I really hate talking down to my readers, particularly my fellow Democrats, but to all the crybabies out there whining about Sen. Maria Cantwell, I have two words: grow up!
Yes, she has cast some very disappointing votes, and no, on some issues she’s not nearly as liberal as many of us would like. And for the life of me, I simply cannot figure out the political calculus behind her voting for cloture in the Alito filibuster.
But… taking her entire term as whole, she has been a good senator… a hard working senator… an effective senator… and a surprisingly more progressive senator than many people give her credit for. According to Progressive Punch, Cantwell has a progressive voting rating of 88.73 percent, ranking her in the Senate’s top 20, only a couple notches to the right of Sen. Patty Murray.
But most importantly, she is an incumbent, Democratic senator, and she absolutely will be the party’s nominee in November.
Yet I keep hearing from whiners complaining that they can’t support Cantwell because of this vote or of that… suggesting that real Democrats should support real Democrats… like, you know… former Green/Libertarian candidate Mark Wilson.
Get real.
First of all, even if Wilson had a snowball’s chance in hell of winning the Democratic nomination — and he doesn’t — there is absolutely nothing to suggest that he possesses the qualifications to serve as a US senator. But even more importantly, there’s absolutely nothing to suggest that he’d be even remotely as progressive as Cantwell!
For example, on the issue of health care, Cantwell scores a 100 percent progressive voting record… better than both Murray and Rep. Jim Dermott. And what does Wilson have to say on the subject? In responding to a Seattle Times candidate survey during his 2002 run for Congress (as a Libertarian against Jay Inslee), Wilson wrote:
2. What, if anything, should Congress do to expand health-care coverage?
Every attack on private health insurance markets should be resisted. A genuine free market in health care will encourage competition and help reduce costs. Comprehensive Tort Reform would take the bite out of insurance premiums and promote personal responsibility. Insane lawsuits awarding multimillions, punch taxpayers right in the fries.
Hmm. And where did the allegedly liberal Wilson pull that piece of rhetoric? Directly from the libertarian standard bearer Cato Institute, whose Cato Handbook for Congress states the following conclusion in their chapter on health care:
Every calculated attack on private health insurance markets should be resisted […] Health care costs will remain too high and the value of health care insurance too inadequate until we restore a genuine free market in health care…
The solution to our health care crisis is unfettered private health insurance markets and tort reform? That’s not the platform of a progressive candidate… that’s the platform of insurance industry lobbyist/CEO/GOP candidate Mike McGavick. It makes you wonder… who exactly is Mark Wilson trying to get elected?
So to my friends who are somehow enamored of Mark Wilson precisely because he is not Maria Cantwell, a little vocabulary lesson: the most that “liberal” and “libertarian” have in common is their first five letters.
Wilson is not a viable candidate, he is not more progressive than Cantwell… he’s not even a Democrat. There is only one Democrat running in this senate race, and that’s Cantwell… and if you don’t like it, then suck it up and put your energies into some other race. Dave Neiwert says he won’t be giving Cantwell any money. That’s fine. I have limited financial resources myself, so I might not give her any money either.
But every ounce of effort Democrats spend talking down Cantwell, deflating her support in the progressive base of the party, is an in-kind contribution to the McGavick campaign. See, us grown-ups have things we like to call “choices,” and the only choice next November will be between Cantwell and McGavick.
Personally, I will enthusiastically cast my vote for Cantwell.
I will vote for Maria unless another Dem, i.e., a REAL Dem runs against her.
And I suppose you voted for Nadar in 2000?
Goldy is right, Maria has been there for the vast majority of the REAL issues. Get over it. The first obligation of any participant in a democracy is to work to form a majority, and not be a whiney fringer. I’ve sent her money, and will probably send more soon.
Wet my pants reading the scorecard….
Favorite was you guys picking a senator based on how they voted on”
“Preventing Injuries Before They Occur”
Man, talk about minutia.
Nader and the Greens in 08!!! Go Greens!! [hehe]
Perhaps Al Sharpton and Jesse could run as a 3rd party in 08!! Go Al and Jesse!! [hehe]
Liberals might be a little miffed, but they need to get the fuck over it.
Goldy,
No doubt I’ll vote for Maria Cantwell this fall, but as one of her constituents, she got an earful from me regarding her vote for cloture on Alito.
Good, God, man. We’re not talking about this years budget, or some far flung bill. This is the philosophical make up of the SCOTUS for decades to come. The ramifications on our civil liberties is in peril for decades to come.
The situation demanded that the Democrats use every tool they had to prevent his nomination. She didn’t do that and I let her know I was disappointed in her decision.
@ 8
The fight against Alito was lost long before. Did you know we have only 44 Democratic Senators? That’s the lowest sinces the 20’s. You want to stop right wing judges? Elect more Democrats to the Seante. That way, we can still lose people like Nelson (NE), Conrad (ND), and others and still beat the nominee.
Another favourite:
“This single act I believe could be the stimulus necessary to begin rebuilding the confidence that is lacking. Repeal of the capitol gains tax would eliminate the success penalty.“
Belltowner @ 8:
You’re certainly right about the numberical advantage that the Republcians hold in the Senate. And I also agree with your point about electing more Democrats to the Senate.
But, the reality today is different. The ONLY tool the Democrats had to block Alito was a filibuster. I demand that my Democratic Senator use all means necessary to stop bad judges from getting a lifetime appointment to the SCOTUS.
That’s what I’m pissed about.
For those of you looking for a progressive candidate in a real battle to change the direction of the country, you don’t have to look far: Darcy Burner is fighting to unseat Right Wing Reichert and help Dems take back congress.
Go to http://www.darcyburner.com/ . Sign up to fight for a progressive victory in Washington.
Yawn
Richert could only sound right winger to say, Fremont, Wallingford….
Rest of world he’s middle of the road
ps, you are lefties, not progressives
Re: “Richert could only sound right winger…” Reichert knows how to sound “middle of the road”-but HE VOTES RIGHT WING.
Reichert paid back his DeLay money by voting with him 97% of the time. How will he pay back his Abramoff money?
If you would actually listen to what people are saying, we are saying that we will vote for Cantwell but that we will put our efforts toward a more deserving candidate, like Darcy Burner. However, Cantwell did hand Abush and Frist a victory, knowing that her vote against Alito would be futile. Before I give Maria anything but my vote, I wanmt to hear her explanation. So far, none has been forthcoming.
Goldy,
I get your point, and for the most part I tend to agree. On the other hand, it is important to make the point that politicos such as Maria need to understand that a good deal of the actual votes she needs to win come from the “base”. As a politician, she should both know and respect that–and most importantly, respond. So please, stop whining about the “whiners”. It does us no good.
Popular front, yeah!
The only thing single issue (changes monthly), left-leaning Greenie Democrats are good at is shooting themselves in the foot. It’s as if failure is their ultimate goal.
One would think that 8 years of peace and prosperity under Bill Clinton (and 8 subsequent years of war and voodoo economics thanks to Nader) would teach the suicidal wing of the party to suck it up once in a while. Sure has been working for the GOP, a party made up of materialists who trade in their wives every election cycle, and anti-materialists who think the only point of marriage is keeping God happy.
And as if there was a snowball’s chance in hell that Alito would ever get Borked….lefties like GBS must be smoking some kind of strong doobage to think otherwise.
Moral of this whole story: the perfect is the enemy of the good.
@4: Nader and the Greens in 08!!! Go Greens!! [hehe]
Comment by JCH— 2/3/06 @ 4:29 pm
Put your money where your mouth is, Lt. fuckwad! Oh, I forgot, you sent all your political contributions to the Libertarian Pary. Nice choice. We on the left thank and salute you. God, is it ever cold and damp in this fucking brig. When are you going to let me out?
Did I mention that a vote against Cantwell is a vote for right wing insurance company goon McGavick, no matter what your rationalization?
Shut the fuck up and get in line isn’t exactly a winning long term recruitment strategy. The people I talk to who’ve had it with Democrats failing to distinguish themselves are exactly the sort who throw a lot of elbow grease into causes they care about, which is why they know enough to get PO’d in the first place.
And I’ve got to say, this is a decision that weighs a little more than others. The Supreme Court has more to say on the issue of reproductive choice than any other body in the land at this point in history. Five states are currently preparing bans that would send us back to the good old days when doctors couldn’t so much as induce or speed labor when a miscarriage left a woman carrying a dead fetus. Even if that meant waiting a month or more until the official due date. Gruesome, but true. A no vote on the filibuster may in fact end up being a yes vote for the outlawing of abortion and every person who didn’t use every tool at their disposal to stop it, successful or not, will share the responsibility.
Alito believes that the executive is a law unto themselves. Every Dem who didn’t think that was a bad idea is just on crack.
And I shouldn’t have to remind anyone here that those 44 Democratic Senators represent about 2 million more voters than all their Republican colleagues combined. They have every responsibility to stand up and fight to be heard and represent those people.
It doesn’t sound like this other character is a credible replacement for Cantwell, but this woman can dream. If there did happen to be a credible primary choice, they’d have my vote in a hot minute, just as Cantwell would have my vote over McGavick. These sorts of choices are referred to now and again as moral calculus for a reason, which is to say that they aren’t straightforward. I’d take Pat Buchanan’s position on Iraq over Cantwell’s any day, though he’d never get my vote for love nor money. But I don’t have to be happy about her record just because of some percentage rating. This vote, like the Iraq vote, counted a hell of a lot. It’s plain as day that a no vote for the filibuster was a vote for confirmation, whatever the eventual confirmation vote was, and she flunked it.
You can’t take votes for granted forever. Gregoire made that mistake, we all know it, and it nearly bit her hard. I don’t think she’ll make that mistake again, but somehow Cantwell seems unlikely to learn from these little experiences and it ticks me right the hell off.
Goldy,
It’s like supporting Adam Smith, even though for some incomprehensible reason, he voted for the “flag burning amendment”. I ain’t whining, but I sure gave him an earful. The “left” also influenced him greatly on his current stance of foreign trade. We whiners do have an impact.
You guys have got to be kidding! There is only one choice to make, and your choice is Cantwell. There is no liberal knight in shining teflon for you. She is the end-all and be-all. I can’t believe you would entertain some outside choice, unless you are desperate to lose…
I’m puzzled about Maria’s political calculus as well, but remember she barely squeaked it out over Slade and running against McGavick seems to me to be very close to running against Slade’s machine.
C’mon! A choice between Maria and an obscenely overpaid insurance CEO who shipped jobs to India?
As for Alito, a diarist at Kos said it best – we lost that one in 2000. Thank you Ralph Nader and all you Naderites.
Marks @ 20: You guys have got to be kidding!
Not sure where you are coming from, marks, but Maria will have my vote in November. In the meantime, you don’t mind if we loonies give her a little nudge in our direction?
That’s politics.
I second natasha. Come November, I will vote for the Democrat against the Republican. But until the primary is over, we do have choices, and whether it’s a Green in Democratic clothing, or a last minute addition to the ballot from the state leg, or a write-in, my vote is in play and will not go to this West Coast Lieberman. Alito, the bankruptcy bill, votes to confirm Rice and Negroponte, and the goddamn war (which she continues to defend) are too many important votes to the other side to be overlooked. A the very least, she could explain her votes on her website or any other reasonable forum, but she hasn’t felt the need to justify herself. If she wants my support, she’ll need to more than just stick a (D) after her name.
In 1971, Congressional Democrats rejected Nixon’s single payer universal health care proposal because they thought they could do better the next year or after the elections. They couldn’t, offer was off the table. How many times do we have to do this before we get it?
Jesse Jackson needs to lead a Black Party! The Party could stand for crime, looting, welfare, foodstamps, unwed mothers, 12 year old hookers, crack, and Black Velvet! This must be respected!!! [hehe]
I think Tookie Williams should run with Hillary. We are talking 115% of the registered black vote, and a hell of a turnout in the Big City Dead Vote!! ‘Run Tookie, Run”!!! Just think, the first all black ticket!
Proud to be an Ass @24
I’m sorry, I did not mean to demean your methods. I was just making the obvious reference that Cantwell is the only choice you have and any gyrations otherwise is, well, unwise…
yellow dog democrats….all of you
heck, you can vote for Dwight “Che” Pelz, Jim, Tape-man’ mcdermott….
still wondering about that Lefty scorecard that goldy relies on…
Feinstein Fears Border is ‘Gateway’ to Terrorism
Roger and Gang do you think Maria Cantwell has the same concerns as Dianne Feinstein?
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., expressed concern Thursday that the southern border has become a “major gateway” for Middle Eastern terrorists in a hearing with National Intelligence Director John Negroponte and other top intelligence officials.
Feinstein noted that law enforcement officials captured 155,000 non-Mexican illegal aliens in 2005, more than three times as many as the 49,545 that were apprehended in 2003.
Negroponte told Feinstein that the intelligence community was “sensitive to” the issue she raised, but said that the Canadian border posed “a bit greater concern.”
Canadian intelligence officials have estimated that nearly 50 known terrorist organizations have cells in Canada. In December 1999, an alert customs officer arrested Ahmed Ressam as he was entering the United States at Port Angeles, Washington with plans to attack Los Angeles International Airport. He was convicted of conspiracy to commit terrorism in April 2001 and sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Charles Allen, chief intelligence officer at the Department of Homeland Security, defended the effort at the southern border, claiming it was getting tougher to enter the United States illegally.
