kick this race up to the second-tier, with strong potential for top-tier status.
Virginia
It's all about the Warners. If John (R) announces his retirement in September, as expected, then Mark (D) becomes the favorite in what would be a tough but definitely winnable race against Republican Rep. Tom Davis (who is raising money like there's no tomorrow). The wrinkle is that Mark (D) seems more interested in running for governor again, a gig he loved, than in being one of 100 across the river in DC.
Race tracker wiki: AK-Sen KY-Sen NE-Sen NH-Sen NM-Sen NC-Sen TN-Sen VA-Sen
Tags: 2008, Senate, Alaska, AK-Sen, Kentucky, KY-Sen, Nebraska, NE-Sen, New Hampshire, NH-Sen, New Mexico, NM-Sen, North Carolina, NC-Sen, Tennessee, TN-Sen, Virginia, VA-Sen (all tags)
Tom Davis = Corruption, $14k trips to Italy, ICG Influence Peddling Scandal, Tom Davis has heavy ties to Bob Ney. This list could go on forever, for more details read Andrea Chamblee's research diaries.
Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), who reported assets of between $435,000 and $1.2 million, received perhaps the most lavish gift reported by a member of the region's congressional delegation. He and his wife, state Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-Fairfax), were flown to Italy last year by real estate developer Robert F. Pence, who was celebrating his 60th birthday and is a longtime friend of Rep. Davis and a prominent GOP campaign contributor. The trip included a chartered cruise along the Amalfi coast and a visit to Venice.
Davis said that he initially thought the trip, valued at $13,110, was "a stretch" of House ethics rules. But it was cleared by the House Ethics Committee.
TOM DAVIS IS FOR SALE
Tom Davis killed lobbying reform offered by the more ethical man across the river in MD, Chris Van Hollen.
Why would Davis take such a different position from his neighboring Congressman, a politician respected on both sides of the aisle?
Money. Davis is for sale. And we can't afford him any more.
Open Secrets has broken the contributions down by industry. See how financial interests donated piles of money to Davis and others the year they wrote the laws preventing bankruptcies by people whose health care bills have wiped them out. See how oil companies oozed money to Davis the year they wrote their own regulatory statute. See how pharmaceutical companies broke records with contributions to Davis during Medicare Part D negotiations. And lobbyists "pay to play" with more and more money to Davis every year.
In the Cash and Carry world of Tom DeLay and Tom Davis, Davis ranks # 8 out of 434 Congressmen, after Tom Delay and Friends, collecting money from PACS that want to write their own legislation, or just avoid jail for their fraud on taxpayers. Now that DeLay is gone, Davis ranks 7. Add the Senate members, and Davis is still impressively ranked at # 15 of the 533 lawmakers in demanding money from special interests.
Andrew Hurst is running to reform Congress. He isn't taking any PAC contributions. I joined Andy's campaign as a volunteer because I know Andy and no one will work harder than he will for his constituents. RK recognized his energy and commitment early on (here)as well. Andy blogged on RK here RK also exposed Tom Davis as no moderate.
THIS IS A CONGRESSMAN WHO IS FOR SALE…MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT…THIS GUY HAS GOT TO GO IN THE NEXT ELECTION CYCLE
Davis, Tom (R-VA)
2003-2004 PAC Contributions: $749,851 Based on data released by the FEC on Monday, May 16, 2005.
CHECK OUT THE DAVIS REPORT…THIS GUY IS DIRTY!
http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/memberprofile.asp?cid=N00002045&cycle=2004&expand=W
In the Cash and Carry world of Tom DeLay and Tom Davis, Davis ranks # 8 out of 434 Congressmen, after Tom Delay and Friends, collecting money from PACS that want to write their own legislation, or just avoid jail for their fraud on taxpayers. Now that DeLay is gone, Davis ranks 7. Add the Senate members, and Davis is still impressively ranked at # 15 of the 533 lawmakers in demanding money from special interests.
Davis has close ties to Delay (4.00 / 4)
Davis has a direct link to David Safarian, the former Federal Procurement Policy officer currently on trial facing charges of obstruction of justice. Safavian was the first person to be arrested in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Davis works very closely with Safavian's wife, Jennifer Safavian. Mrs. Safavian, who worked for Robert W. Ray (the successor to Kenneth Starr), is the chief investigative counsel to the House Committee on Government Reform, which Davis chairs. This committee, which handles procurement issues, investigated the dismal response by FEMA contractors, many which are Davis donors (Dewberry and IEM), who spearheaded the incompetent response to Hurricane Katrina.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_Safavian
SMELLS BAD FOR DAVIS.
Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), who reported assets of between $435,000 and $1.2 million, received perhaps the most lavish gift reported by a member of the region's congressional delegation. He and his wife, state Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-Fairfax), were flown to Italy last year by real estate developer Robert F. Pence, who was celebrating his 60th birthday and is a longtime friend of Rep. Davis and a prominent GOP campaign contributor. The trip included a chartered cruise along the Amalfi coast and a visit to Venice.
Davis said that he initially thought the trip, valued at $13,110, was "a stretch" of House ethics rules. But it was cleared by the House Ethics Committee.
VA-Sen: VA conservatives distrust Rep. Davis
by kos
Wed Jul 25, 2007 at 11:54:37 AM PDT
Given Sen. John Warner's non-existent to anemic fundraising, you'd think he'd announce his retirement. But he's not. There are two possible reasons why: 1) he's confident that he can quickly raise whatever he needs to defend his seat; or 2) he's going to retire, but wants to clear the field for his protege, Rep. Tom Davis (who incidentally is raising money at Senate-race levels).
This has obviously got the goat of Virginia conservatives, who hate Rep. Davis. His 70 percent lifetime American Conservative Union rating has actually dipped even further lately, 57 percent in 2005, and 56 percent in 2006. Davis is also the 26th least loyal Republican in the House, voting with his party 76.4 percent of the time.
Much of this could be positioning for that statewide run in a state that has proven fertile for Democrats in recent years. Or maybe he's genuinely less crazy than his party's majority. Either way, don't expect Virginia conservatives to sit by and let Warner pull a bait-and-switch with Davis.
Bob Novak spoke of this way back in January on his email newsletter:
Conservatives, meanwhile, are not inclined to believe Warner's re-election intentions. They fear that Warner will wait until the deadline, and then step aside for a fellow moderate, such as Rep. Tom Davis (R). They are considering the possibility of putting a serious conservative into the race who would be ready to drop out if Warner remains in the race beyond the filing deadline.
However, it is difficult to imagine any of the stronger conservative candidates, such as Rep. Eric Cantor (R) or Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R), agreeing to such a scheme. If former Gov. Jim Gilmore leaves the presidential race in time, he could put himself forth as well. But the situation is such that the Virginia GOP is ruled by distrust, having been stung by repeated election losses in key statewide races.
He may run - but for what?
Jim Gilmore blogs that he's looking at a U.S. Senate seat or a return to the governorship.
BY DAVID LERMAN 202-824-8224
August 18, 2007
WASHINGTON - One month after abandoning his long-shot bid for the White House, former Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore has jumped back into Virginia politics to prepare for a possible statewide campaign.
