Daily Kos

Filibuster, or boycott the DSCC

by Joe Buck

Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:14:45 AM PDT

I have given hundreds of dollars to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, as part of the couple of thousand that I have given to Democratic candidates in the last year.  Like many of you, I've received tons of fund-raising letters from Democratic senators, and one of the main points stressed by those letters was the importance of stopping right-wing judges.

Well, this is it.  This is the battle that Democrats have been keeping their powder dry for.  Either the Democrats will fight, or they will not.  Either they will filibuster, or they will roll over.

If they roll over, there will not be one more dime from me.  In fact, I urge all of you to boycott the DSCC if the Democrats don't give their all to stop Alito.  You can still send notations to individual Democrats who know how to fight.  But a price must be paid for failure.

Tags: filibuster, Samuel Alito, DSCC (all tags) :: Previous Tag Versions

Permalink | 36 comments

  •  YEAH, THAT'LL TEACH THEM! (none / 1)

    Let's have FEWER Democrats in the Senate!

    The revolution will not be televised, but we'll analyze it to death at The Next Hurrah.

    by DHinMI on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:14:35 AM PDT

    •  Besides, Ben Nelson Will Probably Be... (none / 0)

      ...the only incumber who will get any significant support from the DSCC, so let's hurt the campaigns of all those people either trying to hold open Democratic seats or take control of seats currently held by Republicans!

      The revolution will not be televised, but we'll analyze it to death at The Next Hurrah.

      by DHinMI on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:15:48 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  you're assuming (none / 0)

        ... that the DSCC is an effective organization, and that giving money to them as opposed to individuals will help.

        For me the Democrats are a means, not an end.  If they roll over for Bush, they are useless.

        by Joe Buck on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:18:08 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

        •  Who's "They?" (none / 0)

          The people who aren't currently in the Senate, whose camapaigns won't get support if people boycott?

          And what's the effectiveness of the DSCC have to do with filibustering Alito?  Seems like you're now tring to bring in some other factor, and the two aren't linked.

          The revolution will not be televised, but we'll analyze it to death at The Next Hurrah.

          by DHinMI on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:20:24 AM PDT

          [ Parent ]

          •  Schumer is the Link (none / 0)

            As a member of the Judiciary Committee, he has an obligation to take a leading role in organizing and carrying through on the threat of a filibuster.

            As head of the DSCC, he has favored Vichy Dems like Lieberman and Casey over progressive challengers.

            Why else might filibuster connect the two? Because a strong move to filibuster changes the perception of Senate Democrats as a bunch of weaklings who are better at making excuses for why they surrender than at mounting a vigorous and principled opposition. Changing that perception is very much in the DSCC's interest. If Senator Schumer doesn't understand that, then he's the wrong guy to head the DSCC.

            The question also goes to policy. It is quite possible to donate money to candidates who reflect one's own policy views without ever routing a dime through the DSCC.

            Reducing support for dysfunctional party structures and weak leaders is a call for the development of functional party structures and strong leaders.

            Dean seems to be there, Harry Reid seems to be there, but Chuck Schumer (along with a bunch of putative candidates for the Presidency in 2008) doesn't seem to have gotten the message yet. This is one way to send it.

            by greenskeeper on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 11:14:31 AM PDT

            [ Parent ]

            •  Filibuster, How to: (2.00 / 2)

              While we have to generate the pressure on all Senators, the decision to filibuster (or not) will also be a leadership decision.

              Call the Leadership Offices!

              Harry Reid, NV Democratic Leader (202) 224-3542

              Dick Durbin, IL Assistant Democratic Leader (202) 224-2152

              Patrick Leahy, VT Ranking Member Judiciary Committee (202) 224-4242

              CALL YOUR OWN SENATORS!

              1-888-355-3588
              or
              1-888-818-6641

              If Repug, tell them "No" to Alito; if Democrat: FILIBUSTER!
              If the Washington lines are busy, the Senators' home office numbers and fax are listed here: CONTACT YOUR SENATORS (Click here)

              For extra credit, use the same numbers to call all the 2008 Presidential candidates who are sitting Senators - Evan Bayh, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Russ Feingold - and tell them to either LEAD THE FILIBUSTER or FORGET ABOUT YOUR SUPPORT. You can also send that message to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (202-224-2447) and the Democratic National Committee (202-863-8000).

              Polls and public opinion are another way to apply pressure -- get word out about why Alito needs to be filibustered:

              Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. (Click here)

              People for the American Way has collected nearly 65,000 signatures to send to the Senate, please add yours: Save the Court Petition

              John Kerry has endorsed this anti-Alito petition, signers' names will be read into the Congressional Record:http://www.johnkerry.com/...

              by judybrowni on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 11:22:48 AM PDT

              [ Parent ]

        •  yes... (none / 0)

          Let's put more Alito's on the Court so we can have more Dems in the Senate.  Is that what I'm hearing?