One reason, he said, was the end of the “catch and release” policy and its replacement with a new “catch and return or deport” program.
Previously, captured other-than-Mexican illegals (OTMs) were only briefly detained by law enforcement officers before being released into the United States pending a hearing. Eighty-five percent of OTMs failed to show up for the hearings.
The “catch and return or deport” program has expedited the processing of OTMs. They are no longer released and are now returned to their home countries in an average of 32 days.
I had already done my research and come to the same conclusion as Goldy.
I will vote for Cantwell. I might even reconsider loaning her campaign the three laptops I have set up for generic campaign use.
But I will be face to face with her at some point this next two months and she will hear what I have to say.
It will not be the first time and I gotta admit the last two times she stood there and took it. :) And gave back here reasoning. We often do not agree, but I don’t have to run for anything in a state that is half redneck and she does.
I talked to some friends and PCO’s among the Yakamas and they will be working for her non stop. I can’t avoid doing the same, but I can grumble about the Alito filibuster vote to her face.
off topic but nice::
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of Sexually Transmitted Disease. The disease is contracted through dangerous and high risk behavior. The disease is called Gonorrhea Lectim and pronounced “gonna re-elect him.” Many victims contracted it in 2004, after having been screwed for the past four years. Cognitive characteristics of individuals infected include:anti-social personality disorders, delusions of grandeur with messianic overtones, extreme cognitive dissonance,inability to incorporate new information, pronounced xenophobia and paranoia,inability to accept responsibility for own actions, cowardice masked by misplaced bravado,uncontrolled facial smirking, ignorance of geography and history, tendencies towards evangelical theocracy,categorical all-or-nothing behavior. Naturalists and epidemiologists are amazed at how this destructive disease originated only a few years ago from a bush found in Texas.
from poster @ http://www.huffington.com
The border is the gateway to 10 million new Democrat voters! They could all be terrorists, but as long as these Mexicans and Latins vote Democrat, the border will remain as it is and anyone who questions this is a racist! [hehe]
33, If blacks represent 12% of the US population, why are they 50% of the AIDs cases? Is this George Bush’s fault?
Goldy, what the fuck are you talking about? What fucking “crisis” is there in health care? There’s no fucking crisis. You’re full of fucking shit as usual.
What the fuck is wrong with you moonbats? Why are you so hell bent determined to destroy the best health care system on earth? Shit, give it a rest..
I had already done my research and come to the same conclusion as Goldy.
I will vote for Cantwell. I might even reconsider loaning her campaign the three laptops I have set up for generic campaign use.
Comment by Ken In Seattle— 2/3/06 @ 7:23 pm
Ken in Seattle are they the same computers you stoled from the Republican Party in Bellevue?
Roger and Gang is it OK to do cartoons about the Holocaust and not prophet Mohammed ?
Arab Cartoons Trash 9/11, Holocaust
Muslims all over the world are outraged over a series of cartoons that have appeared in European newspapers in recent months that feature the prophet Mohammed in ways that suggest he condones terrorism.
Al Jazeera reports, for instance:
“Up to 300 Indonesian Muslims went on a rampage in the lobby of a building housing the Danish embassy in Jakarta on Friday. Shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ [God is Greatest], they smashed lamps with bamboo sticks, threw chairs, lobbed rotten eggs and tomatoes and tore up a Danish flag.”
These same outraged folks, however, have yet to express a peep of protest over cartoons that routinely appear in the Arab press, which poke fun at the 9/11 attacks and the Holocaust.
Mideast media watchdog Tom Gross has collected on his Web site a few of the cartoons that keep some of these sensitive souls in stitches.
One knee-slapper that ran Qatar’s Al-Watan newspaper nine months after the 9/11 attacks shows former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon watching as an Israeli plane crashes into the World Trade Center. The Arabic words alongside the Twin Towers are “The Peace.”
Then there’s the cartoon that appeared in the Jordanian newspaper Ad-Dustur in October 2003, which depicted the railroad tracks to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The punchline? Israeli flags have replaced the swastikas flying above the death camp – with a caption that reads: “Gaza Strip or the Israeli Annihilation Camp.”
And for those who can’t appreciate the humor in that tableau, there’s always the cartoon that ran in Saudi Arabia’s Arab News in April 2002, which shows Prime Minister Sharon wielding a swastika-shaped axe to chop up Palestinian children.
As Mr. Gross notes: Most print media in the Arab world are under the full or partial control of the ruling regimes
Proud Cantwell supporter. We need more civic minded honest (as honest as any pol can be) servants in DC. I remember meeting her at the Sunset Bowl in Ballard. She’s very short. But she signed my sign and appreciated the nice things I passed along from my mom. As far as campaigns go, it was a clean one. Slade Gorton just wasn’t moderate anymore, especially for a state where even the some Republicans like to say they’re enviros. Too much ‘indian hunting’ too. Not all GOP senators have such awful relationships with native Americans. John McCain for one.
Don’t put your skateboard through my window, Mike! (as I am armed)
Well, it’s clear we can’t have McGavick. But my energy will be directed toward unseating Reichert. He screwed up the KCSO and now he’screwing us in the House. He’s gotta go.
@ 41
Here here! Darcy is the fucking bomb.
Mark Centz @25,
See… that’s part of the problem… Cantwell voted NO on the bankruptcy bill… yet I can’t tell you how many people cite her alleged “yes” vote when they trash her.
When you call her a “West Coast Leiberman” you are taking a couple votes out of context, and mis-stating her record, which over all, is fairly progressive.
Yeah, Lieberman talks so much shit about the Dems. I haven’t heard a single sideways word from Cantwell. She doesn’t trash her fellow Dems.
Goldy,
You’re a fucking moron! Cantwell is a dunce, who bought her way into the Senate. If anyone got a “golden parachute” it was Maria leaving Real Networks, not Mike leaving Safeco (he stood to make millions more by sticking around as CEO).
Furthermore, Cantwell is beholden to special interests, and K Street lobbyists. This after PROMISING not to take soft money. And if you try and parse that as “just PAC” money, forget it. I’m not buying.
So now we have a HYPOCRITE REPUBLICRAT who says one thing and does another. And she has the nerve to call her challenger “lobbyist Mike”! She’s the one that took Abramoff-connected cash, no matter how much Howard Dean spins it.
We should let Maria go come elction time. She’s a hack, and a pathetic excuse for a Senator.
My favorite thing about Sen. Maria Cantwell is her willingness to stand up to the Special Interests, such as Big Oil, and also he willingness to go after the biggest bull in the Senate, Ted Stevens. Bravo Maria!
I also find her willingness to run on clean money a sign that some folks aren’t bought off so easily. I like the fact that she still pushes for campaign finance reform so that regular folks can have access to government!
When it comes to pro-choice issues, Maria stands firm for a woman’s privacy in medical matters. She’s not going to force her own views on abortion on woman, but rather she trusts them to make their own choices.
(Here’s a letter from Maria’s website. Go Maria!)
Thanks to you, we were able to keep the Senate playing by the rules and put the people’s interests before the special interests. With your support, we triumphed over backroom deals and sneaky tricks to successfully block drilling in the Arctic from being attached to the defense spending bill and won a bipartisan victory.
We’ve stopped them from drilling in the Arctic for now, but I promise you I will remain vigilant to make sure we find real solutions to our overdependence on foreign oil and don’t pursue giveaways to the oil companies.
Thank you for standing with me, it made all the difference.
Sincerely,
Maria Cantwell
(More interesting stuff from her website. Maria, you’re awesome! Keep up the good work!)
Maria Cantwell was sworn in as a United States Senator from the State of Washington on January 3, 2001, pledging to carry on the legacy of dedicated service established by former Senators Warren Magnuson and Scoop Jackson.
As a U.S. Senator, Maria has worked hard on behalf of Washington state. On the economy,she’s helped boost Washington’s economy and create jobs by supporting longtime state industries such as aerospace, trade, and agriculture, and by cultivating new ones, such as software and biotechnology. She’s been a leader on energy and environmental issues in the Senate, leading the fight to protect our public national forests with the Roadless Rule. She believes we must become independent from middle east oil and she successfully led the fight to block the Republican energy plan. Maria has also worked for strong relations between the US and Israel. She supports a woman’s right to choose and has fought for better education opportunities for children nationwide and greater access to quality health care.
(When it comes to helping create Washington state jobs, Maria’s doing a heck of a job!)
One of Maria’s top priorities is improving Washington state’s economy. She has been a champion for small businesses and our state’s high-tech sector. In addition, she has worked to provide worker training for those employees who lost their jobs in the recent recession. Maria also led the efforts to open a number of foreign markets to Washington state agricultural products for the first time — “ allowing Washingtonfarmers to ship apples, peas, and lentils to Cuba and to sell potatoes in Mexico. She also helped open the British Columbia wine market to more Washington wineries.
She is also committed to working to protect businesses and consumers alike. A keystone of her work on national energy policy has been her fight to ban market manipulation tactics like those used by Enron to defraud both ratepayers and businesses of billions of dollars. She has also fought identity theft, the nation’s fastest-growing crime, by seeking to empower victims and law enforcement to respond to this growing problem.
(Here’s more about her stellar enviromental record. Cheers, Maria!)
Maria has also been a leader in protecting our environment. She continues to work to see the Wild Sky Wilderness created, and has worked to protect our wild rivers and roadless areas. She has also been a stalwart defender of the Marine Mammals Protection Act and the Northwest’s orcas.
Throughout her career, Maria has remained true to the values and tradition of public service she learned from her family. The second of five children, she was raised in a modest home in a working class Irish neighborhood. She developed a love of public service and community involvement at an early age; a love passed down to her by her parents and grandparents. Maria worked to pay her way through college, and was the first in her family to earn a college degree.
Maria rapidly established a reputation as someone who could bring people together and make things happen. She’s remembered by many as the architect of the State’s Growth Management Act, which she shepherded through a marathon 65-day session. This and other accomplishments, such as her work on behalf of a state family and medical leave law, earned her a high degree of respect among her peers of both parties. “Maria is still the best legislator I ever served with,” said former House Speaker Joe King.
(When she left the House in 1994, she went to work in the high tech sector, creating high paying jobs here in WA state. Thanks, Maria!)
In 1992, she ran for Congress and was elected a U.S. Representative for Washington’s First District, north of Seattle. As a member of Congress, Maria supported landmark legislation such as the Family and Medical Leave Act and the 1993 deficit reduction plan.
Representing many of the world’s most influential software and technology firms, she learned the issues and stood up for this vital sector of our economy. She is well-regarded in Internet circles for fighting against archaic export restrictions on software encryption products and for helping to defeat the infamous Clipper Chip proposal.
After leaving Congress in 1995, Maria joined a software start-up in Seattle. As Senior Vice President of Consumer Products at RealNetworks, she helped create hundreds of jobs in Washington state.
In early 2000, Maria decided to return to public service. In November, she was elected to the U.S. Senate, promising to fight for political reform and help expand opportunity for everyone who lives in Washington state.
(What’s even better, you ask? Well, Maria has been endorsed by the League Of Conservation Voters.)
League of Conservation Voters Endorses Senator Maria Cantwell for Reelection
Will Run Independent Campaign to Help Reelect Sen. Cantwell, Touting Leadership in Fighting for Washington Families, Standing up to Polluters and Special Interests
WASHINGTON, DC – The League of Conservation Voters (LCV), the political voice of the national environmental movement, today announced its endorsement of Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) for reelection to the U.S. Senate, citing her leadership in fighting for Washington families and standing up to corporate polluters and special interests. LCV also announced its plans to run an independent, grassroots campaign on behalf of Senator Cantwell. LCV’s endorsement of Sen. Cantwell is the organization’s first for the 2006 election among Democrats, Republicans and Independents.
“LCV is proud to make its first endorsement of the 2006 election cycle for Senator Maria Cantwell,” said LCV President Deb Callahan. “Senator Cantwell is one of our nation’s strongest environmental leaders in Congress, fighting every day for the health, quality of life and pocketbooks of Washington families, willing to stand up to big corporate interests, and working tirelessly to protect our wild places for future generations. In the coming weeks and months, we look forward to mounting an aggressive campaign to help reelect Senator Cantwell to the U.S. Senate.”
Muslims all over the world are outraged over a series of cartoons that have appeared in European newspapers in recent months that feature the prophet Mohammed in ways that suggest he condones terrorism.
I love it. The Euro weenies who bend over backwards to Ismofacists are getting what they deserve. I hope it doesnt get to far out of hand. I would hate to see Paris get bombed. If that happened we would have to write a letter of concern to the UN. Hehehehe
belltowner is paid schill…
yipes, and you guys think Carns was a tool….
Did maria help you write this
Goldy, will she report the in kind value of this blog?
(Maria was also the 13th woman elected to the Senate. Nice!)
Cantwell Makes History: 13th Woman in U.S. Senate
Run Date: 11/27/00
By Kim Palchikoff
WEnews correspondent
While the battle over the Presidential recount in Florida rages, across the Continental Divide, Washington’s self-made high-tech millionaire Maria Cantwell, after two weeks of see-sawing vote totals, has apparently defeated Republican Slade Gorton.