Eager to run for a U.S. Senate seat if Republican Sen. John Warner retires next year, Gilmore has begun traveling Virginia and raising his profile.
He formed a state political action committee, the Gilmore Patriots Committee, that its manager said has raised about $200,000 in the past few weeks. While that money could not be used for a Senate race, it will allow Gilmore to travel and get his message out while he decides on a political future.
He also created a new Web site, VirginiaPatriot.com, where he blogs about issues of the day and promotes his conservative, tax-cutting philosophy. And on Friday, he launched a monthly live chat session, called Free Speech Friday, where he answers questions for an hour from fellow bloggers.
So when a blogger identified as "Dan B." asked about his political plans, Gilmore was happy to oblige. "I have been encouraged throughout 2007 to seek either the Senate seat (should Sen. Warner retire) or the governorship in 2009," Gilmore wrote.
For now, Gilmore insisted in an interview, his focus is on helping Republicans retain their majority in the General Assembly this fall, when the entire state House and Senate stand for re-election.
But Gilmore made clear his interest in Warner's U.S. Senate seat. Warner, 80, has said he will decide in September whether to seek another six-year term next year. A Senate bid by Gilmore in a hotly contested race could be a bruising battle. The ex-governor likely would face strong competition for the Republican nomination from U.S. Rep. Tom Davis, a Fairfax County moderate who raised about $600,000 in the last quarter.
The state party would have to decide whether to hold a primary election or a convention to decide on a nominee. A convention, which the GOP has traditionally favored in Virginia, would appear to benefit Gilmore because it attracts the party's hard-core conservative base. By contrast, a primary might give the well-financed Davis an edge.
Davis spokesman Brian McNicoll said of Gilmore, "He's won two statewide elections. He certainly couldn't be taken lightly."
The winner of that contest could end up facing former Democratic Gov. Mark Warner, who is widely considered to be a likely Senate contender, assuming John Warner retires. The two Warners are not related.
Gilmore, 57, made his name in Virginia by pledging to end the state's hated car tax. The popular proposal helped him win the governor's mansion in 1997, but the car tax remains. Although the tax was reduced, the plan proved too costly for the state to eliminate entirely.
Before dropping out of the presidential race, Gilmore billed himself as the conservative alternative to GOP frontrunners who he suggested were too liberal or inconsistent in their policy positions. But he raised little money and was never more than asterisk in national polls.
With his White House hopes now dashed, Gilmore is setting his sights on Virginia once again. "I've begun the process of getting around and talking to party leaders," he said. "We're drawing a lot of people together to try to unify the party."
mbivalent Mumblings: Tom Davis Is At It Again
It was through Alice Marshall’s post that I learned about this aspect of Tom Davis’s corrupt behavior. Alice is the blog moderator for the FCDC’s blog and ...ambivalentmumblings.blogspot.com/2006/08/tom-davis-is-at-it-again.html - 69k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Think Progress » Tom Davis (R-VA):
Nice statement by Tom Davis, but a very unrealistic part of it came to mind. ... Corrupt Establishment · Incompetent Establishment · Braindead Media ...thinkprogress.org/2005/10/29/tom-davis-r-va/ - 29k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Andrew Hurst for Congress - News
Tom Davis (R-11), Democrat Andy Hurst called for Davis to resign from his chairmanship of a ... Congress is corrupt and we need real reform to change it." ...www.hurstforcongress.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=1&Itemid=64&lim... - 33k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Andrew Hurst for Congress - In the News
Thomas M. Davis III has $1.5 million in the bank, control of a powerful ... Thomas Davis in the latest debate in the 11th Congressional District race ...www.hurstforcongress.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=70&Itemid=92 - 36k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
DownWithTyranny!: TOM DAVIS HAS A BEST FRIEND LOBBYIST WHO KICKS ...
And they don't like corrupt politicians. VA-11 gave Gore 45% of its votes in ... I am ashamed Tom Davis is my Congressman. Thank god I did not vote for him ...downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2006/07/tom-davis-has-best-friend-lobbyist-who.html - 34k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
The Countertop Chronicles » Defeat Davis
Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (Corrupt RINO-Fairfax), to be a State Senator (and with an eye on the U.S. Senate himself), we see the new Tom Davis ...www.countertopchronicles.com/?cat=23 - 34k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Letter to Rep. Thomas Davis (R-Virginia): THE PRESIDENT OF THE USA ...
Thomas Davis August 17, 2007 THE PRESIDENT OF THE USA IS TERMINATING ... MASSIVELY CORRUPT AND DANGEROUS TO THE SUCCESS OF SUCH A UNION WERE WE TO BE IN ...www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/userletter/?letter_id=1359321896 - 33k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Letter to Rep. Thomas Davis (R-Virginia): WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ...
Thomas Davis August 13, 2007 WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE NORTH AMERICAN UNION? Mexico is a Drug-Cartel-Controlled, Corrupt Country. ...www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/userletter/?id=609&letter_id=1354035636 - 24k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Raising Kaine:: Tom Davis has ties to Abramoff's K Street Project ...
This diary ties Tom Davis to Abramoff and other corrupt super-lobbyists in 3 ways: through personal donations to Davis, his wife, and his PACs, ...www.raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4270 - 95k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Congressman Tom Davis
Washington, D.C. Congressman Tom Davis (R-VA) is pleased to announce that ... to an INS interview by corrupt and/or vindictive Communist officials who often ...tomdavis.house.gov/cgi-data/news/files/221.shtml - 8k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Raising Kaine:: Tom Davis: 7 easy steps to mistakenly delete ...
Tom Davis: 7 easy steps to mistakenly delete incriminating emails... by: Andrea Chamblee .... The man is amazingly corrupt. Thanks. ...www.raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=9057 - 75k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Such is why Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., once asserted in a letter to Major League Baseball that his committee not only had jurisdiction to meddle in the MLB's drug-testing policies, it had the power to conduct an investigation "at any time, on any matter."
It gets worse. Davis' committee, the Government Oversight Committee, is actually charged with reigning in government excess. Separation of powers be damned.
The list of meddlers goes on.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who's in lockstep with Davis on the steroids issue, wants Congress to regulate professional boxing, too — a sport McCain says (probably correctly) is corrupt. Perhaps inspiring Rep. Barton, a legislator in Texas recently introduced a bill barring the University of Texas from playing in the BCS championship — his way of "nudging" the NCAA toward a playoff system.
Rep. Davis, Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., and a host of others want a congressionally mandated drug testing system for all professional, Division I, and top-tier amateur sports. According to a June 27 article published in "Roll Call," Davis also recently threatened Major League Baseball with sanctions if the organization were to sell one of its franchises to George Soros, a political nemesis of Davis's. These are just a few examples.
Likewise, Rep. Davis and fellow baseball antagonists say steroids and amphetamines give athletes an "unfair advantage" over the competition. Never mind that after the 2000 census, Davis led efforts to gerrymander his own congressional district to ensure he'd never need to worry about re-election. Due to gerrymandering, Davis ran unopposed in 2002, as did one in five of his congressional colleagues.
