When I see what happened this week in the United States Senate, I despair of democracy. It almost makes you wonder if this great experiment in self rule might not work. I know that through these windbags we call senators we are eventually going to get to the will of the people, but it is a slow, ugly and infuriating process.
This week instead of passing any meaningful legislation about Iraq -- whether it's to stay or to go, whether it's to change strategy or to stay the course -- our senators did absolutely nothing. To be fair to the Democrats, who I am usually so hard on, they had moments where they tried to do the right thing, like the Webb amendment that would have given our troops the rest they have earned. But the Republicans wouldn't have it. They filibustered every single bill, except one.
So, what was that one magical bill that captured their imagination and caused them to finally spring into action? It was a vote to condemn an ad! A newspaper ad! It makes you despair of democracy. What a terrible waste of time, and more importantly, what an insult to our troops and the American people that they would waste their energy on this kind of trashy political theater instead of finding a way to bring a decent and humane resolution to the Iraq War.
And, as always, the media went right along. Is there any right-wing talking point that the media will not trumpet as if it is the most important thing in the world? What a bunch of hopeless suckers. But that fight is for another day (if you want to see what I thought of the ad itself and the media coverage of the ad, watch this). The video below shows you how I feel about this useless, senseless Senate vote on the Moveon ad. If you think my writing sounds angry, wait till you get a load of how I really feel:
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The Senate Votes on Newspaper Ads While Our Troops Get Killed
Posted Sep 21st 2007 11:58AM by Cenk Uygur
Filed under: Iraq, U.S. Senate, Young Turks, Video
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Reader Comments ( Page 5 of 6)
61. Will the liberal left sheep produce one american who has had his phone tapped by the NSA?And where is there concern about the Clinton's and there chinesee money connections,have we forgotten 10 years ago when all those people from china were bringing bags of money to the Clinton's and they all fled the country,and one other fact china received our technology for there missle systems that couldn't hit the china sea and now they reach our country.
robert kennedy at 9:28AM on Sep 22nd 2007
62.
The Republicans weren't satisfied by Harry Reid's orginal reaction to the MoveOn ad, where he said it was an "unncessary distraction". What Cornyn pulled was the same thing. What happened here...did Petraeus call Cornyn's office and break down crying as if to say "HE HIT ME!"? This was your perfect example of The Republican "attack the messenger" philosophy. Why so many Democrats voted along with them, though, puzzles me. The attacks on Kerry(204) and Max Cleland(2002)were more than "unnecessary"..they were BRUTAL. And the Democrats didn't act like crybabies about THEM..certainly not on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
Paul at 9:42AM on Sep 22nd 2007
63. Wait until we see an ad claiming that Hilary Clinton is a traitor and a puppet of MoveOn.org. At that time there will be no discussion of free speech or suggestions that we should all be talking about something else. It will dominate the news for days, and left wing bloggers will dehydrate themselves frothing at the mouth.
porfirio at 11:32AM on Sep 22nd 2007
64. The Young Turds are so outraged because the Democratically dominated Senate is doing nothing while our troops are dying, but what, I would ask, are they doing? It appears to me that they believe that smugly pontificating while others do the heavy lofting is their role in life. We already have too many quasi, half-informed "journalists." Get a job. Do something productive. Better yet, just be quiet. You appear to know nothing of any value.
porfirio at 11:47AM on Sep 22nd 2007
65. The Senate by votes on newspaper ads is an attempt to restore their American public credibility. The while our troops get killed is a Young Quirks vagary of an idiosycrasy that has little to do with party politics in the Senate. Some Demoncrats have two left feet, both stuck on US antiwar propaganda. Some enemies require a response from armed forces.
Alan Klaus at 12:33PM on Sep 22nd 2007
66. To # 23 Jan, how right you are about everything you have written down. Yeah... some example we are setting for the Iraquis... Too bad many people will dismiss your comments!!
I think that it's not so much that the General betrayed us all, it's that, the little decider betrayed us all and he used the General to do it!!! What I will never understand, no matter how hard I try is, how 29% of American Citizens don't see what this man has done to our nation, or do they simply refuse to see it??? I don't get it!!! He lies, he smears people, he can't speak without sticking his foot in his mouth. And yet it's okay, acceptable.