SEATTLE (WOMENSENEWS)–Maria Cantwell, a pro-choice Democrat who financed her own campaign, has defeated her deeply entrenched, heavily financed conservative opponent to become the new Congress’s 13th female U.S. Senator.
Cantwell’s election by a paper-thin margin, still to be confirmed by a routine, machine recount, will reshape the Senate and, quite possibly, American politics. The former Congresswoman is likely to become the 50th Democrat in the Senate, opening the way to discussion of a historic power-sharing arrangement between the two parties.
With her election, the number of women in the U.S. Senate increases from nine to 13, a jump of almost 50 percent. Cantwell will join Democrats Jean Carnahan of Missouri, Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan–all of them pro-choice. Cantwell joins Washington’s other woman Senator, two-term Democrat Patricia Murray, who campaigned hard on Cantwell’s behalf.
Further, Cantwell has gone down in the annals of U.S. women’s hard-fought political campaigns, replete with both defeats and victories. Taking on incumbents and winning is acknowledged to be tough, but Cantwell, 42, defeated incumbent Slade Gorton, 72, a man who began his political career when she was born.
When she found that despite her experience, strengths and popularity she was unable to raise the millions needed to compete, Cantwell decided to do it herself. She dipped into her own Internet fortune coffers and contributed $9.6 million to her own campaign. That made the difference.
After almost three weeks of nail-biting vote tallies that saw her close but still trailing Republican Gorton, Cantwell finally pulled ahead by close to 2,000 votes. Now, all that is awaited is a routine machine recount because of the closeness of the race. She defeated the three-term Republican incumbent by less than .08 percent of the votes cast.
“It’s been a long haul for everyone,” said Paul Berendt, chairman of Washington’s Democratic Party. “We’ve been in full campaign mode since the elections,” he added.
“This has been like the twelfth round in a nine-round boxing match.”
Cantwell Finally Uses the ‘V’ Word: Victory
Washington’s recount, unlike the one in Florida, is not expected to change the numbers reported by the state’s 39 counties. The Secretary of State has until Dec. 7 to certify the election results. Washington is the only state that has not yet officially announced the winner of its Senate seat.
Cantwell had avoided the media while the vote was up in the air, but she finally told a news conference, “I am confident that the state’s exceptional election workers got the job done and that the new results will show that I will be victorious.” She thanked Gorton for his many years of service.
Her campaign has been one of the closest and most closely watched Senate races. And, the mood has changed dramatically among Cantwell’s supporters and women’s groups that watched their candidate trail until the last few thousand absentee ballots were counted.
“We are very, very excited,” said Carroll Twiss, co-chair of the Washington State Women’s Democratic Caucus. “Having two women represent us will be wonderful for the women and men of Washington. As a Congresswoman, she took on controversial issues. She learns quickly. She’ll be able to take on very tough issues, and come up with very clear decisions on how to proceed.”
Even the famously non-partisan League of Women voters was inspired by Cantwell’s election to the nation’s upper house of Congress, saying that it was an indication of the state’s support of women in the political process.
“The people of Washington are looking at women candidates the way they are looking at any men candidates,” said Liz Perini, president of the Washington State League of Women Voters. “Gender is becoming less and less an important factor,” she said, noting that women also ran well in the state legislature. Thirty-seven of its 98 U.S. Representatives are female, or 38 percent.
How can you be both a green and a libertarian? WTF?
(Maria is also a proud member of the Apollo Alliance. Way to go, Maria!)
The Apollo Alliance for Good Jobs and Clean Energy
The Apollo Alliance provides a message of optimism and hope, framed around rejuvenating our nation’s economy by creating the next generation of American industrial jobs and treating clean energy as an economic and security mandate to rebuild America. America needs to hope again, to dream again, to think big, and to be called to the best of our potential by tapping the optimism and can-do spirit that is embedded in our nation’s history.
In 1961, John F. Kennedy challenged the nation to send a man to the moon and return him safely home again within the decade. It was an audacious dare. The technology did not yet exist, but he marshaled the resources of a nation — focusing public investment, research, science and technology education, worker training, and America’s industrial might on a common purpose. It was leadership toward a common positive goal and it worked. In less than eight years Neil Armstrong placed the first human footprint on the lunar surface, and President Kennedy to this day remains honored for his vision and as a leader of courage.
Now America has an Apollo project for the 21st century. Today the stakes are much, much higher. We face an economy hemorrhaging its highest paying and most productive jobs, cities falling apart with over a trillion dollars in unmet public investment in crumbling schools, transportation, and infrastructure. The middle class is increasingly insecure as career ladders are broken and not replaced in new service sector jobs. And on a global scale we face never before seen environmental disruption, rising social inequity, and the emergence of fundamentalist anger that threatens our very security. We need new leaders of vision, and a new unifying call to action.
(Conservation is an issue close to Maria’s heart. Thanks, Maria!)
Sen Maria Cantwell: Conservation Must Be More Than Convenient Slogan
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and a passionate environmental advocate, delivered today’s weekly Democratic radio address. In it, she returned to her familiar themes of conservation, vehicle fuel-efficiency and US over-reliance on fossil fuels for energy.
“Conservation must be more than a convenient slogan,” Cantwell said. “Recently, the administration has rejected conservation attempts like more accurate fuel mileage for cars and bipartisan proposals for reducing our dependence on foreign oil by a million barrels a day.”
Cantwell said that Democrats want new laws to protect consumers from price-gouging and encourage investment in lightweight materials and alternative fuels. She observed that record-high fuel prices are costing people their jobs, farmers are having a hard time breaking even, and school districts are being forced to choose between hiring new teachers and covering higher energy bills, she added.
In fact, most Georgia public schools were closed for two days last week , to conserve scarce fuel, as well as to save school districts from paying exorbitant fuel prices for a few days. Per USA Today, “Gov. Sonny Perdue asked for the closings…, estimating that closing all of the state’s schools would save about 250,000 gallons of diesel fuel by idling buses, plus an undetermined amount of gasoline by allowing teachers, staff members and some parents to stay home.”
“These are the terrible consequences of our overdependence on fossil fuel,” Cantwell said. “The natural disasters of Katrina and Rita have showed us firsthand how truly vulnerable we are.”
And yet, despite the gas shortages and despite the industry’s self-proclaimed “need” to increase comsumer gas prices due to shortages caused by hurricanes, US oil companies are posting historic, record-shattering profits. Per watch group Public Citizen….”Since George Bush became President in 2001, the top five oil companies in the United States have recorded profits of $254 billion: ExxonMobil: $89 billion; Shell: $60.7 billion; BP: $53 billion; ChevronTexaco: $31 billion; and ConocoPhillips: $20 billion.”
(Maria has shown great leadership on energy issues. Snohomish County says thank you!)
Our group of backpacking buddies took refuge from August heat, a few years back, by ascending into breezes of the 8,000-foot ridge dividing the deep trench of Lake Chelan from the Methow Valley.
Gazing down into the heat haze of the Columbia River far below, one of us wondered aloud: Who would want to be in that hotbox right now?
Maria Cantwell, that’s who.
The Democratic U.S. senator was in Pateros that day, meeting with Okanogan County development officials still steaming over her campaign stand against a proposed gold mine up near the Canadian border.
Cantwell likes to hike and is a baseball junkie, but above all is a driven worker. She is, to put it gently, one of Capitol Hill’s more demanding bosses.
Cantwell is kicking into high gear these days — four news releases came through the computer Wednesday — clearly in anticipation of a stiff Republican challenge next year.
Washington is one of three states with an all-woman lineup in Congress’ upper chamber. The other states are California, with two Democrats from the Bay Area, and Maine, with a pair of Republican moderates.
The aspect of gender, however, belies a traditional division of labor between Cantwell and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.
The team of Sens. Warren Magnuson and Henry Jackson, D-Wash., represented Washington on Capitol Hill for nearly 30 years.
Maggie was the state’s provider, a power on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Jackson was a legislator and investigator, beginning his Senate career as a member of the subcommittee that helped goad Sen. Joe McCarthy into self-destruction.
Washington, D.C., chuckled when Jackson, a newlywed at age 49, interrupted his Hawaiian honeymoon to confer with Navy brass at Pearl Harbor on Soviet fleet strength in the Pacific.
She doesn’t smoke cigars or drink vodka, but Patty Murray is today’s Maggie-style master of getting federal help. A pair of healthy re-election wins have marked her as someone with whom voters feel comfortable.
Cantwell, who holds Jackson’s old Senate seat, is more edgy. She’s also a digger. During the past year, she has joined the Snohomish County Public Utility District in revealing how the Enron Corp. manipulated energy prices and helped create the 2000-01 West Coast electrical “shortage.”
“Your leadership, Senator Cantwell, has been crucial,” Dave Aldrich, a Snohomish PUD commissioner, said at a Washington, D.C., news conference yesterday.
(Maria is also taking a lead role in the Iraq reconstruction, personally visiting Iraq several times. Muchas Gracias!)
Sen. Maria Cantwell and other members of Congress were in Baghdad Tuesday when a truck bomb exploded outside U.N headquarters, killing at least 20 people – including the chief U.N. official in Iraq.
Cantwell, D-Wash., had been scheduled to meet Tuesday with the official, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
The meeting was to have taken place a few hours before the bomb exploded at about 4:30 p.m. local time, Cantwell said.
The session was scrapped because the plane she and other lawmakers were traveling on was delayed on a flight from Jordan. The meeting was to have been at the military headquarters used by the U.S.-led forces in Iraq, about 5 miles from the U.N. site, Cantwell said.
After landing in Baghdad in mid-afternoon, Cantwell and the envoy tentatively set up a telephone call for about 6 p.m. local time. The call never took place.
At a teleconference Tuesday night from Kuwait, where she and other lawmakers were flown for their own safety, Cantwell speculated that Vieira de Mello might not have been killed if the meeting had taken place as scheduled.
“It’s hard to say,” she said, adding that the envoy may have stayed at the military headquarters long enough to have avoided the attack.
Cantwell, who was not injured, condemned the bombing and said Vieira de Mello was “playing a critical role” in rebuilding the war-torn country.
(Maria, taking a stand for the environment. Thank you!)
By CHARLES POPE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON — Sen. Maria Cantwell vowed Monday to keep the Senate in session until the brink of
Christmas to defeat legislation that would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.
“If this language is allowed to stand, one of our nation’s most pristine wildlife areas will be lost,”
Cantwell, a Democrat, said as she outlined plans by her party and its allies to defeat language
offered by Alaska Republican Ted Stevens to open ANWR.
“This is nothing more than a sweetheart deal for Alaska and the oil companies,” Cantwell said.
“That’s why I am prepared to use every procedural option available to me as a senator to prevent
this language from moving forward.”
The showdown is likely to come Wednesday when the Senate is expected to vote to force an end to
debate. Sixty votes are needed to break a filibuster that Cantwell has promised. Neither side
would say whether it had the votes to prevail.
Next time she calls me to ask for money, I certainly plan to complain about that idiotic Alito vote. But I’ll probably still give her money, but maybe less that I might have.
cool it Belltowner no one is reading what your writing.
(Maria Cantwell, looking out for regular folks. Way to go!)
IT WAS NEARING midnight when Maria Cantwell returned to the Senate floor and made one last appeal for caution before her colleagues overwhelmingly approved a sweeping anti-terror package in response to the Sept. 11 suicide jet attacks.
Washington State’s new senator was proud of much of the bill, including a provision she championed to triple the number of federal agents guarding America’s northern border. But she warned that law enforcement could easily abuse its expanded search and surveillance powers. Anyone who employed or associated with a suspected terrorist might find investigators poring over their business, medical and financial records, she said. Agents could act with minimal judicial review and would have more latitude to monitor people online.
Many of her colleagues paused to listen. As a former RealNetworks executive, Cantwell commands a little more attention than the average freshman senator whenever technology figures into the debate. And when she finished, several colleagues had questions:
Had her friends in the high-tech world called? Are the industry lobbyists upset?
They weren’t focusing on the issue. righton is a douche!They were calculating the bill’s political price.
Cantwell says she got back into politics to change that calculation. If government is going to be compatible with the Information Age, she says, it needs an upgrade — one that gives ordinary citizens more say, big-money special-interest groups, less.
Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, reflected in the rearview mirror, sits in the front seat of Jerry Snyder’s pickup and listens to the wheat farmer talk about erosion problems caused by federal programs to set aside farmland.
It might have been easy to ignore the pull of politics
(Thanks, Maria, for sticking up for WA state!)
Cantwell Reacts to Bush’s State of the Union
No Fixes for Troubled Medicare Rx Plan; Record Oil Company Profits with No Plan to Cut Skyrocketing Fuel Costs
Wednesday U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) issued the following statement following President Bush’s State of the Union:
“Working families across America are struggling with ever-increasing gas and home heating costs, but yesterday we learned that Exxon Mobil reported $36 billion in 2005 profits, the highest of any company during a single year. Tonight, the President finally acknowledged what’s been obvious to every American family struggling with rising energy costs: while the world’s major oil companies post record-breaking profits, our addiction to foreign oil poses a serious danger to our economy and national security.
“The rhetoric doesn’t match the reality of his priorities. After five years of watching gas price soar and our dependence on foreign oil grow worse, I hope the President’s budget next week will be a real turning point.
belltowner, is it fun to cut and paste from Maria’s office?
try this
I will vote for Maria unless another Dem, i.e., a REAL Dem runs against her.