Davis also recently sneaked a provision into federal legislation that prevented an apartment complex from going up in his district because, according to the Washington Post, he feared it would bring too many Democrats into the area. And as head of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, Davis fought to similarly gerrymander Republican districts across the country, effectively giving many voters just one candidate to choose from.
Who was responsible for oversight before Henry Waxman D-CA took over? Tom Davis R-VA. There are more installments in the series from Robert OHarrow and Scott Higham.
According to one story, at GSA, where Tom Davis forced out Angela Styles for friend and felon David Safarian, Lurita Doan took over.
Doan was a very friendly donor to Davis when he was RNCC Chair the Doan family gave $153,215 to Republicans and over $40,000 to Daviss RNCC when he was Chair. At GSA, for the second time in her federal career, Doan illegally bypassed her own staff to provide a no-bid contract to a friend. Although the Post states that three Committee members signed a letter asking for an explanation of the fraud, they dont dare embarrass Tom Davis by saying Davis, then Committee Chair, was not bothered enough by the stink to be one of the signers.
The letter asking for an explanation was signed by minority Committee members Waxman, Holmes-Norton, and Obserstar. Not to mention Davis dropped the ball on Walter Reed when Salon did the story first in 2004. Look under salon-dot-come walter reed index. On her way out of GSA, Styles had said There is still not a lot of oversight in some areas of our contracting system, and I think it will haunt us. Done.
Raising Kaine:: Tom Davis has ties to Abramoff's K Street Project ...
This diary ties Tom Davis to Abramoff and other corrupt super-lobbyists in 3 .... I'll give what I can No, tx. I hope to buy my own Congressman someday ...www.raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4270 - 95k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Elections Blog - The Stump
An early favorite to replace him on the Republican side is Congressman Tom Davis. Any eventually Republican candidate would likely face former Virginia ...news.aol.com/elections-blog/search/?q=Tom%20Davis - 89k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Facts to educate your under-informed Representatives with posthaste:
1). H. Res. 333 and H. Res. 589, which call for the impeachment of Vice President Cheney and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales respectfully, are the only impeachment resolutions currently filed with the House.
There is no resolution in the 110th Congress at this time to impeach President Bush. It makes perfect sense to impeach and remove consigliere Gonzales first to remove the Bush Administration's criminal shield, then go public with investigations of Cheney.
Impeachment of Bush would be a slam dunk after evidence revealed in the Cheney impeachment were front page news across the nation.
2). There have been hundreds of articles written detailing the impeachable offenses of the Bush Administration.
One of the best was done in series form by my ImpeachforPeace.org cofounder Jodin Morey, entitled "Bush's Impeachable Offenses":PART 1: Illegal WarPART 2: Illegal SpyingPART 3: Illegal Leaking of Classified InformationPART 4: War Crimes/Geneva ViolationsPART 5: Illegal Use of Signing Statements
To argue against these facts can only be due to ignorance as a result of intellectual laziness or chronic denial.
We of ImpeachforPeace.org have not ever had a single legitimate charge-by-charge challenge of these facts. We can only conclude that they stand on their merits.
3). What is proving most harmful to Democrats in Congress is that they are revealing themselves to be far better enablers of every bad thing the Bush Administration has wreaked upon the world than the honorable defenders of the Constitution they swore an oath to be on our behalf. My own freshman Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) personally saw to it that my 4th Amendment protections against illegal search and seizure died a gruesome death on August 3rd by inexplicably voting "yea, I favor fascism" on S. 1927. It is misguided 'leadership' such as this that has many activists and the most extremely politically engaged considering running for office or pushing for third party support across the nation, setting up another "Nader-effect" possibility.
4). The Iraq War will not end while Bush is in office. The House does not have enough votes to override any veto, and the supposed 51-49 Democratic Party majority-led Senate has, for all intents and purposes, a one vote Republican majority while Tim Johnson (D-SD) has been ill, Political Shapeshifter Joe Lieberman (Whatever-CT) continues to be morally bankrupt and President of the Senate Cheney holds the tie-breaking vote.
Bush has made clear that American forces will remain in Iraq as long as he is in charge, so impeachment is the only way that we will possibly move toward peace before 2009. Pleading for peace without insisting upon justice through investigations leading to impeachment is akin to supplying an alcoholic with booze and begging them not to drink.
5). Madame Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) grandious promises last November notwithstanding, the only meaningful legislation to have survived Bush's veto and signing statements is a minimum wage increase. That important gain could only be made at the cost of more 'blank check' funding of Bush's war-profiteering cronies. Far more progressive legislative progress was made during the Clinton impeachment trial.
Educating your Representatives of the impeachable offenses and negating their specious arguments against honoring their oaths isn't all that you can do. The benefits of pursuing justice and putting honor and integrity before political expediency are legion.
Decades from now, if man is still alive and woman should survive we may find that among the enduring benefits of the impeachment of Alberto Gonzales, Dick Cheney and George W. Bush was that the American electorate, less than half of whom had historically turned out for even the most important national elections, were suddenly made aware that indeed, America had proved to be 'of the people, by the people and for the people' despite all evidence during the Bush Administration to the contrary.
Every good thing the Pelosi-led Congress claims to be fighting for would have the tidal wave of support of the newly enfranchised citizenry.The Democratic Dream may come to fruition after all. It cannot happen without you. You are the one you have been waiting for.
U.S. SENATE ROLL CALL VOTES 110TH CONGRESS - 1ST SESSION
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00309
as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate
Vote Summary
QUESTION: ON PASSAGE OF THE BILL (S.1927 AS AMENDED )
Vote Number:
309
Vote Date:
August 3, 2007, 09:16 PM
Required For Majority:
3/5
Vote Result:
Bill Passed
Measure Number:
S. 1927
Measure Title:
A bill to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to provide additional procedures for authorizing certain acquisitions of foreign intelligence information and for other purposes.