          "Since When Have You Westerners Accepted the Teachings of Christ?" - His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

          by sandmancan on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:21:07 AM PDT

          [ Parent ]

    •  Hey DH.... (none / 0)

      Haven't seen you in any threads on the confirmation hearing.  I thought you were expressly interested in the dems effectively blocking this nomination?  

      Every dollar a for-profit insurance company spends on your care, is a dollar that goes against the coroporate balance sheet. --nyceve

      by letsfight on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:21:20 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  Have You Seen Me Anywhere Else Today? (none / 0)

        Huh?  

        Or are you just trying to make conclusions based on fact not in the record?

        The revolution will not be televised, but we'll analyze it to death at The Next Hurrah.

        by DHinMI on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:22:51 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

        •  Just wondering.... (none / 0)

          Why you continuously demand EFFECTIVE activism through one vehicle: denouncing any and all call outs for people to do something tangible because 'it won't be effective'.  Yet, for some reason, never ever offer an alternative option that you feel would be tangibly effective.  Just wondering.  It strikes me that your intent on here is to shut down activism.

          And, I have been in thread after thread on the entire confirmation process. And, no, have not seen you in those.

          So, I wonder, why did you care so much if Armando went to DC to ask for a filibuster?

          Every dollar a for-profit insurance company spends on your care, is a dollar that goes against the coroporate balance sheet. --nyceve

          by letsfight on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:31:49 AM PDT

          [ Parent ]

          •  I don't see it as shutting down activism (none / 0)

            as much as recognizing that lashing out at anything that moves isn't an effective way to apply pressure. I don't think anything is going to be effective in getting a filibuster, and I don't think Dems will do it, but calling individual senators who are wavering has to be more effective than threatening an organization that as far as i know doesn't really have that much control over whether or not Ken Salazar and Feinstein will support a filibuster.

            I want to win. You want to beat him, and that's a problem for me, because I want to win. -The West Wing

            by AnnArborBlue on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:34:01 AM PDT

            [ Parent ]

          •  What "Strikes You" is Obviously... (none / 0)

            ...filtered through an inability to read competently, because had you competently read my comments on your "Let's Send Armando to DC" diaries, you would see I have no intent to shut down activism.  

            And if being in a thread is such effective activism, why don't you think it's working?  

            Come back and talk to me when you can think more clearly, and maybe we can have a dialouge.  If you just want to make unfounded, unsupported,  unsupportable and silly accusations, there's no reason to take you seriously.

            The revolution will not be televised, but we'll analyze it to death at The Next Hurrah.

            by DHinMI on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:35:04 AM PDT

            [ Parent ]

        •  Oh, I forgot... (none / 0)

          It's right there in your sig line.  You want us to analyze the revolution to death.

          A koufax award! Lordy.

          Every dollar a for-profit insurance company spends on your care, is a dollar that goes against the coroporate balance sheet. --nyceve

          by letsfight on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:34:12 AM PDT

          [ Parent ]

          •  It's Called Irony (none / 0)

            Competent readers can usually detect it.

            The revolution will not be televised, but we'll analyze it to death at The Next Hurrah.

            by DHinMI on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:35:44 AM PDT

            [ Parent ]

            •  But it is what you seem to do, DH (none / 0)

              Hey, maybe you are a die-hard dem or, egad, liberal. But I am amazed at how you are always front and center (like the FIRST to post) in just about any thread that calls for activism.  Finely pin-pointed types of activism on specific issues.

              And I wonder why with so much criticism like "It would never work; that's a bad idea"... you fail to offer any alternatives.  So, you know what doesn't work.  How come you don't know what WILL work?

              And I know for a fact that the radical right has mole-bots on all of our boards.... specifically to keep us chasing our tails, specifically to dilute the ever-important discussion that we have, specifically to shut down organization and activism.

              And, yes, at the risk of being run off this board by your following... I strongly suspect that you are one of the mole-bots. And it ires me to no end that you get play time here.

              Every dollar a for-profit insurance company spends on your care, is a dollar that goes against the coroporate balance sheet. --nyceve

              by letsfight on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:40:02 AM PDT

              [ Parent ]

              •  Evidence? (none / 0)

                Hey, maybe you are a die-hard dem or, egad, liberal. But I am amazed at how you are always front and center (like the FIRST to post) in just about any thread that calls for activism.

                Nah, you don't have any.  You just come to your conclusions, and don't bother to test them against facts.

                And nice, sloppy thinking, conflating questions about effectiveness with opposition to goals.