Comment by LeftTurn— 2/3/06 @ 3:54 pm
And I suppose you voted for Nadar in 2000?
Goldy is right, Maria has been there for the vast majority of the REAL issues. Get over it. The first obligation of any participant in a democracy is to work to form a majority, and not be a whiney fringer. I’ve sent her money, and will probably send more soon.
Comment by Aaron— 2/3/06 @ 4:00 pm
Wet my pants reading the scorecard….
Favorite was you guys picking a senator based on how they voted on”
“Preventing Injuries Before They Occur”
Man, talk about minutia.
Comment by righton— 2/3/06 @ 4:13 pm
Nader and the Greens in 08!!! Go Greens!! [hehe]
Comment by JCH— 2/3/06 @ 4:29 pm
Perhaps Al Sharpton and Jesse could run as a 3rd party in 08!! Go Al and Jesse!! [hehe]
Comment by JCH— 2/3/06 @ 4:30 pm
Liberals might be a little miffed, but they need to get the fuck over it.
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 4:30 pm
Goldy,
No doubt I’ll vote for Maria Cantwell this fall, but as one of her constituents, she got an earful from me regarding her vote for cloture on Alito.
Good, God, man. We’re not talking about this years budget, or some far flung bill. This is the philosophical make up of the SCOTUS for decades to come. The ramifications on our civil liberties is in peril for decades to come.
The situation demanded that the Democrats use every tool they had to prevent his nomination. She didn’t do that and I let her know I was disappointed in her decision.
Comment by GBS— 2/3/06 @ 4:33 pm
@ 8
The fight against Alito was lost long before. Did you know we have only 44 Democratic Senators? That’s the lowest sinces the 20’s. You want to stop right wing judges? Elect more Democrats to the Seante. That way, we can still lose people like Nelson (NE), Conrad (ND), and others and still beat the nominee.
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 4:50 pm
Another favourite:
“This single act I believe could be the stimulus necessary to begin rebuilding the confidence that is lacking. Repeal of the capitol gains tax would eliminate the success penalty.“
Comment by Aexia— 2/3/06 @ 4:59 pm
Belltowner @ 8:
You’re certainly right about the numberical advantage that the Republcians hold in the Senate. And I also agree with your point about electing more Democrats to the Senate.
But, the reality today is different. The ONLY tool the Democrats had to block Alito was a filibuster. I demand that my Democratic Senator use all means necessary to stop bad judges from getting a lifetime appointment to the SCOTUS.
That’s what I’m pissed about.
Comment by GBS— 2/3/06 @ 5:00 pm
For those of you looking for a progressive candidate in a real battle to change the direction of the country, you don’t have to look far: Darcy Burner is fighting to unseat Right Wing Reichert and help Dems take back congress.
Go to http://www.darcyburner.com/ . Sign up to fight for a progressive victory in Washington.
Comment by little birdy— 2/3/06 @ 5:01 pm
Yawn
Richert could only sound right winger to say, Fremont, Wallingford….
Rest of world he’s middle of the road
ps, you are lefties, not progressives
Comment by righton— 2/3/06 @ 5:05 pm
Re: “Richert could only sound right winger…” Reichert knows how to sound “middle of the road”-but HE VOTES RIGHT WING.
Comment by howieinseattle— 2/3/06 @ 5:14 pm
Reichert paid back his DeLay money by voting with him 97% of the time. How will he pay back his Abramoff money?
Comment by Templarist— 2/3/06 @ 5:39 pm
If you would actually listen to what people are saying, we are saying that we will vote for Cantwell but that we will put our efforts toward a more deserving candidate, like Darcy Burner. However, Cantwell did hand Abush and Frist a victory, knowing that her vote against Alito would be futile. Before I give Maria anything but my vote, I wanmt to hear her explanation. So far, none has been forthcoming.
Comment by Ted Smith— 2/3/06 @ 5:45 pm
Goldy,
I get your point, and for the most part I tend to agree. On the other hand, it is important to make the point that politicos such as Maria need to understand that a good deal of the actual votes she needs to win come from the “base”. As a politician, she should both know and respect that–and most importantly, respond. So please, stop whining about the “whiners”. It does us no good.
Popular front, yeah!
Comment by Proud To Be An Ass— 2/3/06 @ 5:56 pm
The only thing single issue (changes monthly), left-leaning Greenie Democrats are good at is shooting themselves in the foot. It’s as if failure is their ultimate goal.
One would think that 8 years of peace and prosperity under Bill Clinton (and 8 subsequent years of war and voodoo economics thanks to Nader) would teach the suicidal wing of the party to suck it up once in a while. Sure has been working for the GOP, a party made up of materialists who trade in their wives every election cycle, and anti-materialists who think the only point of marriage is keeping God happy.
And as if there was a snowball’s chance in hell that Alito would ever get Borked….lefties like GBS must be smoking some kind of strong doobage to think otherwise.
Moral of this whole story: the perfect is the enemy of the good.
Comment by LiberalRedneck— 2/3/06 @ 5:58 pm
@4: Nader and the Greens in 08!!! Go Greens!! [hehe]
Comment by JCH— 2/3/06 @ 4:29 pm
Put your money where your mouth is, Lt. fuckwad! Oh, I forgot, you sent all your political contributions to the Libertarian Pary. Nice choice. We on the left thank and salute you. God, is it ever cold and damp in this fucking brig. When are you going to let me out?
Comment by Proud To Be An Ass— 2/3/06 @ 6:00 pm
Did I mention that a vote against Cantwell is a vote for right wing insurance company goon McGavick, no matter what your rationalization?
Comment by LiberalRedneck— 2/3/06 @ 6:01 pm
Shut the fuck up and get in line isn’t exactly a winning long term recruitment strategy. The people I talk to who’ve had it with Democrats failing to distinguish themselves are exactly the sort who throw a lot of elbow grease into causes they care about, which is why they know enough to get PO’d in the first place.
And I’ve got to say, this is a decision that weighs a little more than others. The Supreme Court has more to say on the issue of reproductive choice than any other body in the land at this point in history. Five states are currently preparing bans that would send us back to the good old days when doctors couldn’t so much as induce or speed labor when a miscarriage left a woman carrying a dead fetus. Even if that meant waiting a month or more until the official due date. Gruesome, but true. A no vote on the filibuster may in fact end up being a yes vote for the outlawing of abortion and every person who didn’t use every tool at their disposal to stop it, successful or not, will share the responsibility.
Alito believes that the executive is a law unto themselves. Every Dem who didn’t think that was a bad idea is just on crack.
And I shouldn’t have to remind anyone here that those 44 Democratic Senators represent about 2 million more voters than all their Republican colleagues combined. They have every responsibility to stand up and fight to be heard and represent those people.
It doesn’t sound like this other character is a credible replacement for Cantwell, but this woman can dream. If there did happen to be a credible primary choice, they’d have my vote in a hot minute, just as Cantwell would have my vote over McGavick. These sorts of choices are referred to now and again as moral calculus for a reason, which is to say that they aren’t straightforward. I’d take Pat Buchanan’s position on Iraq over Cantwell’s any day, though he’d never get my vote for love nor money. But I don’t have to be happy about her record just because of some percentage rating. This vote, like the Iraq vote, counted a hell of a lot. It’s plain as day that a no vote for the filibuster was a vote for confirmation, whatever the eventual confirmation vote was, and she flunked it.
You can’t take votes for granted forever. Gregoire made that mistake, we all know it, and it nearly bit her hard. I don’t think she’ll make that mistake again, but somehow Cantwell seems unlikely to learn from these little experiences and it ticks me right the hell off.
Comment by natasha— 2/3/06 @ 6:04 pm
Goldy,
It’s like supporting Adam Smith, even though for some incomprehensible reason, he voted for the “flag burning amendment”. I ain’t whining, but I sure gave him an earful. The “left” also influenced him greatly on his current stance of foreign trade. We whiners do have an impact.
Comment by Proud To Be An Ass— 2/3/06 @ 6:05 pm
You guys have got to be kidding! There is only one choice to make, and your choice is Cantwell. There is no liberal knight in shining teflon for you. She is the end-all and be-all. I can’t believe you would entertain some outside choice, unless you are desperate to lose…
Comment by marks— 2/3/06 @ 6:15 pm
I’m puzzled about Maria’s political calculus as well, but remember she barely squeaked it out over Slade and running against McGavick seems to me to be very close to running against Slade’s machine.
C’mon! A choice between Maria and an obscenely overpaid insurance CEO who shipped jobs to India?
As for Alito, a diarist at Kos said it best – we lost that one in 2000. Thank you Ralph Nader and all you Naderites.
Comment by For the Clueless— 2/3/06 @ 6:28 pm
Marks @ 20: You guys have got to be kidding!
Not sure where you are coming from, marks, but Maria will have my vote in November. In the meantime, you don’t mind if we loonies give her a little nudge in our direction?
That’s politics.
Comment by Proud To Be An Ass— 2/3/06 @ 6:29 pm
I second natasha. Come November, I will vote for the Democrat against the Republican. But until the primary is over, we do have choices, and whether it’s a Green in Democratic clothing, or a last minute addition to the ballot from the state leg, or a write-in, my vote is in play and will not go to this West Coast Lieberman. Alito, the bankruptcy bill, votes to confirm Rice and Negroponte, and the goddamn war (which she continues to defend) are too many important votes to the other side to be overlooked. A the very least, she could explain her votes on her website or any other reasonable forum, but she hasn’t felt the need to justify herself. If she wants my support, she’ll need to more than just stick a (D) after her name.
Comment by Mark Centz— 2/3/06 @ 6:35 pm
In 1971, Congressional Democrats rejected Nixon’s single payer universal health care proposal because they thought they could do better the next year or after the elections. They couldn’t, offer was off the table. How many times do we have to do this before we get it?
Comment by dan— 2/3/06 @ 6:45 pm
Jesse Jackson needs to lead a Black Party! The Party could stand for crime, looting, welfare, foodstamps, unwed mothers, 12 year old hookers, crack, and Black Velvet! This must be respected!!! [hehe]
Comment by JCH— 2/3/06 @ 6:54 pm
I think Tookie Williams should run with Hillary. We are talking 115% of the registered black vote, and a hell of a turnout in the Big City Dead Vote!! ‘Run Tookie, Run”!!! Just think, the first all black ticket!
Comment by JCH— 2/3/06 @ 6:58 pm
Proud to be an Ass @24
I’m sorry, I did not mean to demean your methods. I was just making the obvious reference that Cantwell is the only choice you have and any gyrations otherwise is, well, unwise…
Comment by marks— 2/3/06 @ 7:00 pm
yellow dog democrats….all of you
heck, you can vote for Dwight “Che” Pelz, Jim, Tape-man’ mcdermott….
still wondering about that Lefty scorecard that goldy relies on…
Comment by righton— 2/3/06 @ 7:01 pm
Feinstein Fears Border is ‘Gateway’ to Terrorism
Roger and Gang do you think Maria Cantwell has the same concerns as Dianne Feinstein?
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., expressed concern Thursday that the southern border has become a “major gateway” for Middle Eastern terrorists in a hearing with National Intelligence Director John Negroponte and other top intelligence officials.
Feinstein noted that law enforcement officials captured 155,000 non-Mexican illegal aliens in 2005, more than three times as many as the 49,545 that were apprehended in 2003.
Negroponte told Feinstein that the intelligence community was “sensitive to” the issue she raised, but said that the Canadian border posed “a bit greater concern.”
Canadian intelligence officials have estimated that nearly 50 known terrorist organizations have cells in Canada. In December 1999, an alert customs officer arrested Ahmed Ressam as he was entering the United States at Port Angeles, Washington with plans to attack Los Angeles International Airport. He was convicted of conspiracy to commit terrorism in April 2001 and sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Charles Allen, chief intelligence officer at the Department of Homeland Security, defended the effort at the southern border, claiming it was getting tougher to enter the United States illegally.
One reason, he said, was the end of the “catch and release” policy and its replacement with a new “catch and return or deport” program.
Previously, captured other-than-Mexican illegals (OTMs) were only briefly detained by law enforcement officers before being released into the United States pending a hearing. Eighty-five percent of OTMs failed to show up for the hearings.
The “catch and return or deport” program has expedited the processing of OTMs. They are no longer released and are now returned to their home countries in an average of 32 days.
Comment by klake— 2/3/06 @ 7:22 pm
I had already done my research and come to the same conclusion as Goldy.
I will vote for Cantwell. I might even reconsider loaning her campaign the three laptops I have set up for generic campaign use.
But I will be face to face with her at some point this next two months and she will hear what I have to say.
It will not be the first time and I gotta admit the last two times she stood there and took it. And gave back here reasoning. We often do not agree, but I don’t have to run for anything in a state that is half redneck and she does.
I talked to some friends and PCO’s among the Yakamas and they will be working for her non stop. I can’t avoid doing the same, but I can grumble about the Alito filibuster vote to her face.