Vote Counts:
YEAs
60
NAYs
28
Not Voting
12
Vote Summary
By Senator Name
By Vote Position
By Home State
ALPHABETICAL BY SENATOR NAME
Akaka (D-HI), Nay
Alexander (R-TN), Not Voting
Allard (R-CO), Yea
Barrasso (R-WY), Yea
Baucus (D-MT), Nay
Bayh (D-IN), Yea *
Bennett (R-UT), Yea
Biden (D-DE), Nay
Bingaman (D-NM), Nay
Bond (R-MO), Yea
Boxer (D-CA), Not Voting *
Brown (D-OH), Nay
Brownback (R-KS), Yea
Bunning (R-KY), Not Voting
Burr (R-NC), Yea
Byrd (D-WV), Nay
Cantwell (D-WA), Nay
Cardin (D-MD), Nay
Carper (D-DE), Yea *
Casey (D-PA), Yea *
Chambliss (R-GA), Yea
Clinton (D-NY), Nay
Coburn (R-OK), Yea
Cochran (R-MS), Yea
Coleman (R-MN), Yea
Collins (R-ME), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Yea *
Corker (R-TN), Yea
Cornyn (R-TX), Yea
Craig (R-ID), Yea
Crapo (R-ID), Yea
DeMint (R-SC), Yea
Dodd (D-CT), Nay
Dole (R-NC), Yea
Domenici (R-NM), Yea
Dorgan (D-ND), Not Voting *
Durbin (D-IL), Nay
Ensign (R-NV), Yea
Enzi (R-WY), Yea
Feingold (D-WI), Nay
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea *
Graham (R-SC), Yea
Grassley (R-IA), Yea
Gregg (R-NH), Not Voting
Hagel (R-NE), Yea
Harkin (D-IA), Not Voting *
Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Inhofe (R-OK), Yea
Inouye (D-HI), Yea *
Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Johnson (D-SD), Not Voting
Kennedy (D-MA), Nay
Kerry (D-MA), Not Voting *
Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea *
Kohl (D-WI), Nay
Kyl (R-AZ), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea *
Lautenberg (D-NJ), Nay
Leahy (D-VT), Nay
Levin (D-MI), Nay
Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea *
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea *
Lott (R-MS), Not Voting
Lugar (R-IN), Not Voting
Martinez (R-FL), Yea
McCain (R-AZ), Not Voting
McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Menendez (D-NJ), Nay
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Murray (D-WA), Not Voting
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Obama (D-IL), Nay
Pryor (D-AR), Yea
Reed (D-RI), Nay
Reid (D-NV), Nay
Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Rockefeller (D-WV), Nay
Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Sanders (I-VT), Nay
Schumer (D-NY), Nay
Sessions (R-AL), Yea
Shelby (R-AL), Yea
Smith (R-OR), Yea
Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Specter (R-PA), Yea
Stabenow (D-MI), Nay
Stevens (R-AK), Yea
Sununu (R-NH), Yea
Tester (D-MT), Nay
Thune (R-SD), Yea
Vitter (R-LA), Yea
Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Warner (R-VA), Yea
Webb (D-VA), Yea *
Whitehouse (D-RI),
Nay Wyden (D-OR), Nay
Vote Summary
By Senator Name
By Vote Position
By Home State
GROUPED BY VOTE POSITION
YEAs ---60
Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Burr (R-NC)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hagel (R-NE)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Inouye (D-HI)
Isakson (R-GA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McConnell (R-KY)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Roberts (R-KS)
Salazar (D-CO)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
NAYs ---28
Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Clinton (D-NY)
Dodd (D-CT)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kohl (D-WI)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Obama (D-IL)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)
NOT VOTING - 12
Alexander (R-TN)
Boxer (D-CA)
Bunning (R-KY)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Gregg (R-NH)
Harkin (D-IA)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kerry (D-MA)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
McCain (R-AZ)
Murray (D-WA)
Vote Summary
By Senator Name
By Vote Position
By Home State
GROUPED BY HOME STATE
Alabama:
Sessions (R-AL), Yea
Shelby (R-AL), Yea
Alaska:
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Stevens (R-AK), Yea
Arizona:
Kyl (R-AZ), Yea
McCain (R-AZ), Not Voting
Arkansas:
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
Pryor (D-AR), Yea
California:
Boxer (D-CA), Not Voting
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Colorado:
Allard (R-CO), Yea
Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Connecticut:
Dodd (D-CT), Nay
Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea
Delaware:
Biden (D-DE), Nay
Carper (D-DE), Yea
Florida:
Martinez (R-FL), Yea
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Georgia:
Chambliss (R-GA), Yea
Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Hawaii:
Akaka (D-HI), Nay
Inouye (D-HI), Yea
Idaho:
Craig (R-ID), Yea
Crapo (R-ID), Yea
Illinois:
Durbin (D-IL), Nay
Obama (D-IL), Nay
Indiana:
Bayh (D-IN), Yea
Lugar (R-IN), Not Voting
Iowa:
Grassley (R-IA), Yea
Harkin (D-IA), Not Voting
Kansas:
Brownback (R-KS), Yea
Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Kentucky:
Bunning (R-KY), Not Voting
McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Louisiana:
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Vitter (R-LA), Yea
Maine:
Collins (R-ME), Yea
Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Maryland:
Cardin (D-MD), Nay
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Massachusetts:
Kennedy (D-MA), Nay
Kerry (D-MA), Not Voting
Michigan:
Levin (D-MI), Nay
Stabenow (D-MI), Nay
Minnesota:
Coleman (R-MN), Yea
Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea
Mississippi:
Cochran (R-MS), Yea
Lott (R-MS), Not Voting
Missouri:
Bond (R-MO), Yea
McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
Montana:
Baucus (D-MT), Nay
Tester (D-MT), Nay
Nebraska:
Hagel (R-NE), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Nevada:
Ensign (R-NV), Yea
Reid (D-NV), Nay
New Hampshire:
Gregg (R-NH), Not Voting
Sununu (R-NH), Yea
New Jersey:
Lautenberg (D-NJ), Nay
Menendez (D-NJ), Nay
New Mexico:
Bingaman (D-NM), Nay
Domenici (R-NM), Yea
New York:
Clinton (D-NY), Nay
Schumer (D-NY), Nay
North Carolina:
Burr (R-NC), Yea
Dole (R-NC), Yea
North Dakota:
Conrad (D-ND), Yea
Dorgan (D-ND), Not Voting
Ohio:
Brown (D-OH), Nay
Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Oklahoma:
Coburn (R-OK), Yea
Inhofe (R-OK), Yea
Oregon:
Smith (R-OR), Yea
Wyden (D-OR), Nay
Pennsylvania:
Casey (D-PA), Yea
Specter (R-PA), Yea
Rhode Island:
Reed (D-RI), Nay
Whitehouse (D-RI), Nay
South Carolina:
DeMint (R-SC), Yea
Graham (R-SC), Yea
South Dakota:
Johnson (D-SD), Not Voting
Thune (R-SD), Yea
Tennessee:
Alexander (R-TN), Not Voting
Corker (R-TN), Yea
Texas:
Cornyn (R-TX), Yea
Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Utah:
Bennett (R-UT), Yea
Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Vermont:
Leahy (D-VT), Nay
Sanders (I-VT), Nay
Virginia:
Warner (R-VA), Yea
Webb (D-VA), Yea
Washington:
Cantwell (D-WA), Nay
Murray (D-WA), Not Voting
West Virginia:
Byrd (D-WV), Nay
Rockefeller (D-WV), Nay
Wisconsin:
Feingold (D-WI), Nay
Kohl (D-WI), Nay
Wyoming:
Barrasso (R-WY), Yea
Enzi (R-WY), Yea
Vote Summary
By Senator Name
By Vote Position
By Home State
Bush's Impeachable Offense
Bush Deserves Impeachment
Warrantless Wiretap Impeachable
Rep. John Conyers Calls for Censure
ACLU calls for special council
Michael Ratner on Bush's illegal spying on US citizens (audio)
The White House Criminal Conspiracy
Impeachable offense
First Steps to Impeachment
Raising the Issue of Impeachment
A Time to Impeach
Impeachment Appears in the Media
Senator Boxer for Impeachment
John Dean on Impeachment
David Cole and Ron Kessler discuss illegal spying on US citizens(audio)
BBC: Bush backed spying on Americans
Dodd: Impeachment effort would be mistake
Personally my early Connecticut roots show through here, as I like Chris, but I am so weary of the line that Impeachment takes so much time and energy away from the Congress.