                I'm done.

                The revolution will not be televised, but we'll analyze it to death at The Next Hurrah.

                by DHinMI on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:44:23 AM PDT

                [ Parent ]

              •  umm (none / 0)

                at the risk of sounding like a Heather...you know DH used to be a front pager here right?

                I want to win. You want to beat him, and that's a problem for me, because I want to win. -The West Wing

                by AnnArborBlue on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:45:41 AM PDT

                [ Parent ]

  •  and furthermore (none / 0)

    ... I made the same point on the DSCC blog; I hope they will not delete my comment (which had to be off-topic because they've been avoiding the Alito topic for weeks).

    by Joe Buck on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:15:59 AM PDT

  •  I have to agree. (none / 0)

    No reason we shouldn't have 100 republican senators if we have the ability to vote no on cloture and don't. May as well give the whole ball of wax to the republicans.

    At least when the empire crashes, there will be NO TALKING POINTS about the dems didn't do this or that or, worse, that the 'dems did it too.'

    Feigning opposition is almost worse, me thinks.  Just let this radical right 'experiment' come to full head and explode.... and then we can put humpty dumpty back together again. At least we will have a blank canvas from which to work....

    Every dollar a for-profit insurance company spends on your care, is a dollar that goes against the coroporate balance sheet. --nyceve

    by letsfight on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:18:57 AM PDT

  •  Oy! it's gonna get worse, before it gets better. (none / 0)

    Cats, err, Pooties! for Obama

    by PhillyGal on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:22:20 AM PDT

  •  I'm with you... (none / 0)

    I am mortally sickened by the lack of balls found by Democrats in the US Senate. Why did I abandon the Republican Party? If I wanted to see the continued desecration of the US Constitution, I should have remained a Republican. Apparently, since the Democrats in the Senate can't stand for anything, they'll fall for everything. Cowards, if you ask me. I agree with earlier statements by other DKosers that if there is no filibuster on Alito, I will not support ANY candidate from the US Senate for President in 2008. Sorry that it had to come to this, but apparently Democrats care even less for the Constitution of the United States than Republicans. I am sick.

    by mph2005 on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:23:49 AM PDT

    •  Senator Byrd (none / 0)

      I just sent a rather scathing message to Senator Byrd's office via his Senate website. From this point on, I will abandon my mentor, Senator Byrd, and will actively work for his defeat in 2006. I am absolutely outraged and very saddened to see such a great man fall from grace. This West Virginian will no longer tolerate what appears to be empty rhetoric in Byrd's defense of the Constitution. For shame, Senator Byrd.

      by mph2005 on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 11:43:38 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Got a call last week (none / 0)

    I think from the DSCC, but perhaps it was the DNC. I told them I wasn't giving another dime unless & until dems filibustered this nominee. The caller was so taken aback she hung right up.

    "The truth waits for eyes unclouded by longing." The Tao Te Ching

    by hester on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:24:09 AM PDT

  •  Don't give anyway (none / 0)

    (don't mind threatening though :))

    I learned long ago to target contributions only to candidates that I thought were worth supporting.

    We are powerless to act in cases of oral-genital intimacy unless it obstructs interstate commerce. - J. Edgar Hoover

    by tiponeill on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:26:35 AM PDT

  •  How is threatening the DSCC (none / 0)

    going to get Ken Salazar to change his mind?

    I want to win. You want to beat him, and that's a problem for me, because I want to win. -The West Wing

    by AnnArborBlue on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:29:27 AM PDT

    •  twist his arm, damn it (none / 0)

      The Republicans get their members to toe the line on important bills by arm twisting.  Non-cooperative senators on important votes could lose their committee assignments, lose out on pork to their districts, lose access to campaign funds.  If the position they need the guy to take would hurt him too much in his district, they figure out how to address that.

      by Joe Buck on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:42:44 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Not only (none / 0)

    Not only does the DSCC not control policy, but Joe Buck is a terrible announcer.

    by UpstateNYDem on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 11:00:20 AM PDT

  •  I have a question? We have had this (none / 0)

    conversation many times since the Alito hearings started.  It is clear that the grass roots (ie, us) -- whether or not we are going to withhold money or support -- are really ANGRY at the lack of any substantive fight from our party on most issues.  As someone said recently on a thread, who are they afraid of offending?  Hard core wingnuts???

    Anyway -- the question I have -- WHY AREN'T THEY LISTENING TO US?  DON'T WE DESERVE TO BE PAID ATTENTION TO?  IT'S LIKE WE DON'T EXIST!

    We need Special Prosecutors. NOW.

    by CalDoc on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 11:57:22 AM PDT

Permalink | 36 comments