Comment by Ken In Seattle— 2/3/06 @ 7:23 pm
off topic but nice::
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of Sexually Transmitted Disease. The disease is contracted through dangerous and high risk behavior. The disease is called Gonorrhea Lectim and pronounced “gonna re-elect him.” Many victims contracted it in 2004, after having been screwed for the past four years. Cognitive characteristics of individuals infected include:anti-social personality disorders, delusions of grandeur with messianic overtones, extreme cognitive dissonance,inability to incorporate new information, pronounced xenophobia and paranoia,inability to accept responsibility for own actions, cowardice masked by misplaced bravado,uncontrolled facial smirking, ignorance of geography and history, tendencies towards evangelical theocracy,categorical all-or-nothing behavior. Naturalists and epidemiologists are amazed at how this destructive disease originated only a few years ago from a bush found in Texas.
from poster @ http://www.huffington.com
Comment by Cougar— 2/3/06 @ 7:23 pm
The border is the gateway to 10 million new Democrat voters! They could all be terrorists, but as long as these Mexicans and Latins vote Democrat, the border will remain as it is and anyone who questions this is a racist! [hehe]
Comment by JCH— 2/3/06 @ 7:25 pm
33, If blacks represent 12% of the US population, why are they 50% of the AIDs cases? Is this George Bush’s fault?
Comment by JCH— 2/3/06 @ 7:27 pm
Goldy, what the fuck are you talking about? What fucking “crisis” is there in health care? There’s no fucking crisis. You’re full of fucking shit as usual.
What the fuck is wrong with you moonbats? Why are you so hell bent determined to destroy the best health care system on earth? Shit, give it a rest..
Comment by Mark The Redneck— 2/3/06 @ 7:29 pm
I had already done my research and come to the same conclusion as Goldy.
I will vote for Cantwell. I might even reconsider loaning her campaign the three laptops I have set up for generic campaign use.
Comment by Ken In Seattle— 2/3/06 @ 7:23 pm
Ken in Seattle are they the same computers you stoled from the Republican Party in Bellevue?
Comment by klake— 2/3/06 @ 7:30 pm
Roger and Gang is it OK to do cartoons about the Holocaust and not prophet Mohammed ?
Arab Cartoons Trash 9/11, Holocaust
Muslims all over the world are outraged over a series of cartoons that have appeared in European newspapers in recent months that feature the prophet Mohammed in ways that suggest he condones terrorism.
Al Jazeera reports, for instance:
“Up to 300 Indonesian Muslims went on a rampage in the lobby of a building housing the Danish embassy in Jakarta on Friday. Shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ [God is Greatest], they smashed lamps with bamboo sticks, threw chairs, lobbed rotten eggs and tomatoes and tore up a Danish flag.”
These same outraged folks, however, have yet to express a peep of protest over cartoons that routinely appear in the Arab press, which poke fun at the 9/11 attacks and the Holocaust.
Mideast media watchdog Tom Gross has collected on his Web site a few of the cartoons that keep some of these sensitive souls in stitches.
One knee-slapper that ran Qatar’s Al-Watan newspaper nine months after the 9/11 attacks shows former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon watching as an Israeli plane crashes into the World Trade Center. The Arabic words alongside the Twin Towers are “The Peace.”
Then there’s the cartoon that appeared in the Jordanian newspaper Ad-Dustur in October 2003, which depicted the railroad tracks to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The punchline? Israeli flags have replaced the swastikas flying above the death camp – with a caption that reads: “Gaza Strip or the Israeli Annihilation Camp.”
And for those who can’t appreciate the humor in that tableau, there’s always the cartoon that ran in Saudi Arabia’s Arab News in April 2002, which shows Prime Minister Sharon wielding a swastika-shaped axe to chop up Palestinian children.
As Mr. Gross notes: Most print media in the Arab world are under the full or partial control of the ruling regimes
Comment by klake— 2/3/06 @ 7:36 pm
Proud Cantwell supporter. We need more civic minded honest (as honest as any pol can be) servants in DC. I remember meeting her at the Sunset Bowl in Ballard. She’s very short. But she signed my sign and appreciated the nice things I passed along from my mom. As far as campaigns go, it was a clean one. Slade Gorton just wasn’t moderate anymore, especially for a state where even the some Republicans like to say they’re enviros. Too much ‘indian hunting’ too. Not all GOP senators have such awful relationships with native Americans. John McCain for one.
Don’t put your skateboard through my window, Mike! (as I am armed)
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 7:39 pm
Well, it’s clear we can’t have McGavick. But my energy will be directed toward unseating Reichert. He screwed up the KCSO and now he’screwing us in the House. He’s gotta go.
Comment by Tree Frog Farmer— 2/3/06 @ 7:42 pm
@ 41
Here here! Darcy is the fucking bomb.
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 8:08 pm
Mark Centz @25,
See… that’s part of the problem… Cantwell voted NO on the bankruptcy bill… yet I can’t tell you how many people cite her alleged “yes” vote when they trash her.
When you call her a “West Coast Leiberman” you are taking a couple votes out of context, and mis-stating her record, which over all, is fairly progressive.
Comment by Goldy— 2/3/06 @ 8:11 pm
Yeah, Lieberman talks so much shit about the Dems. I haven’t heard a single sideways word from Cantwell. She doesn’t trash her fellow Dems.
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 8:14 pm
Goldy,
You’re a fucking moron! Cantwell is a dunce, who bought her way into the Senate. If anyone got a “golden parachute” it was Maria leaving Real Networks, not Mike leaving Safeco (he stood to make millions more by sticking around as CEO).
Furthermore, Cantwell is beholden to special interests, and K Street lobbyists. This after PROMISING not to take soft money. And if you try and parse that as “just PAC” money, forget it. I’m not buying.
So now we have a HYPOCRITE REPUBLICRAT who says one thing and does another. And she has the nerve to call her challenger “lobbyist Mike”! She’s the one that took Abramoff-connected cash, no matter how much Howard Dean spins it.
We should let Maria go come elction time. She’s a hack, and a pathetic excuse for a Senator.
Comment by CantVoteWell— 2/3/06 @ 8:53 pm
My favorite thing about Sen. Maria Cantwell is her willingness to stand up to the Special Interests, such as Big Oil, and also he willingness to go after the biggest bull in the Senate, Ted Stevens. Bravo Maria!
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 9:03 pm
I also find her willingness to run on clean money a sign that some folks aren’t bought off so easily. I like the fact that she still pushes for campaign finance reform so that regular folks can have access to government!
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 9:05 pm
When it comes to pro-choice issues, Maria stands firm for a woman’s privacy in medical matters. She’s not going to force her own views on abortion on woman, but rather she trusts them to make their own choices.
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 9:06 pm
(Here’s a letter from Maria’s website. Go Maria!)
Thanks to you, we were able to keep the Senate playing by the rules and put the people’s interests before the special interests. With your support, we triumphed over backroom deals and sneaky tricks to successfully block drilling in the Arctic from being attached to the defense spending bill and won a bipartisan victory.
We’ve stopped them from drilling in the Arctic for now, but I promise you I will remain vigilant to make sure we find real solutions to our overdependence on foreign oil and don’t pursue giveaways to the oil companies.
Thank you for standing with me, it made all the difference.
Sincerely,
Maria Cantwell
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 9:07 pm
(More interesting stuff from her website. Maria, you’re awesome! Keep up the good work!)
Maria Cantwell was sworn in as a United States Senator from the State of Washington on January 3, 2001, pledging to carry on the legacy of dedicated service established by former Senators Warren Magnuson and Scoop Jackson.
As a U.S. Senator, Maria has worked hard on behalf of Washington state. On the economy,she’s helped boost Washington’s economy and create jobs by supporting longtime state industries such as aerospace, trade, and agriculture, and by cultivating new ones, such as software and biotechnology. She’s been a leader on energy and environmental issues in the Senate, leading the fight to protect our public national forests with the Roadless Rule. She believes we must become independent from middle east oil and she successfully led the fight to block the Republican energy plan. Maria has also worked for strong relations between the US and Israel. She supports a woman’s right to choose and has fought for better education opportunities for children nationwide and greater access to quality health care.
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 9:08 pm
(When it comes to helping create Washington state jobs, Maria’s doing a heck of a job!)
One of Maria’s top priorities is improving Washington state’s economy. She has been a champion for small businesses and our state’s high-tech sector. In addition, she has worked to provide worker training for those employees who lost their jobs in the recent recession. Maria also led the efforts to open a number of foreign markets to Washington state agricultural products for the first time — “ allowing Washingtonfarmers to ship apples, peas, and lentils to Cuba and to sell potatoes in Mexico. She also helped open the British Columbia wine market to more Washington wineries.
She is also committed to working to protect businesses and consumers alike. A keystone of her work on national energy policy has been her fight to ban market manipulation tactics like those used by Enron to defraud both ratepayers and businesses of billions of dollars. She has also fought identity theft, the nation’s fastest-growing crime, by seeking to empower victims and law enforcement to respond to this growing problem.
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 9:09 pm
(Here’s more about her stellar enviromental record. Cheers, Maria!)
Maria has also been a leader in protecting our environment. She continues to work to see the Wild Sky Wilderness created, and has worked to protect our wild rivers and roadless areas. She has also been a stalwart defender of the Marine Mammals Protection Act and the Northwest’s orcas.
Throughout her career, Maria has remained true to the values and tradition of public service she learned from her family. The second of five children, she was raised in a modest home in a working class Irish neighborhood. She developed a love of public service and community involvement at an early age; a love passed down to her by her parents and grandparents. Maria worked to pay her way through college, and was the first in her family to earn a college degree.
Maria rapidly established a reputation as someone who could bring people together and make things happen. She’s remembered by many as the architect of the State’s Growth Management Act, which she shepherded through a marathon 65-day session. This and other accomplishments, such as her work on behalf of a state family and medical leave law, earned her a high degree of respect among her peers of both parties. “Maria is still the best legislator I ever served with,” said former House Speaker Joe King.
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 9:10 pm
(When she left the House in 1994, she went to work in the high tech sector, creating high paying jobs here in WA state. Thanks, Maria!)
In 1992, she ran for Congress and was elected a U.S. Representative for Washington’s First District, north of Seattle. As a member of Congress, Maria supported landmark legislation such as the Family and Medical Leave Act and the 1993 deficit reduction plan.
Representing many of the world’s most influential software and technology firms, she learned the issues and stood up for this vital sector of our economy. She is well-regarded in Internet circles for fighting against archaic export restrictions on software encryption products and for helping to defeat the infamous Clipper Chip proposal.
After leaving Congress in 1995, Maria joined a software start-up in Seattle. As Senior Vice President of Consumer Products at RealNetworks, she helped create hundreds of jobs in Washington state.
In early 2000, Maria decided to return to public service. In November, she was elected to the U.S. Senate, promising to fight for political reform and help expand opportunity for everyone who lives in Washington state.
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 9:12 pm
(What’s even better, you ask? Well, Maria has been endorsed by the League Of Conservation Voters.)
League of Conservation Voters Endorses Senator Maria Cantwell for Reelection
Will Run Independent Campaign to Help Reelect Sen. Cantwell, Touting Leadership in Fighting for Washington Families, Standing up to Polluters and Special Interests
WASHINGTON, DC – The League of Conservation Voters (LCV), the political voice of the national environmental movement, today announced its endorsement of Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) for reelection to the U.S. Senate, citing her leadership in fighting for Washington families and standing up to corporate polluters and special interests. LCV also announced its plans to run an independent, grassroots campaign on behalf of Senator Cantwell. LCV’s endorsement of Sen. Cantwell is the organization’s first for the 2006 election among Democrats, Republicans and Independents.
“LCV is proud to make its first endorsement of the 2006 election cycle for Senator Maria Cantwell,” said LCV President Deb Callahan. “Senator Cantwell is one of our nation’s strongest environmental leaders in Congress, fighting every day for the health, quality of life and pocketbooks of Washington families, willing to stand up to big corporate interests, and working tirelessly to protect our wild places for future generations. In the coming weeks and months, we look forward to mounting an aggressive campaign to help reelect Senator Cantwell to the U.S. Senate.”
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 9:14 pm
Muslims all over the world are outraged over a series of cartoons that have appeared in European newspapers in recent months that feature the prophet Mohammed in ways that suggest he condones terrorism.
I love it. The Euro weenies who bend over backwards to Ismofacists are getting what they deserve. I hope it doesnt get to far out of hand. I would hate to see Paris get bombed. If that happened we would have to write a letter of concern to the UN. Hehehehe
Comment by RUFUS— 2/3/06 @ 9:14 pm
belltowner is paid schill…
yipes, and you guys think Carns was a tool….
Did maria help you write this
Goldy, will she report the in kind value of this blog?
Comment by righton— 2/3/06 @ 9:15 pm
(Maria was also the 13th woman elected to the Senate. Nice!)
Cantwell Makes History: 13th Woman in U.S. Senate
Run Date: 11/27/00
By Kim Palchikoff
WEnews correspondent
While the battle over the Presidential recount in Florida rages, across the Continental Divide, Washington’s self-made high-tech millionaire Maria Cantwell, after two weeks of see-sawing vote totals, has apparently defeated Republican Slade Gorton.
SEATTLE (WOMENSENEWS)–Maria Cantwell, a pro-choice Democrat who financed her own campaign, has defeated her deeply entrenched, heavily financed conservative opponent to become the new Congress’s 13th female U.S. Senator.