They know damn well that in this case, they have been well informed as to how to expedite matters and so much research and documentation is already prepared. The only reason they can hide behind this spin line, is that not enough Americans have availed themselves of that information for all the reasons I, and everyone else have spelled out. Just tell them to get off that line. This administration has “Sucked The Life Out Of American” and it’s time to correct that!
DesMoinesRegister.com - Des Moines,IA,USA
"Impeachment proceedings suck all of the oxygen out of the room," he told members of STAR*PAC, a group dedicated to political action against war. ...Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd, a U.S. senator from Connecticut, said today it would be a mistake for Democrats in Congress to launch impeachment proceedings against President Bush.
Dodd said Democrats could lose control of Congress in the 2008 elections if they pursued that course because many Americans would object to Congress spending 14 months on impeachment proceedings rather than focusing on other problems facing the nation.
"Impeachment proceedings suck all of the oxygen out of the room," he told members of STAR*PAC, a group dedicated to political action against war.
Dodd sharply criticized the Bush administration over the use of warrantless wiretaps and prisons at Guantanamo Bay. "I never thought you'd run for the presidency and have to talk about restoring the Constitution," he said.
How about enforcing it Chris?
Your View -- Americans demand impeachmentMankato Free Press - Mankato,MN,USAOh my, yes -- and impeachment should not be a partisan issue. Every member of Congress has sworn an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. ...
Merkley calls for impeachment of Alberto GonzalesBy BlueOregon.com In an email to supporters this morning, Jeff Merkley called for the impeachment of Alberto Gonzales. Under Gonzalez' embarassing stewardship, they've fired US Attorneys for political reasons. He's authorized illegal wiretaps of American ...BlueOregon - http://www.blueoregon.com/
Pelosi's Blocking Impeachment in the House is Killing the ...By Andy It's just the Constitution that's suffering because of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's nutty and unprincipled "impeachment-off-the-table" position blocking any effort to impeach President Bush or Vice President Cheney for their many crimes ...Andymatic - http://andymatic.com
Today, August 21st, is National ImPEACHment Day!It's National ImPEACHhment Day! Get PEACHy Publicly! Whether you wear a PEACHy color or eat PEACHes or share PEACHes - get creative, have some fun with it, and celebrate imPEACHment on its way!AfterDowningStreet.org - Impeach... - http://www.afterdowningstreet.org
ImpeachmentBy fredtopeka Hmm, the NY Times is now talking about impeachment. It's for AG Gonzales, but that'sa start. Here's there reasoning (by Adam Cohen):. Congress has heard extensive testimony about how Mr. Gonzales's Justice Department has become an arm ...Petunias - http://fredtopeka.wordpress.com
DICK CHENEY'S AMAZING FORECAST.By Saddam Hussein(George Bush's Impeachment) Last week, the internet was on fire over a recent YouTube upload showing Dick Cheney provide his analysis of Iraq under Bush 1. Working at American Enterprise Institute in 1994, he provided his analysis and view of Iraq after Gulf War 1 ...George Bush's Impeachment - http://bushimpeach.blogspot.com/
Dane County endorses impeachment of Bush & CheneyAbout a third of the board members left the meeting before the impeachment vote was taken shortly before 2 am The measure passed with 24 in favor, three against, two abstaining and the remaining 12 absent. 60 or more gathered in front ...Original Signal - Transmitting Buzz - http://buzz.originalsignal.com
Group calls for impeachmentGov. Rick Perry has yet another fight on his hands, with Independent Texans formally launching an effort to bring his tenure in public office to an end.Dailylight/news from www.waxahachieda... - http://www.waxahachiedailylight.com/
Pelosi's Stand on Impeachment is Killing the Democratic Party
Submitted by dlindorff on Sun, 2007-08-19 23:17. Impeachment
By Dave Lindorff
It's not just the Constitution that's suffering because of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's nutty and unprincipled "impeachment-off-the-table" position blocking any effort to impeach President Bush or Vice President Cheney for their many crimes and abuses of power.
Her position on impeachment is killing the Democratic Party too, by driving away not just progressived members of the party, but independents who voted for Democrats last November expecting some action in defense of the Constitution.
I see this anger welling up among progressives and independents everywhere I travel, as people say they've simply had it with the Democrats. The support of the party for a bill continuing funding for the war through September was terrible. The Democrats' rush to pass a bill granting Bush the authority to spy without a warrant on Americans, and to expand the power to spy domestically well beyond phones and internet to even include break-ins was a last straw.
My own little call for people so sign an "I Quit This Party" petition has seen a jump from 300 to now 400 signers. (To sign up, go to www.thiscantbehappening.net and then scroll down the column to the right-hand side to the "I Quit" button.) When it gets to 500 I'll be sending the list off to Pelosi, as well as to the offices of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean.
Four or five hundred party defectors may seem like small loss, but it reflects a larger trend across the country.
Here's a letter I got from the head of a group of active Democrats in central Pennsylvania--the very kind of heartland area that Democrats will need if they are going to win the presidency and hang on to or make gains in Congress next year.
Writes Kathy Ember, a Democratic Committee member in Pennsylvania, and president of the Kutztown Democratic Club:
I am the president of a very active grassroots Democratic club just outside Philadelphia in PA. Recently, I got an email from Nancy Pelosi, asking all of us to help build the grassroots.
EXCUSE ME Nancy, but we have been working our butts off out here for years trying to do just that. WE are the ones that put that Democrats back in power in Congress. We've been there for you, but you have let us down by not holding the current administration responsible for their crimes.
Not only are you losing us...you are making it impossible for us to "build the grassroots". Do you know how people look at you now when you ask them to join the Democrats? They laugh in your face. Why, they want to know, should we join or support a party that has done nothing toward getting out of Iraq or impeaching this president?
I am in contact with other Democratic clubs across PA. Some have recently changed the word "Democrats" in their name to a lower case "d". Others have abandoned their association with the Democrats altogether and have formed instead "citizen action groups."
When will the Democrats in Washington wake up and realize that it's not impeachment that will hurt the party...it is the lack of it.
I believe that the aptly named Ember is just one spark in a prairie fire that is going to sweep away the conservative Democratic establishment in 2008. Whether it is by turning to third party candidates, or just sitting out the next election, these angry and frustrated Democrats are showing that they've been betrayed one too many times by the Democratic Party.
Either Pelosi--who is facing an election challenge by Cindy Sheehan in her own San Francisco district--better do an about face and open the path to impeachment of Bush and/or Cheney. Otherwise, she and her fellow party leaders are going to find themselves either ousted in primaries, or back in the position of minority "leaders" in 2009.