It's acceptable to do what he and his "friends" did to McCain in 2000. It's okay to do what they did to Kerry in 2004. It's okay to take us to war based on lies. It's okay to continue to barrow money from China on a weekly basis to pay for this war, while the Rich continue to get healthy Tax cuts!!! It' okay to flat out lie to the camaras with one week saying Mission Accomplish, while the reason for going to work changes as often as he changes his under-ware!!! It's perfectly okay for him to pick his friends for important jobs (never mind that they are not qualified).It's okay to ignore his citizens in New Orleans and play the blame game. It's okay to ignore the Contitution of the United States Of America!!??!! It's okay for our brave men and women to continue dying for this man, his idials his war???
But it's shameful to speak out against all of these things??? It's Un-American??? Hmmm.....
What planet are we all living in??? Who are we??? What the Hell have we allowed this Administration of Criminals let us become??? When is enough, enough???
Patty at 1:09PM on Sep 22nd 2007
67. The general has no credibility based on his track record and at-a-boys he gave himself for, in '04, "training-up" the now ineffectual and basically non-existent Iraqi Army, while losing track of 190,000 automatic weapons in the process. BTW he also "authored" the re-write of the Army's less than original "new" COIN manual; for which he has been unduly praised for doucmenting the already known. As a matter of fact, Adm Fallon HJCS has been quoted as telling the Gen. that he thinks the Gen. is "a ass-kissing little chicken-shit". He is not the anointed one; more than likely another perfumed prince, the pols are hiding behind.
Garry at 2:13PM on Sep 22nd 2007
68. RE: The General's credibility:
You can look it up ... in his own words.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/09/10/petraeus/
Garry at 2:16PM on Sep 22nd 2007
69. We get what we deserve! We vote for an appeaser who cut war spending and pissed away our military while appeasing terror- and we got whacked on 9/11.
And then we have our choice on two pedigreed Ivy League thumb suckers, so we elect a guy who was born a bit too late for a career on Hee Haw! And we listen to Cenk, a liberal wanker who's got a face for radio except he ought to be on a turkish AM station at 2AM while intelligent and working people sleep!
Mike at 3:50PM on Sep 22nd 2007
70. Cenk: Thumbs up!! I agree with everything you said. Please dont listen to the stupid comments by Tim, and Alan whoever and who cares? They probably work at fox noise
Mark at 4:08PM on Sep 22nd 2007
71. What's next? Voting on who Anna Nicole's baby should be with? Maybe they could dig up a Terry Schiavo case to toy with ! The war can always wait, there's plenty of oil to drill yet. In 2008 Hunt Oil one of the Bush families friends will start drilling after signing a contract with the Kurds. That's what this war is really all about. We should already know this but the corporate media steers us away fron the truth. By the way what is Bush's military record....oh that's right we're not allowed to know!
Rick at 4:23PM on Sep 22nd 2007
72. 43. Any president under peace times has an opportunity to do great things... but clinton didnt do any great thing that I can remember when he had all that time on his hands... I do remember his smug mug taking up alot of tv time with my family... with him rambling on and on about nothing of relevence in those dreaded spur of the moment talks...what is that saying about having little to do, being the devils work shop? Little Billy was like a devious child, when mommys back is turned, getting into trouble. Blow jobs all over the rug in the oval office. And then there was Hillary, our first lady copresident decorating the White House Christmas tree with her preverse trinkets and looking for right wing scandrals in every closet. Such a kidder! Oh yes, I long for the days...NOT!
laura at 6:26PM on Sep 21st 2007
WELL.... Dear Laura, You should long for those days!! YES!!!! That is just as soon as you get your head out of that cloud it's in!!! You just wish that the Decider Idiot could have one cell, hell 1/2 of a cell of Bill Clinton's brain. He can't hold a candle to Clinton even when Carl Rove holds it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Patty at 6:34PM on Sep 22nd 2007
73. The Senate Repubs have one thing going for them, they do as they are told. I wonder who has the Master key to their souls? Perhaps they are all rampant toe-tappers and the Bushies have the goods on them... It would explain a lot of strange behavior and ugly votes against reason. Theres gonna be a lot of angry Vets in this country...
Sal Spataro at 9:48PM on Sep 22nd 2007
74. 1. WE LIVE IN A REPUBLIC....NOT A DEMOCRACY! Thats why we have a senate and reps..to vote for the mass's, not one to one like a dem...AND FOR THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS!
glenn at 12:07AM on Sep 23rd 2007
75. Granted, it was a cheap shot, however I totally agree with the young turks. This IS America and we have the right to say how we feel about something, obviously the senate had that luxury. I don't feel the title of the article was over the top.
bcoleman425 at 2:43PM on Sep 23rd 2007