Cantwell’s election by a paper-thin margin, still to be confirmed by a routine, machine recount, will reshape the Senate and, quite possibly, American politics. The former Congresswoman is likely to become the 50th Democrat in the Senate, opening the way to discussion of a historic power-sharing arrangement between the two parties.
With her election, the number of women in the U.S. Senate increases from nine to 13, a jump of almost 50 percent. Cantwell will join Democrats Jean Carnahan of Missouri, Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan–all of them pro-choice. Cantwell joins Washington’s other woman Senator, two-term Democrat Patricia Murray, who campaigned hard on Cantwell’s behalf.
Further, Cantwell has gone down in the annals of U.S. women’s hard-fought political campaigns, replete with both defeats and victories. Taking on incumbents and winning is acknowledged to be tough, but Cantwell, 42, defeated incumbent Slade Gorton, 72, a man who began his political career when she was born.
When she found that despite her experience, strengths and popularity she was unable to raise the millions needed to compete, Cantwell decided to do it herself. She dipped into her own Internet fortune coffers and contributed $9.6 million to her own campaign. That made the difference.
After almost three weeks of nail-biting vote tallies that saw her close but still trailing Republican Gorton, Cantwell finally pulled ahead by close to 2,000 votes. Now, all that is awaited is a routine machine recount because of the closeness of the race. She defeated the three-term Republican incumbent by less than .08 percent of the votes cast.
“It’s been a long haul for everyone,” said Paul Berendt, chairman of Washington’s Democratic Party. “We’ve been in full campaign mode since the elections,” he added.
“This has been like the twelfth round in a nine-round boxing match.”
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 9:15 pm
How can you be both a green and a libertarian? WTF?
Comment by TheDeadlyShoe— 2/3/06 @ 9:16 pm
Cantwell Finally Uses the ‘V’ Word: Victory
Washington’s recount, unlike the one in Florida, is not expected to change the numbers reported by the state’s 39 counties. The Secretary of State has until Dec. 7 to certify the election results. Washington is the only state that has not yet officially announced the winner of its Senate seat.
Cantwell had avoided the media while the vote was up in the air, but she finally told a news conference, “I am confident that the state’s exceptional election workers got the job done and that the new results will show that I will be victorious.” She thanked Gorton for his many years of service.
Her campaign has been one of the closest and most closely watched Senate races. And, the mood has changed dramatically among Cantwell’s supporters and women’s groups that watched their candidate trail until the last few thousand absentee ballots were counted.
“We are very, very excited,” said Carroll Twiss, co-chair of the Washington State Women’s Democratic Caucus. “Having two women represent us will be wonderful for the women and men of Washington. As a Congresswoman, she took on controversial issues. She learns quickly. She’ll be able to take on very tough issues, and come up with very clear decisions on how to proceed.”
Even the famously non-partisan League of Women voters was inspired by Cantwell’s election to the nation’s upper house of Congress, saying that it was an indication of the state’s support of women in the political process.
“The people of Washington are looking at women candidates the way they are looking at any men candidates,” said Liz Perini, president of the Washington State League of Women Voters. “Gender is becoming less and less an important factor,” she said, noting that women also ran well in the state legislature. Thirty-seven of its 98 U.S. Representatives are female, or 38 percent.
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 9:16 pm
(Maria is also a proud member of the Apollo Alliance. Way to go, Maria!)
The Apollo Alliance for Good Jobs and Clean Energy
The Apollo Alliance provides a message of optimism and hope, framed around rejuvenating our nation’s economy by creating the next generation of American industrial jobs and treating clean energy as an economic and security mandate to rebuild America. America needs to hope again, to dream again, to think big, and to be called to the best of our potential by tapping the optimism and can-do spirit that is embedded in our nation’s history.
In 1961, John F. Kennedy challenged the nation to send a man to the moon and return him safely home again within the decade. It was an audacious dare. The technology did not yet exist, but he marshaled the resources of a nation – focusing public investment, research, science and technology education, worker training, and America’s industrial might on a common purpose. It was leadership toward a common positive goal and it worked. In less than eight years Neil Armstrong placed the first human footprint on the lunar surface, and President Kennedy to this day remains honored for his vision and as a leader of courage.
Now America has an Apollo project for the 21st century. Today the stakes are much, much higher. We face an economy hemorrhaging its highest paying and most productive jobs, cities falling apart with over a trillion dollars in unmet public investment in crumbling schools, transportation, and infrastructure. The middle class is increasingly insecure as career ladders are broken and not replaced in new service sector jobs. And on a global scale we face never before seen environmental disruption, rising social inequity, and the emergence of fundamentalist anger that threatens our very security. We need new leaders of vision, and a new unifying call to action.
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 9:18 pm
(Conservation is an issue close to Maria’s heart. Thanks, Maria!)
Sen Maria Cantwell: Conservation Must Be More Than Convenient Slogan
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and a passionate environmental advocate, delivered today’s weekly Democratic radio address. In it, she returned to her familiar themes of conservation, vehicle fuel-efficiency and US over-reliance on fossil fuels for energy.
“Conservation must be more than a convenient slogan,” Cantwell said. “Recently, the administration has rejected conservation attempts like more accurate fuel mileage for cars and bipartisan proposals for reducing our dependence on foreign oil by a million barrels a day.”
Cantwell said that Democrats want new laws to protect consumers from price-gouging and encourage investment in lightweight materials and alternative fuels. She observed that record-high fuel prices are costing people their jobs, farmers are having a hard time breaking even, and school districts are being forced to choose between hiring new teachers and covering higher energy bills, she added.
In fact, most Georgia public schools were closed for two days last week , to conserve scarce fuel, as well as to save school districts from paying exorbitant fuel prices for a few days. Per USA Today, “Gov. Sonny Perdue asked for the closings…, estimating that closing all of the state’s schools would save about 250,000 gallons of diesel fuel by idling buses, plus an undetermined amount of gasoline by allowing teachers, staff members and some parents to stay home.”
“These are the terrible consequences of our overdependence on fossil fuel,” Cantwell said. “The natural disasters of Katrina and Rita have showed us firsthand how truly vulnerable we are.”
And yet, despite the gas shortages and despite the industry’s self-proclaimed “need” to increase comsumer gas prices due to shortages caused by hurricanes, US oil companies are posting historic, record-shattering profits. Per watch group Public Citizen….”Since George Bush became President in 2001, the top five oil companies in the United States have recorded profits of $254 billion: ExxonMobil: $89 billion; Shell: $60.7 billion; BP: $53 billion; ChevronTexaco: $31 billion; and ConocoPhillips: $20 billion.”
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 9:20 pm
(Maria has shown great leadership on energy issues. Snohomish County says thank you!)
Our group of backpacking buddies took refuge from August heat, a few years back, by ascending into breezes of the 8,000-foot ridge dividing the deep trench of Lake Chelan from the Methow Valley.
Gazing down into the heat haze of the Columbia River far below, one of us wondered aloud: Who would want to be in that hotbox right now?
Maria Cantwell, that’s who.
The Democratic U.S. senator was in Pateros that day, meeting with Okanogan County development officials still steaming over her campaign stand against a proposed gold mine up near the Canadian border.
Cantwell likes to hike and is a baseball junkie, but above all is a driven worker. She is, to put it gently, one of Capitol Hill’s more demanding bosses.
Cantwell is kicking into high gear these days – four news releases came through the computer Wednesday – clearly in anticipation of a stiff Republican challenge next year.
Washington is one of three states with an all-woman lineup in Congress’ upper chamber. The other states are California, with two Democrats from the Bay Area, and Maine, with a pair of Republican moderates.
The aspect of gender, however, belies a traditional division of labor between Cantwell and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.
The team of Sens. Warren Magnuson and Henry Jackson, D-Wash., represented Washington on Capitol Hill for nearly 30 years.
Maggie was the state’s provider, a power on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Jackson was a legislator and investigator, beginning his Senate career as a member of the subcommittee that helped goad Sen. Joe McCarthy into self-destruction.
Washington, D.C., chuckled when Jackson, a newlywed at age 49, interrupted his Hawaiian honeymoon to confer with Navy brass at Pearl Harbor on Soviet fleet strength in the Pacific.
She doesn’t smoke cigars or drink vodka, but Patty Murray is today’s Maggie-style master of getting federal help. A pair of healthy re-election wins have marked her as someone with whom voters feel comfortable.
Cantwell, who holds Jackson’s old Senate seat, is more edgy. She’s also a digger. During the past year, she has joined the Snohomish County Public Utility District in revealing how the Enron Corp. manipulated energy prices and helped create the 2000-01 West Coast electrical “shortage.”
“Your leadership, Senator Cantwell, has been crucial,” Dave Aldrich, a Snohomish PUD commissioner, said at a Washington, D.C., news conference yesterday.
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 9:21 pm
(Maria is also taking a lead role in the Iraq reconstruction, personally visiting Iraq several times. Muchas Gracias!)
Sen. Maria Cantwell and other members of Congress were in Baghdad Tuesday when a truck bomb exploded outside U.N headquarters, killing at least 20 people – including the chief U.N. official in Iraq.
Cantwell, D-Wash., had been scheduled to meet Tuesday with the official, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
The meeting was to have taken place a few hours before the bomb exploded at about 4:30 p.m. local time, Cantwell said.
The session was scrapped because the plane she and other lawmakers were traveling on was delayed on a flight from Jordan. The meeting was to have been at the military headquarters used by the U.S.-led forces in Iraq, about 5 miles from the U.N. site, Cantwell said.
After landing in Baghdad in mid-afternoon, Cantwell and the envoy tentatively set up a telephone call for about 6 p.m. local time. The call never took place.
At a teleconference Tuesday night from Kuwait, where she and other lawmakers were flown for their own safety, Cantwell speculated that Vieira de Mello might not have been killed if the meeting had taken place as scheduled.
“It’s hard to say,” she said, adding that the envoy may have stayed at the military headquarters long enough to have avoided the attack.
Cantwell, who was not injured, condemned the bombing and said Vieira de Mello was “playing a critical role” in rebuilding the war-torn country.
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 9:22 pm
(Maria, taking a stand for the environment. Thank you!)
By CHARLES POPE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON – Sen. Maria Cantwell vowed Monday to keep the Senate in session until the brink of
Christmas to defeat legislation that would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.
“If this language is allowed to stand, one of our nation’s most pristine wildlife areas will be lost,”
Cantwell, a Democrat, said as she outlined plans by her party and its allies to defeat language
offered by Alaska Republican Ted Stevens to open ANWR.
“This is nothing more than a sweetheart deal for Alaska and the oil companies,” Cantwell said.
“That’s why I am prepared to use every procedural option available to me as a senator to prevent
this language from moving forward.”
The showdown is likely to come Wednesday when the Senate is expected to vote to force an end to
debate. Sixty votes are needed to break a filibuster that Cantwell has promised. Neither side
would say whether it had the votes to prevail.
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 9:24 pm
Next time she calls me to ask for money, I certainly plan to complain about that idiotic Alito vote. But I’ll probably still give her money, but maybe less that I might have.
Comment by Steve— 2/3/06 @ 9:24 pm
cool it Belltowner no one is reading what your writing.
Comment by klake— 2/3/06 @ 9:25 pm
(Maria Cantwell, looking out for regular folks. Way to go!)
IT WAS NEARING midnight when Maria Cantwell returned to the Senate floor and made one last appeal for caution before her colleagues overwhelmingly approved a sweeping anti-terror package in response to the Sept. 11 suicide jet attacks.
Washington State’s new senator was proud of much of the bill, including a provision she championed to triple the number of federal agents guarding America’s northern border. But she warned that law enforcement could easily abuse its expanded search and surveillance powers. Anyone who employed or associated with a suspected terrorist might find investigators poring over their business, medical and financial records, she said. Agents could act with minimal judicial review and would have more latitude to monitor people online.
Many of her colleagues paused to listen. As a former RealNetworks executive, Cantwell commands a little more attention than the average freshman senator whenever technology figures into the debate. And when she finished, several colleagues had questions:
Had her friends in the high-tech world called? Are the industry lobbyists upset?
They weren’t focusing on the issue. righton is a douche!They were calculating the bill’s political price.
Cantwell says she got back into politics to change that calculation. If government is going to be compatible with the Information Age, she says, it needs an upgrade — one that gives ordinary citizens more say, big-money special-interest groups, less.
Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, reflected in the rearview mirror, sits in the front seat of Jerry Snyder’s pickup and listens to the wheat farmer talk about erosion problems caused by federal programs to set aside farmland.
It might have been easy to ignore the pull of politics
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 9:26 pm
(Thanks, Maria, for sticking up for WA state!)
Cantwell Reacts to Bush’s State of the Union
No Fixes for Troubled Medicare Rx Plan; Record Oil Company Profits with No Plan to Cut Skyrocketing Fuel Costs
Wednesday U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) issued the following statement following President Bush’s State of the Union:
“Working families across America are struggling with ever-increasing gas and home heating costs, but yesterday we learned that Exxon Mobil reported $36 billion in 2005 profits, the highest of any company during a single year. Tonight, the President finally acknowledged what’s been obvious to every American family struggling with rising energy costs: while the world’s major oil companies post record-breaking profits, our addiction to foreign oil poses a serious danger to our economy and national security.
“The rhetoric doesn’t match the reality of his priorities. After five years of watching gas price soar and our dependence on foreign oil grow worse, I hope the President’s budget next week will be a real turning point.