Dave LINDORFF is a Philadelphia-based investigative reporter and columnist. His latest book, "The Case for Impeachment," co-authored by Barbara Olshansky (St. Martin's Press, 2006) was just released this summer in a paperback edition. His work is available at www.thiscantbehappening.net
Robert Meyer column: Con - Democrats don't have stomach for ...Appleton Post Crescent - WI, USAWhy would Feingold want to censure Clinton, then vote against his impeachment? Well, perhaps, after hearing the case against former president Clinton during ...See all stories on this topic
Letter BoxBrattleboro Reformer - VT, United States13, Warren Morse opposes impeachment because "the votes are not there" in Congress. Of course votes aren't there at the beginning of a congressional debate, ...See all stories on this topic
Dane County Board Considers Impeachment ResolutionWISC - Madison,WI,USADane County's Board of Supervisors met Thursday night to decide whether the county will formerly ask Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against ...See all stories on this topic
Elizabeth Edwards and the Case for ImpeachmentBy torridjoe If there was any mention of impeachment in the interview I didn't see it, but there was an important section that I think holds the key to persuading people why impeachment is the important and ethically proper course to pursue. ...Daily Kos - http://www.dailykos.com/section/Diary
Impeachment Day!By rich_of_spirit(rich_of_spirit) Impeachment Day www.house.gov. www.senate.gov.Thumb Jig - http://thumbjig.blogspot.com/
Yahoo! News Report on Dane County WI Impeachment ResolutionDane County's Board of Supervisors met Thursday night to decide whether the county will formerly ask Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. ...AfterDowningStreet.org - Impeach... - http://www.afterdowningstreet.org
Dane County endorses impeachment of Bush & CheneyAt the end of a marathon seven-hour session, the Dane County Board early today became the second county government in the nation to endorse the impeachment of President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. ...Clipmarks Live Clips - http://clipmarks.com/
"I Support The Impeachment of Vice President Cheney" Add your name ...By dandelionsalad Dennis Kucinich wants to put the name of everyone who supports Dick Cheney's impeachment in to the Congressional Record! The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. ...
Curious as to what the Senate field will look like for this cycle? Well, September promises to reveal much. On top for this coming month:
Alaska
This wasn't supposed to be on the radar, but with the FBI swarming around Sen. Tubes Stevens' house and offices, it's now become a top Democratic pickup opportunity. The DSCC is really hoping that the state's Democratic wunderkind, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, will pick up the mantle. The DCCC was also trying to recruit Begich for a race against the equally tainted Rep. Don Young, but they'll probably have to "settle" for someone like House Minority Leader Ethan Berkowitz (which wouldn't be too shabby).
Begich is still mulling the bid, and a decision is expected "in the Fall", though everyone is hoping for a September decision.
Kentucky
It looks likely that Democratic Attorney General Greg Stumbo is our nominee, but Ben Chandler has stoked the flames a bit by saying he hasn't ruled out a run. The CW is that Chandler is waiting for 2010, when he faces either a senile jim Bunning or (more likely) an open seat. But with the GOP's position crashing and burning nationally and in Kentucky, Chandler could deliver a killing blow to the man who has bedeviled Kentucky Democrats for decades.
Nebraska
All eyes are on Republican incumbent Chuck Hagel, who is set to announce whether he runs for reelection, runs for president, runs for both, or retires from politics altogether. If he runs for reelection in the Senate, this race is off the board. No one seems to have the appetite to challenge him. And while he's terrible on just about every issue, he'd be a plus vote on our efforts to end the war. So all wouldn't be bad.
But if he does retire, look for former Sen. Bob Kerrey to make a bid. And if he does, Lieberman will have another ally in the Senate. Is that good or bad for us? The jury would definitely be out. We could also have a contested Democratic primary with Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey in the mix. He'd likely be infinitely better.
New Hampshire
Former Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen will decide whether she's getting in. If she does, she likely clears the field and goes on to defeat incumbent Republican John Sununu by 20 points. It wouldn't even be close.
If she doesn't run (only a 30 percent chance, per the rumors), Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand, Lieberdem Katrina Swett, and professor Jay Buckey would fight it out for a chance at taking out Sununu. Any of them would have an even chance to win (but god forbid another Lieberman ally in the Senate), while Shaheen makes it as close as a "done deal" as is ever possible in politics.
New Mexico
So far, the only "serious" Democratic challenger to corrupt Pajamas Pete Domenici appears to be Don Wiviott, an environmentally friendly housing developer. Seems like a nice enough guy, but with no name recognition or electoral experience. He could be a solid candidate (you never know from where the best candidates will emerge), but all eyes will still be on the state to see if anyone higher profile and with more electoral experience enters the mix.
North Carolina
Liddy Dole isn't an electoral tour de force, yet all's been quiet in this state this year. That's expected to change in September as we finally get the candidate who will make Dole fight for her life.
Tennessee
Has Sen. Lamar! Alexander even announced he's running for reelection? There's a persistent rumor in Tennessee that alum Alexander is eyeing the open Chancellor slot at Vanderbilt University. He has done little to distinguish himself as a senator, and the good life as head of an elite Southern educational institution likely suits him better.
If he retires, expect former Rep. and DLC Chair Harold Ford to join the fray. Or maybe not. Ford has his heart set on the Governor's mansion after current Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen vacates in 2010. The name often bandied about right now as a challenger to Alexander is Mike McWherter, the son of a former popular governor. A McWherter candidacy would kick this race up to the second-tier, with strong potential for top-tier status.
Virginia
It's all about the Warners. If John (R) announces his retirement in September, as expected, then Mark (D) becomes the favorite in what would be a tough but definitely winnable race against Republican Rep. Tom Davis (who is raising money like there's no tomorrow). The wrinkle is that Mark (D) seems more interested in running for governor again, a gig he loved, than in being one of 100 across the river in DC.
Race tracker wiki: AK-Sen KY-Sen NE-Sen NH-Sen NM-Sen NC-Sen TN-Sen VA-Sen
Tags: 2008, Senate, Alaska, AK-Sen, Kentucky, KY-Sen, Nebraska, NE-Sen, New Hampshire, NH-Sen, New Mexico, NM-Sen, North Carolina, NC-Sen, Tennessee, TN-Sen, Virginia, VA-Sen (all tags)
Tom Davis = Corruption, $14k trips to Italy, ICG Influence Peddling Scandal, Tom Davis has heavy ties to Bob Ney. This list could go on forever, for more details read Andrea Chamblee's research diaries.
Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), who reported assets of between $435,000 and $1.2 million, received perhaps the most lavish gift reported by a member of the region's congressional delegation. He and his wife, state Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-Fairfax), were flown to Italy last year by real estate developer Robert F. Pence, who was celebrating his 60th birthday and is a longtime friend of Rep. Davis and a prominent GOP campaign contributor. The trip included a chartered cruise along the Amalfi coast and a visit to Venice.
Davis said that he initially thought the trip, valued at $13,110, was "a stretch" of House ethics rules. But it was cleared by the House Ethics Committee.
TOM DAVIS IS FOR SALE
Tom Davis killed lobbying reform offered by the more ethical man across the river in MD, Chris Van Hollen.
Why would Davis take such a different position from his neighboring Congressman, a politician respected on both sides of the aisle?
Money. Davis is for sale. And we can't afford him any more.
Open Secrets has broken the contributions down by industry. See how financial interests donated piles of money to Davis and others the year they wrote the laws preventing bankruptcies by people whose health care bills have wiped them out. See how oil companies oozed money to Davis the year they wrote their own regulatory statute. See how pharmaceutical companies broke records with contributions to Davis during Medicare Part D negotiations. And lobbyists "pay to play" with more and more money to Davis every year.
In the Cash and Carry world of Tom DeLay and Tom Davis, Davis ranks # 8 out of 434 Congressmen, after Tom Delay and Friends, collecting money from PACS that want to write their own legislation, or just avoid jail for their fraud on taxpayers. Now that DeLay is gone, Davis ranks 7. Add the Senate members, and Davis is still impressively ranked at # 15 of the 533 lawmakers in demanding money from special interests.
Andrew Hurst is running to reform Congress. He isn't taking any PAC contributions. I joined Andy's campaign as a volunteer because I know Andy and no one will work harder than he will for his constituents. RK recognized his energy and commitment early on (here)as well. Andy blogged on RK here RK also exposed Tom Davis as no moderate.
THIS IS A CONGRESSMAN WHO IS FOR SALE…MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT…THIS GUY HAS GOT TO GO IN THE NEXT ELECTION CYCLE
Davis, Tom (R-VA)
2003-2004 PAC Contributions: $749,851 Based on data released by the FEC on Monday, May 16, 2005.
CHECK OUT THE DAVIS REPORT…THIS GUY IS DIRTY!
http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/memberprofile.asp?cid=N00002045&cycle=2004&expand=W
In the Cash and Carry world of Tom DeLay and Tom Davis, Davis ranks # 8 out of 434 Congressmen, after Tom Delay and Friends, collecting money from PACS that want to write their own legislation, or just avoid jail for their fraud on taxpayers. Now that DeLay is gone, Davis ranks 7. Add the Senate members, and Davis is still impressively ranked at # 15 of the 533 lawmakers in demanding money from special interests.
Davis has close ties to Delay (4.00 / 4)
Davis has a direct link to David Safarian, the former Federal Procurement Policy officer currently on trial facing charges of obstruction of justice. Safavian was the first person to be arrested in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Davis works very closely with Safavian's wife, Jennifer Safavian. Mrs. Safavian, who worked for Robert W. Ray (the successor to Kenneth Starr), is the chief investigative counsel to the House Committee on Government Reform, which Davis chairs. This committee, which handles procurement issues, investigated the dismal response by FEMA contractors, many which are Davis donors (Dewberry and IEM), who spearheaded the incompetent response to Hurricane Katrina.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_Safavian
SMELLS BAD FOR DAVIS.
Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), who reported assets of between $435,000 and $1.2 million, received perhaps the most lavish gift reported by a member of the region's congressional delegation. He and his wife, state Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-Fairfax), were flown to Italy last year by real estate developer Robert F. Pence, who was celebrating his 60th birthday and is a longtime friend of Rep. Davis and a prominent GOP campaign contributor. The trip included a chartered cruise along the Amalfi coast and a visit to Venice.
Davis said that he initially thought the trip, valued at $13,110, was "a stretch" of House ethics rules. But it was cleared by the House Ethics Committee.
VA-Sen: VA conservatives distrust Rep. Davis
by kos
Wed Jul 25, 2007 at 11:54:37 AM PDT
Given Sen. John Warner's non-existent to anemic fundraising, you'd think he'd announce his retirement. But he's not. There are two possible reasons why: 1) he's confident that he can quickly raise whatever he needs to defend his seat; or 2) he's going to retire, but wants to clear the field for his protege, Rep. Tom Davis (who incidentally is raising money at Senate-race levels).
This has obviously got the goat of Virginia conservatives, who hate Rep. Davis. His 70 percent lifetime American Conservative Union rating has actually dipped even further lately, 57 percent in 2005, and 56 percent in 2006. Davis is also the 26th least loyal Republican in the House, voting with his party 76.4 percent of the time.
Much of this could be positioning for that statewide run in a state that has proven fertile for Democrats in recent years. Or maybe he's genuinely less crazy than his party's majority. Either way, don't expect Virginia conservatives to sit by and let Warner pull a bait-and-switch with Davis.
Bob Novak spoke of this way back in January on his email newsletter:
Conservatives, meanwhile, are not inclined to believe Warner's re-election intentions. They fear that Warner will wait until the deadline, and then step aside for a fellow moderate, such as Rep. Tom Davis (R). They are considering the possibility of putting a serious conservative into the race who would be ready to drop out if Warner remains in the race beyond the filing deadline.
However, it is difficult to imagine any of the stronger conservative candidates, such as Rep. Eric Cantor (R) or Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R), agreeing to such a scheme. If former Gov. Jim Gilmore leaves the presidential race in time, he could put himself forth as well. But the situation is such that the Virginia GOP is ruled by distrust, having been stung by repeated election losses in key statewide races.
He may run - but for what?
Jim Gilmore blogs that he's looking at a U.S. Senate seat or a return to the governorship.
BY DAVID LERMAN 202-824-8224
August 18, 2007
WASHINGTON - One month after abandoning his long-shot bid for the White House, former Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore has jumped back into Virginia politics to prepare for a possible statewide campaign.
Eager to run for a U.S. Senate seat if Republican Sen. John Warner retires next year, Gilmore has begun traveling Virginia and raising his profile.
He formed a state political action committee, the Gilmore Patriots Committee, that its manager said has raised about $200,000 in the past few weeks. While that money could not be used for a Senate race, it will allow Gilmore to travel and get his message out while he decides on a political future.
He also created a new Web site, VirginiaPatriot.com, where he blogs about issues of the day and promotes his conservative, tax-cutting philosophy. And on Friday, he launched a monthly live chat session, called Free Speech Friday, where he answers questions for an hour from fellow bloggers.
So when a blogger identified as "Dan B." asked about his political plans, Gilmore was happy to oblige. "I have been encouraged throughout 2007 to seek either the Senate seat (should Sen. Warner retire) or the governorship in 2009," Gilmore wrote.
For now, Gilmore insisted in an interview, his focus is on helping Republicans retain their majority in the General Assembly this fall, when the entire state House and Senate stand for re-election.
But Gilmore made clear his interest in Warner's U.S. Senate seat. Warner, 80, has said he will decide in September whether to seek another six-year term next year. A Senate bid by Gilmore in a hotly contested race could be a bruising battle. The ex-governor likely would face strong competition for the Republican nomination from U.S. Rep. Tom Davis, a Fairfax County moderate who raised about $600,000 in the last quarter.
The state party would have to decide whether to hold a primary election or a convention to decide on a nominee. A convention, which the GOP has traditionally favored in Virginia, would appear to benefit Gilmore because it attracts the party's hard-core conservative base. By contrast, a primary might give the well-financed Davis an edge.
Davis spokesman Brian McNicoll said of Gilmore, "He's won two statewide elections. He certainly couldn't be taken lightly."
The winner of that contest could end up facing former Democratic Gov. Mark Warner, who is widely considered to be a likely Senate contender, assuming John Warner retires. The two Warners are not related.