Comment by Belltowner— 2/3/06 @ 9:28 pm
I really hate talking down to my readers, particularly my fellow Democrats, but to all the crybabies out there whining about Sen. Maria Cantwell, I have two words: grow up!
Yes, she has cast some very disappointing votes, and no, on some issues she’s not nearly as liberal as many of us would like. And for the life of me, I simply cannot figure out the political calculus behind her voting for cloture in the Alito filibuster.
But… taking her entire term as whole, she has been a good senator… a hard working senator… an effective senator… and a surprisingly more progressive senator than many people give her credit for. According to Progressive Punch, Cantwell has a progressive voting rating of 88.73 percent, ranking her in the Senate’s top 20, only a couple notches to the right of Sen. Patty Murray.
But most importantly, she is an incumbent, Democratic senator, and she absolutely will be the party’s nominee in November.
Yet I keep hearing from whiners complaining that they can’t support Cantwell because of this vote or of that… suggesting that real Democrats should support real Democrats… like, you know… former Green/Libertarian candidate Mark Wilson.
Get real.
Oh, that one was by Goldy. I just think it’s so good.
I’ve posted some material about how great I think Maria Cantwell is. If anyone who isn’t a douche wants to have a civil conversation, please.
Yeah, but you’re as much a windbag as Roger….
Pasting from articles isn’t exactly the way to initiate a discussion…
@ 72
Point taken.
I …
… apologize.
So, righton, are you a Republican?
Because you have little respect for ‘yellow dog Democrats’
Darn, i was fixing to serve up some vintage Barry Goldwater…
I just wanna know why you guys use that scorecard Goldy points to. I can see why you all like Maria (heck, she’s smart and liberal), but aren’t you like totally embarrased by having a scorecard…one that gives extra points if you are anti-obesity…?
go read that thing and you’ll see why we laugh at groupthink of the left….
Oh, and I declare a cease-fire of cut’n’paste politics.
thanks..
Did Maria come out yet .. ah, i mean, did she announce if she’s pro seahawk or pro steeler? (she’s midwestern born, right?)
@ 78
It is, from what Mike McGavick says, the “worst kind of politics.”
I’m reading the survey…
Roll Call 121. HR 3. Surface Transportation Reauthorization/Vote to Instruct the Secretary of Transportation to Improve and Expand Upon Pedestrian and Bicycle Pathways in Dangerous Areas of the Nation’s Transportation Infrastructure. May 11, 2005. Y Y L
Roll Call 120. HR 3. Surface Transportation Reauthorization/Vote to Encourage States to Enact Motorcycle Helmet Laws. May 11, 2005.
Those two bills are the bills listed under “Preventing Injuries Before They Occur”
So, is Maria for safe pedestrian and bike lanes? YES Is she for encouragin helmet laws? YES
Doesn’t seem silly to me.
sorry for breaking the truce.. (below the “progressive report card categories”) heavy on abortion, naked on religious freedom..
Aid to Less Advantaged People, at Home & Abroad
Corporate Subsidies
Education, Humanities, & the Arts Environment
Fair Taxation
Family Planning (2 subcategories)
Government Checks on Corporate Power
Health Care (15 subcategories)
Housing (2 subcategories)
Human Rights & Civil Liberties (
Justice for All: Civil and Criminal
Labor Rights (8 subcategories)
Making Government Work for Everyone, Not Just the Rich or Powerful
War & Peace
Um, I think that’s because we are all already for it.
But I’m sure ‘religious freedom’ means something else to you, eh?
These lists are useful for the party faithful. The GOP has lots of them, too.
Belltowner:
WTF; why is a US senator messing aroudn w/ crosswalks. That’s a local job; she’s supposed to worry about tarifs, treaty’s , big stuff….yipes….you guys don’t even see the lunacy of having Fed gov’t do everything (what happened to reserving powers for the states..)
belltowner;
if you were for religious freedom you would allow me to wear a cross or say merry christmas…
Maria voted in favor of ethanol subsidies, opposite the way the survey lists as being the “progressive” position. But WA has a large ag business, so for WA, it isn’t so bad, and as a progressive, I don’t mind.
Roll Call 209. S. 14. Energy Policy/Vote to Provide Federal Subsidy to Ethanol Manufacturers. Jun 05, 2003
The Federal governement does lots of things, and the GOP is FOR lots of THOSE things, so don’t dump that on us.
@ 89
What imaginary liberal army is trying to make you NOT wear a cross? say merry christmas? (is you are saying merry christmas in Feb, you probably deserve to be hassled.)
@ 89 I am for you wearing anything you want, as long as you have pants on and it don’t scare the horses
Oh, and don’t say ACLU, because they fight on the behalf of christians all the time, its just FOX NEWS doesn’t report it.
also, Seattle City Hall had a gigantic X-mas tree, and humongous menorah, so don’t tell me my leftist city hates ‘the Jesus’.
Those who oppose Maria Cantwell could be called ignorant, mistaken or even stupid but not “hatersâ€, or “crybabiesâ€, or “whinersâ€. How strange that Goldy uses right wing smear tactics including swearing and then asks Cantwell opponents to “grow upâ€! “It takes a genius to whine appealingly.” F. Scott Fitzgerald
Is Progressive Punch the final judge on how “progressive” someone is? Go to their web site http://www.progressivepunch.org/ and compare how they rated John Murtha http://www.house.gov/murtha/ who is calling for immediate withdrawal at 44% on the War and Cantwell at 87%. They have a very strange rating system.
And I think Goldy meant to say that she will “absolutely be the general election candidate†rather than “absolutely be the primary candidateâ€. Mark Wilson is already a primary candidate. And if you want to know if Wilson would be more progressive than Maria, go to his web site http://votemark.org and see where he stands on the issues. And likewise if you want to know where Maria stands on the issues for this campaign go to her website at http://www.cantwell.com/ (Oops. There are no issues at this time for Maria to be found on her campaign web site. However there is a rumor that she might take a stand on something a few days just before the primary – after she “hears all sidesâ€.)
So Maria gets 100% on health care! Wow! Who says so? The prestigious Leonardo* rating system, on the other hand, did not give here 100% because she does not support single payer government health care plan like ALL other developed countries (including even Mexico) have.
Then Goldy has a quote from the Cato Institute and somehow implies that this is a stand that Mark Wilson is taking. (Al Franken calls this a “weasel†remark.)
And didn’t Maria also vote for the current Medicare mess? http://www.issues2000.org/Soci.....thCare.htm
He concludes with “If you don’t like it suck it up…”. Good show! When you are out of logic and facts, resort to name calling.
The general election might be Cantwell vs McGavick”. If so, get ready for another 50/50 close win (or lose) again.
Leonardo
*I run my own polling system
@ 96
All Your Base Are Belong To Us!
The last few elections 60 million retards stuck it to those pointy-headed East and West Coast Liberals and whining minorities by voting for George W. Bush and Co. Unfortunately , they did not and do not to this day, understand that they screwed themselves over in a big way by doing this. They don’t get it . They never will.
Vote for Cantwell. We need every Democrat we can get elected.
A former policeman and Korean war veteran I know was telling me how much he enjoyed watching the Alito hearings and how Alito avoided having to really answer any questions about what he really believed. He was also in favor of the gov’t. keeping an eye on American citizens in secret and without warrants.
I didn’t really press my point of view too hard because I like the old duffer and don’t want to hurt his feelings.
But he mentioned in passing that he was going to hook up to the internet and find out about that so I told him that I was going to report him to the authorities as a disgruntled former policeman who had made threatening remarks about gov’t. officials. For a moment, he looked genuinely afraid.
I find it interesting that the Left has a much harder time crossing the aisle to vote.
Hey, Goldy, if the WA Dems ever put up the Lefty equivalent of Ellen Craswell, would you vote GOP? Plenty of Republicans (myself included) deliberately voted for Locke just to make sure Craswell didn’t win.
In fact, I’d be curious to know if ANY of you vocal Dems EVER vote GOP. Heck, even my Bush-hatin’-myopically-dyed-in-the-wool-Dem S.O. voted for McKenna because Senn was simply crazy.
“Rev.” @ 98
And if you tell a six-year-old that the Boogeyman will kidnap them, they’ll be scared, too. It seems to me like even YOU buy into it. Hey, Rev., the big electronics firms are all under contract to the US Government to put cameras in your TV to watch what you do during the day. Postage stamps actually contain RFID chips so they can monitor your mail. And that van across the street? They’re watching you!
They’re banning us again at uSP and posting comments here at will. Ban the moronic righty trolls.
The only way they understand how they deprive others is when you do it back to them.
As I see it, Maria Cantwell will not be the candidate who can win.
The 2006 Washington Senate Campaign issues will be:
SECURITY – The Republicans will again say that they will keep us safe from terrorists. What has Maria done? Are the ports safer? Are we safer with Maria having “no regrets†that Iraq War is now a training ground for terrorists? Wilson wants to refocus our troops on national defense.
ETHICS – This will be a bad year for most “incumbent†Republicans which McGavick is not. In fact it will be bad for all “incumbents†who will be painted with a broad corruption brush. (Why did Maria give back money to tribes if nothing was wrong with it? The Republicans are already saying she is taking lots of PAC money. http://www.nrsc.org/newsdesk/document.aspx?ID=1415 true or not this story is being sold.) Is Maria on top of this issue? Isn’t Maria a “corporate†Democrat (ala DLC)? Wilson is not an incumbent and not beholden to corporate interests.
JOBS – McGavick will be trying to sell less government regulation as a way to get more jobs. And Maria’s plan is what? More “free trade†agreements without labor and environmental protection? However, to her credit, she does want to promote alternate energy project to create more jobs? And so say the Republicans. So where is her economic plan that lets voters know she has something different to offer than the Republicans? Wilson has a unique plan to “direct 50% of weapons spending to conversion from fossil fuels to renewable energy, which will build bridges to peace while creating jobsâ€. Hey, could this be the Peace Dividend Clinton promised? Maybe impractical but a nice dream.
HEALTH CARE – Medicare Part D is a mess. Cantwell will try to distance herself for her previous support. McGavick will probably be silent on this issue. Wilson will be supporting a solution called Universal Health Care for everyone.
IRAQ WAR – Could be the one issue that will get the usually non-voting independents out to vote. But not for Maria as she’s a big supporter of the current Bush Iraq policy. Anyone who favors withdrawal (majority of Americans) can not look to McGavick or Cantwell on this issue, only Mark Wilson.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT – The Republicans are in favor (now) of “alternate†sources of energy. So is Maria (one issue we know she is in favor of). But Maria also favored $1.5 billion in subsidies to the industry too. Wilson has a more sensible energy plan and a method of funding it. (see above).
EDUCATION – With the Republican House proposing massive educational cuts, and with the WASL in disfavor, this is not a winning topic for Republicans (no one is talking vouchers any more). So what does Cantwell propose? Wilson wants FREE education up to age 20 which means college – just like they have in Europe. Something the country could afford if we didn’t have a military budget bigger than all other countries combined.
PRIVACY/WIRETAPPING – McGavick will promote loss of civil liberties as necessary for winning the War On Terrorism. Cantwell has supported the Patriot Act and will probably support a “permanent†Patriot Act again with minor adjustments. Wilson favors junking it as a bad idea to begin with. Did Maria ever read the Patriot Act before voting for it? (see John Conyers in Fahernheit 9/11)
Washington state is split 50/50. Typically, the Republicans vote for the Republican candidate and the Democrats vote for the Democrat candidate.
So the winner is the one who can get the independents out to vote and also keep his/her base from staying home.
Scenario 1: Maria Cantwell wins the primary. She will get the Democrat votes minus those progressives who will not vote for her – a 1% loss. The Greens will field a candidate, another 1% loss. McGavick will get all the Republican votes with no loses. The independents will stay home as they can’t see any difference in the candidates. Result: Another round of recounts again.
Scenario 2: Mark Wilson wins the primary. He will get all the Democrat votes with hardly any loses. The Greens will not have a candidate, a 1% gain. Mark is also the only candidate to get the independent voters off the couch, a x% gain. McGavick will get all the Republican votes with no loss. A win for the Democrats by maybe 1-3%.
re 100: No paranoia from you, eh? You think you’re in the safe zone? You think that by kissing their asses that you’re in the safe zone? If I knew who you were I’d report you as a suspicios character. The dumb bastards in this administration ADMITTED they are breaking the law and trashing the 4th amendment.
Do you worry more about Saddam or Osama?
Unfortunately , they did not and do not to this day, understand that they screwed themselves over in a big way by doing this. They don’t get it . They never will.
Comment by Rev. A.A. Tappman: Anababtist— 2/3/06 @ 10:33 pm
No, we understood perfectly what was at stake. The survival of this country is at stake both physically and philosophically. Bush had no choice in the appointments of Roberts and Alito; the voters demanded it in 2004.
People hate insurance companies. Case closed.
re 104: OK. Now that you’ve said it , you can pull it out of your ass.
Feels better now, don’t it?
People hate insurance companies. Case closed.
Comment by Rev. A.A. Tappman: Anababtist— 2/3/06 @ 10:58 pm
People hate trial lawyers even more.
Conservatives lose elections when they stop being conservatives.