Gilmore, 57, made his name in Virginia by pledging to end the state's hated car tax. The popular proposal helped him win the governor's mansion in 1997, but the car tax remains. Although the tax was reduced, the plan proved too costly for the state to eliminate entirely.
Before dropping out of the presidential race, Gilmore billed himself as the conservative alternative to GOP frontrunners who he suggested were too liberal or inconsistent in their policy positions. But he raised little money and was never more than asterisk in national polls.
With his White House hopes now dashed, Gilmore is setting his sights on Virginia once again. "I've begun the process of getting around and talking to party leaders," he said. "We're drawing a lot of people together to try to unify the party."
mbivalent Mumblings: Tom Davis Is At It Again
It was through Alice Marshall’s post that I learned about this aspect of Tom Davis’s corrupt behavior. Alice is the blog moderator for the FCDC’s blog and ...ambivalentmumblings.blogspot.com/2006/08/tom-davis-is-at-it-again.html - 69k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Think Progress » Tom Davis (R-VA):
Nice statement by Tom Davis, but a very unrealistic part of it came to mind. ... Corrupt Establishment · Incompetent Establishment · Braindead Media ...thinkprogress.org/2005/10/29/tom-davis-r-va/ - 29k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Andrew Hurst for Congress - News
Tom Davis (R-11), Democrat Andy Hurst called for Davis to resign from his chairmanship of a ... Congress is corrupt and we need real reform to change it." ...www.hurstforcongress.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=1&Itemid=64&lim... - 33k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Andrew Hurst for Congress - In the News
Thomas M. Davis III has $1.5 million in the bank, control of a powerful ... Thomas Davis in the latest debate in the 11th Congressional District race ...www.hurstforcongress.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=70&Itemid=92 - 36k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
DownWithTyranny!: TOM DAVIS HAS A BEST FRIEND LOBBYIST WHO KICKS ...
And they don't like corrupt politicians. VA-11 gave Gore 45% of its votes in ... I am ashamed Tom Davis is my Congressman. Thank god I did not vote for him ...downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2006/07/tom-davis-has-best-friend-lobbyist-who.html - 34k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
The Countertop Chronicles » Defeat Davis
Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (Corrupt RINO-Fairfax), to be a State Senator (and with an eye on the U.S. Senate himself), we see the new Tom Davis ...www.countertopchronicles.com/?cat=23 - 34k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Letter to Rep. Thomas Davis (R-Virginia): THE PRESIDENT OF THE USA ...
Thomas Davis August 17, 2007 THE PRESIDENT OF THE USA IS TERMINATING ... MASSIVELY CORRUPT AND DANGEROUS TO THE SUCCESS OF SUCH A UNION WERE WE TO BE IN ...www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/userletter/?letter_id=1359321896 - 33k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Letter to Rep. Thomas Davis (R-Virginia): WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ...
Thomas Davis August 13, 2007 WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE NORTH AMERICAN UNION? Mexico is a Drug-Cartel-Controlled, Corrupt Country. ...www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/userletter/?id=609&letter_id=1354035636 - 24k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Raising Kaine:: Tom Davis has ties to Abramoff's K Street Project ...
This diary ties Tom Davis to Abramoff and other corrupt super-lobbyists in 3 ways: through personal donations to Davis, his wife, and his PACs, ...www.raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4270 - 95k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Congressman Tom Davis
Washington, D.C. Congressman Tom Davis (R-VA) is pleased to announce that ... to an INS interview by corrupt and/or vindictive Communist officials who often ...tomdavis.house.gov/cgi-data/news/files/221.shtml - 8k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Raising Kaine:: Tom Davis: 7 easy steps to mistakenly delete ...
Tom Davis: 7 easy steps to mistakenly delete incriminating emails... by: Andrea Chamblee .... The man is amazingly corrupt. Thanks. ...www.raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=9057 - 75k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Such is why Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., once asserted in a letter to Major League Baseball that his committee not only had jurisdiction to meddle in the MLB's drug-testing policies, it had the power to conduct an investigation "at any time, on any matter."
It gets worse. Davis' committee, the Government Oversight Committee, is actually charged with reigning in government excess. Separation of powers be damned.
The list of meddlers goes on.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who's in lockstep with Davis on the steroids issue, wants Congress to regulate professional boxing, too — a sport McCain says (probably correctly) is corrupt. Perhaps inspiring Rep. Barton, a legislator in Texas recently introduced a bill barring the University of Texas from playing in the BCS championship — his way of "nudging" the NCAA toward a playoff system.
Rep. Davis, Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., and a host of others want a congressionally mandated drug testing system for all professional, Division I, and top-tier amateur sports. According to a June 27 article published in "Roll Call," Davis also recently threatened Major League Baseball with sanctions if the organization were to sell one of its franchises to George Soros, a political nemesis of Davis's. These are just a few examples.
Likewise, Rep. Davis and fellow baseball antagonists say steroids and amphetamines give athletes an "unfair advantage" over the competition. Never mind that after the 2000 census, Davis led efforts to gerrymander his own congressional district to ensure he'd never need to worry about re-election. Due to gerrymandering, Davis ran unopposed in 2002, as did one in five of his congressional colleagues.
Davis also recently sneaked a provision into federal legislation that prevented an apartment complex from going up in his district because, according to the Washington Post, he feared it would bring too many Democrats into the area. And as head of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, Davis fought to similarly gerrymander Republican districts across the country, effectively giving many voters just one candidate to choose from.
Who was responsible for oversight before Henry Waxman D-CA took over? Tom Davis R-VA. There are more installments in the series from Robert OHarrow and Scott Higham.
According to one story, at GSA, where Tom Davis forced out Angela Styles for friend and felon David Safarian, Lurita Doan took over.
Doan was a very friendly donor to Davis when he was RNCC Chair the Doan family gave $153,215 to Republicans and over $40,000 to Daviss RNCC when he was Chair. At GSA, for the second time in her federal career, Doan illegally bypassed her own staff to provide a no-bid contract to a friend. Although the Post states that three Committee members signed a letter asking for an explanation of the fraud, they dont dare embarrass Tom Davis by saying Davis, then Committee Chair, was not bothered enough by the stink to be one of the signers.
The letter asking for an explanation was signed by minority Committee members Waxman, Holmes-Norton, and Obserstar. Not to mention Davis dropped the ball on Walter Reed when Salon did the story first in 2004. Look under salon-dot-come walter reed index. On her way out of GSA, Styles had said There is still not a lot of oversight in some areas of our contracting system, and I think it will haunt us. Done.
Raising Kaine:: Tom Davis has ties to Abramoff's K Street Project ...
This diary ties Tom Davis to Abramoff and other corrupt super-lobbyists in 3 .... I'll give what I can No, tx. I hope to buy my own Congressman someday ...www.raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4270 - 95k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Elections Blog - The Stump
An early favorite to replace him on the Republican side is Congressman Tom Davis. Any eventually Republican candidate would likely face former Virginia ...news.aol.com/elections-blog/search/?q=Tom%20Davis - 89k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
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1 comment:
Thanks for the Hat Tips. Excellent round up.
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