Americans are scared shitless of getting another Bader on the SCOTUS. I dont blame them. She has no business being on the SCOTUS.
I can be a grown-up, put aside my anger and vote for Cantwell. Finding any viable opposition to her in the primary won’t happen at this late date anyway, so indeed, it’s pointless to find a “rebound” candidate. I think the anger many of us still feel over the failure to filibuster can most effectively be channelled by continuing to push Congress. It means we keep pushing the way we did last week. Continue to call our senators and representatives. Hell, use your WTF-ever minutes and start calling senators who don’t even represent your state. Start developing a regular relationship with those who’ve done something monumentally stupid or extraordinarily fine, or who sit on a committee whose work is of special concern to you. Just keep pushing. Stay informed and when you call, let them know just how well informed you are and what outcomes you expect. Keep it up.
Fag report here –
During her term in the House. prior to the Senate run, Maria wa and ace in the first frw horror years of the
AIDS crises. A champion – when there were few.
I will send money, Queer Dollars, and work for her, you bet. Mc Gavick is a Rossi makeover.
Goodness!
Such a reaction about a mere challenge to Maria in the primary.
Why the fear? Her past actions and votes were for the good of the citizens of Washington, weren’t they?
I want her to point out to the ways I have been wrong to oppose the Iraq war and the justifications given for undertaking it. Why is it that it has been worth 2 trillion $ to make Iraqis want leave.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/.....pdate.html
She should reveal the ways CAFTA helps workers and families in Washington.
On class action reform, there she was with “Time to go Joe” Lieberman
http://www.senate.gov/legislat.....te_cfm.cfm
http://www.consumeraffairs.com.....enate.html
I have to admit, these issues are my hobby horses, and some of you may think them unimportant, as does Ms. Cantwell.
But, I’m not a big fan of tree museums or beating the abortion horse, so that may make us even.
Could it be that Maria doesn’t want people to be reminded of these things in 2006? Why would that be?
That unintelligible sentence above should read:
Why is it that it has been worth 2 trillion $ to make Iraqis want us to leave.
RUFUS, have you seen the reaction from the Amen Choir when Sammy the Scalito did not join his fellow conservatives in voting to gurney that dude in Missouri?
Alito’s First Ruling Isn’t Encouraging (Soutered again?)
Fracken Freepers sounded like a bunch of cry babies because Sammy was not voting the “RIGHT” way.
No independent thinkers in GOP land. And I thought Mr. President wanted to outlaw Human Cloning.
I would wait for something beyond the first vote before ‘judging’ Alito.
People don’t hate trial lawyers when push comes to shove. You just say these things. It’s propoganda.
There’s all sorts of lawyers, and all kinds of people become lawyers. Perhaps we have too many lawyers. But really, studying law is hardly an impediment to getting elected to a legislative position.
hey there,
saw this comment on Steve Gilliard’s blog and had to share. note that it’s not my view.
I agree — we can’t show weakness to the GOP fascists, because they will literally TAKE everything they can. Liberals must FIGHT! Liberals must arm.
Get a backbone, Maria.
The main hope for the Republicans could be to depress Cantwell’s vote. There are two major ways to do this:
1) Divide and conquer. Fuel division within Cantwell’s voting base by attempting to elevate reasonable differences of opinion into nasty ideological/personal feuds (ideally of Nader vs. Gore proportions).
2) Sling lots of mud. Ideally some of it should stick, but even if it doesn’t, negativity tends to lower turnout by scaring away swing voters. This, in turn, is advantageous to the candidate with the more dedicated get-out-the-vote effort (which is often the winger, e.g., all those church goers).
Thus far the wingers have focused primarily on throwing mud at Cantwell. They don’t need to do a whole lot to fuel division among the center-left, because we are so good at arguing amongst ourselves. For example, one can always count on lefty candidates to focus more of their attention on attacking the incumbent Democrat than the Republican challenger.
I’m not particularly happy with Cantwell, but I think that Paul Krugman is correct in arguing that the rise of the radical right represents a potentially revolutionary threat. Hitler can to power in no small part because the left and center were hopelessly fractured.
Rufus: Are they afraid that Bader won’t take away more of their constitutional rights like the overcompensating, wannabe WASPS, the Scalito Bros.?
119.
There is nothing left about wanting out of Iraq, that’s a majority opinion in this country.
Tell me why voters would want to be locked out of class-action lawsuits. Particularly in a state that recently voted against I-330.
CAFTA and NAFTA are opposed by a majority of Americans.
Cantwell is out-of-step with her constituency.
I used to work for a company called Burroughs. Ray McDonald was the president, and he said of loyal Burroughs computer users clamoring for product improvements “We keep our users sullen, but unrebellious”.
There is no Burroughs Corporation any longer.
Sorry, can’t hang with Cantwell. Repugnicans are crooked, but the Demodunces are dangerous idiots. I’ll be voting for anybody but Cantwell for the Senate.
Has anyone heard Cantwell’s reasoning for voting for cloture?
I am very pissed about this! When November comes I will vote
prouldy for Mark Wilsonholding my nose for Cantwell, but she REALLY needs to stop the bullshit game play. A vote for cloture was WRONG and seriosuly damadging to our country. MARIA, THIS WAS A SIRIOUS FUCKING VOTE IT was not a grey issue, it was an obvious evil/good vote.I want to be proud of my vote, not just voting against the obvious the wingnut hack
Maria, straighten up and fly right.. this is not a fucking game!
P.S. I have written Cantwell, and recieved nothing in response. Her website parades her vote against Alito, but nothing about why she voted for cloture.
Cloture WAS the ONLY important vote, of course Alito would win the up or down vote… given the Zombie NeoCpn congress. Voting Yes for cloture, and No for approval was BULLSHIT!
Lincoln finally had to get rid of Gen. McClellan because he refused to fight. We may have to do the same with Democrats who refuse to fight. Ultimately, we need to win and wrest the political process away from the corporations. To do that you’re going to have to dig deep and contribute dollars to the Democratic Party so our politicians do not need corporate money to win.
It’s the only peaceful way to effect change.
So , contribute!
The cloture vote was a lost cause. LOst in 2000 and 2004. Lost when the gang of 14 made the deal to keep the Senate rules.
Chaffee would have voted for it the Democrats who voted for Alito would have also. That’s enough to pass the cloture vote. It was quixotic symbolism from a has been (and wrong one then) Presidential candidiate.
That’s not the point, Dave Gibney. The point is that Cantwell voted FOR cloture. Even if the cloture vote were going to pass, she didn’t need to vote FOR it.
Then she votes NO on Alito — also a lost cause. So, the only reason to do this is to try to be a “people pleaser” and make both sides happy.
Cantwell’s vote only gives more ammunition to the Republicans who can now point out, correctly, that like many Democrats, Cantwell is a political opportunist who STANDS FOR NOTHING.
STANKLAND can beat a Democrat who demonstrably stands for nothing — and her voting record proves it.
It is the point. Voting for against cloture equals attachs from the right as an obstructionist. Like it or not Maria’s base is more to the center thay many would like. Maria, and most statewide candidates need votes from the center and independent to win.
Those 2229 votes in 2000 didn’t come from the people who always voted against Slade, they came from moderate to conservative people who felt SLade was to far into the Republican mainstream.
Check the statistics, a late season attack with pictures of Maria, Kerry, and Kennedy would mean Senator Mike.
We need to increase the number of Democrat Senators.
If, after 2006, people want to look for a different (but electable Democrat), fine. But today, there is nothing to gain and much to lose.
Dave, I understand yoour point, but do you understand this:
What the hell good does it do to have a “democrat” that votes like a republican?
Voting on principal should not be an exception, it should be the rule.
Ane if every “democrat” that voted for cloture, has voted on principal (i.e. “NO”) then Alito would be sitting at home rather than in the SCOTUS.
“pictures of Maria, Kerry, and Kennedy would mean Senator Mike.” How the fuck do you figure that? Are you saying Kerry, Kennedy and Murray were wrong to vote against cloture? The people of Washington State did NOT want Alito in the SCOTUS. And we did not deserve it either.
Quit making excuses, and demand with your dollars that Cantwell stop voting like a DINO.
Donna,
We need more people like you in your Party…
88+ percent voting record for progessive issues is not voting like a republican.
I can tell that you haven’t experienced the late October R attack ads like we have in Eastern Washington, but please believe me, a shouting K (either one) justaposed with a picture of Marai nodding yes, would cost several votes an hour from therwise fairly reasonable, but moderate conservative independent “democrats” over here and probably any rural westside areas also.
Maria won Snohomish county, Chris didn’t. We need some significant help in the center!
Dave, not that I want to give the Repugs ideas, but didn’t Kerry and Kennedy vote against the ANWR polluted defence appropriation? You know as well as me that the wingnuts will attach photos of Maria, or even Jesus Christ himself with Kerry and Kennedy no matter what.
That is still no fucking excuse, and I would like to hear from Cantwell herself why she voted for cloture. Avoiding Right Wing attack ads is not an excuse. The puss filled Republicfuckers will play their dirty filthy scum sucking tricks anyway.
Thast is what they do, because they are evil.
We need to be better than that and just do the right thing!
Ken @ 32 said “I don’t have to run for anything in a state that is half redneck and she does.”
Patty Murray has to run in exactly the same state and Bush’s party is less popular now than it was two years ago. How is this any kind of excuse?
Belltowner @ anywhere
Jayzus, but you are a freakin’ pain in arse. If you’re actually on Cantwell’s staff, they should fire you at once for incompetently ticking people off. If you want to point to articles or press releases, small samples and html links work great. Use them.
J. Olsen in Paulsbo @ 122
Here’s where I’m thinking you’re some idiotic Republican staffer trying to comment as though you were an ‘independent’ WA voter who was just that little bit more fed up with the Democrats: It’s spelled Poulsbo, you motherfrakking moron, which you would know if you really lived there or had ever driven by it on the highway.
There’s a lot of nationwide, Democrat and Republican, resistance to ANWR drilling. It’s a moderate issue. And the last ditch effort to attach it to a “must pass” defense appropriations bill was exactly what is smelled like.
Honestly, I don’t know why Senator Cantwell voted for cloture, or what potential leverage she may have on future issues because of it.
But, it was a lost cause from the beginning or before. There’s other battles to fight. Senator Mike should be scary enough for us to re-elect Maria this year. And then, those of you who would like a different, more to your way of thinking Senator will have some years to find, fund and field a candidate more to your liking.
“But, it was a lost cause from the beginning or before.”
Not if every Democratic Senator stood with the party. A fillibuster would have needed 60 votes to be defeated. It was not a lost cause. It was a cause that Cantwell retreated from.
“those of you who would like a different, more to your way of thinking Senator will have some years to find, fund and field a candidate more to your liking.”
I ALREADY DID! But she decided to quit being a Democrat.
“I don’t know why Senator Cantwell voted for cloture, or what potential leverage she may have on future issues because of it.”
Then let her explain herself! IF she made a back room deal with the devil, let us know what it was.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with giving Cantwell a huge case of heartburn over this vote.
i would like to draw a parallel between the fervent Cantwell supporters and the politics of Alaska’s Ted Stevens , If you are a resident of Alaska it is not to you political advantage to oppose “the hulk” or the rest of the Alaska republican machine . If you are in Alaska what would be the use of opposing his beligerent ways , as he would win anyway and put you at a dubious political advantage .
Now to Washington apologists for Cantwell , the argument to not oppose her is ” it may put you at a political advantage ” , I think that the apologists that run this site as well as Nothwest Progressive Institute , Belltowner , etc. are so hung up on not rocking the progressive boat that they are willing to overlook such confusing issues as the war in Irag , Iran (coming soon) , patriot act , Aliota, bankruptcy , Cafta , Nafta, and Cantwell’s positions. Just like the Alaskan fools that keep supporting Ted Stevens.
If none of these issues concern the progressive soul , so be it , but it really isn’t progressive then , Maybe there is some political advantage to retaining Cantwell , if you believe that the “LONG WAR” is the way to go , but I don’t & I won’t . a slave to power is still a slave .
natasaha @ 13
Actually, you Battlestar-Gallactica-obsessed moron (have you handmade a costume for yourself yet?), the original, proper name for the town WAS Paulsbo, but some dimwitted government clerk screwed up the form processing in DC (or Olympia, I don’t recall which) and typed an “o” instead. Apparently, it was too difficult to get fixed, so they left it.
An open comment to Maria:
If you can keep Donna worked up into such a lather as you had her @ 123, you can have my vote!
It’s the only peaceful way to effect change.
So , contribute!
Comment by Rev. A.A. Tappman: Anababtist — 2/4/06 @ 2:07 pm {REV, Have you considered leading your people a “Exodus” from evil USA to black controlled Liberia or Zimbabwe. Thank of the good you could do! [hehe]
They are eating their own. Sweet!
Hey, when is that Democrat Abramoff scandal ever going to be reported?
re 140: i hear you enjoy sitting in your warm, poopy pants.
Word is that Cantwell exchanged her cloture vote(which, let’s get this straight here, was going to pass with or without her vote) for support on ANWR.
If that was the case, would you rather have Cantwell make a meaningless vote that’ll make you feel better or let her bargain to get *the* deciding in stopping something truly bad?
There’s a point where you have to pick your battles. Why should she have wasted her energy on a done deal? She has led many other good fights and won.