Harry Reid Allowed Mukasey Vote To Make Deal On Military Spending Bill
By Logan Murphy Friday Nov 09, 2007 2:15pm
From Greg Sargent at TPM:
Here's some more on what exactly happened in the negotiations that led up to the rushed confirmation of Michael Mukasey yesterday.
According to sources inside and outside the Democratic leadership, Harry Reid allowed a vote on Mukasey because in exchange the Republican leadership agreed to allow a vote on the big Defense Appropriations Bill, which contains $459 billion in military spending but doesn't fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
One key reason Dem leaders wanted this defense approps bill passed, sources tell me, is that they wanted to be able to argue that they had sent a bill to the President funding the military, if not the war itself. The idea was that doing this would allow them to protect themselves in the days ahead when the battle over Iraq funding heats up and Republicans inevitably charge that Dems are refusing to fund the troops.
"This lets us argue, `Hey, we just sent $450 billion to the military," one leadership source tells me. Read on...
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Does anyone REALLY believe that we have two separate parties anymore?
Say it with me, "collusion".
Wheeling and Dealing
Something for nothing. Great work Harry. Heckofajob!
Why is this guy majority leader? Anyone?
Oh wow, the Democrats who can bring bills up to vote compromised and brought a bill to a vote. That's nothing exciting. Oh hey, we just passed a bloated military budget which would have passed anyway. Gee, huge bragging rights on that.
From the article:
Hi, I'm not a politician, historian, nor a tactician, I'm just an average guy. But, just as I knew that the Occupation of Iraq was destined to turn into the kind of imperialistic boondoggle that sapped the British Empire, so to do I have enough wit to recognize that you do not make progress by planning to be on the defensive!!
The top Democratic leadership is planning to adopt some kind of whiny rationalization, as a campaign tactic? Geeze Louise do wonder this party is so f-ed up! Yeah, that sputtering "But... but we..." response is really going to win over the hearts and minds of the American people. 'Ooh, ooh, the Democrats have a weak comeback to White House talking points!' Well I guess I will vote for Hilary after all!
Cripes.
I'm sure Malkin and her ilk will accuse Harry of being a politician politicizing the political process of politics.
Oh - ok. So they allow torture, for the sake of their own cowardly political needs. Makes sense to me.
Soulcore @ 1:
Played me for the last time
This time they went and broke my heart
Screw em. Never voting Dem again either. Just Repubs in a different uniform.
Soulcore @ 1:
That's foolish. Did you pay attention for the last 7 years? Can you honestly say you see no difference AT ALL between Republicans and Democrats?
Honestly, as much as I opposed Mukasey, this is more valuable, and we all know the nightmare won't end until Jan. 2009 at the earliest.
FUCK REID.
Did he really need permission from the fucking Republicans to pass a military spending bill?
HEY DSCC.... DON'T ASK FOR A FUCKING DIME
I actually don't think this is the worst thing that could happen. There was no way an AG who actually said waterboarding was torture would be confirmed anyway, especially while we have these "liberal" legislators from San Francisco voting. I'm not saying I agree with Reid, but I'm not going to say "I'm never voting Democrat again" or "there's no difference between the parties" when there obviously is. I'm interested to see what will happen.
Jon, I used to agree with you but the Dems have caved on issue after issue since theyve been in power. Have they prevented Bush from doing ANYTHING he's wanted to do?
Before I'll be their fool again I will be so long gone dead and forgotten I will see the laws of physics and gravity and repealed.
Can you honestly say you see no difference AT ALL between Republicans and Democrats?
Just as there is a difference between the Harlem Globetrotters and the patsy team they play.
I'm all for horse trading when it comes to extra-constitutional issues like family planning, education, taxes, etc. You give and you get, that's what politics is.
But habeas corpus, basic human rights, illegal war, warrantless wiretapping etc. are off the table. Not because it makes political sense but because it is LITERALLY part of the oath of office.
It just says "preserve protect and defend the constitution." I don't recall anything in there that says "unless it will cost you votes in the next election."
But did this break my heart? No. That ship has sailed. This is just more of the same. I have no great fear of Mukasey. He's protecting the people around him...weasely to be sure...but he'll be a damn sight better than Gonzales.
He also impresses me as someone who gives a rat's ass about how history will judge him, so I'm cautiously optimistic that he'll go out of his way to appear independent from this dead-end administration.
Hope springs eternal.
Meanwhile, naturally, of course, we all see it coming: the Democrats will give Bush another fully-funded blank check. We all know the reasons why they'll do this.
I just wish they'd stop lying to US about their intentions. Just say: "Look, we're stuck. We're unwilling to do what is necessary to push on this issue. The president has us by the balls and we have to go along with whatever he wants. Them's the breaks. Sorry."
Because that's the truth.
Dem leadership:
(sigh...this must be a nightmare...if I don't wake up soon, just shoot me)
Harry you been had once again!
There was no way an AG who actually said waterboarding was torture would be confirmed anyway
Then all is lost.
What is it what they say.... Right foot Left foot.
NeoCon Republicans = Fascist
The current Democracts = Fabian Socialist
Two forms of collectivism. Collectivism is diametrically opposed to freedom.
Sounds like the Democrats have been suckered again. Does anyone really believe that Republicans will stand up for their side of this Faustian bargain?
wow....this is yet another prove that democrats are worried more about the party itself then about doing what is right for the people
somebody start a third party please !
yeah they are worried more about protecting the party then people and our civil liberties..disgusted with dems
If this makes it more possible to get a bill funding the Iraq occupation with a time table for withdraw, then I'll take it. Hell even if this guy said water-boarding was torture, that would not guarantee it would end water-boarding.
SicofFknLiars@19 Says:
Aside from the fact that Liberalism isn't Socialism, here's another one for you:
"Libertarianism is petty Feudalism with a joint in its left hand and the iron fist of oligarchy on the right."
~Snowball
You Americans are going to go down in history as the most politically ignorant on the face of the planet. You honestly believe there is a difference between parties,that's so precious...go back to sleep or better yet WATCH MORE T.V. and stick with your strengths.
You know that inevitable sports reel footage of the perpetually losing team's fans sitting in the bleachers wearing paper bags over their heads? I didn't think I'd have to don my helmet of shame for another few months, but Reid, Pelosi, Schumer, Rahm, DiFi flying at me in rapid succession the past week like the soul-less wraiths of Dems gone by leaves me no choice.
Who where the Republicans he was dealing with? Let them come front and center, an admit that's what happened!
Any odds on that happening anytime soon?
Once again, the Dems have been bamboozled. When Hopeless Harry tries to bring up the spending bill the rethugs will kill it as sure as the gods made little green apples. When are they going to learn? In all my years blogging, I have never been as discouraged about the future of my country than I am right now. We get the kind of government we deserve, but what in the name of all that's holy did we do to deserve these apostates?
canuck @ 25:
We don't have you convinced YET? What more do we have to do??
Ignorance is our strength. We're #1!
The Senate has been gone for some time with the corruption Edwards is talking about.
Another $459 billion for their pimps.
Geez.
I wonder if our military might be up for a coup (not too far fetched with the impending attack on Iran). If not, maybe we can pool all our money together and hire Blackwater and Dyna corp to "refresh" our current leadership.
No Harry, bending-over is not a fair trade for a back-scratch!
Do they seriously think this is going to work?
Harry Ried and Nancy Pelosi both need to resign.They are a disgrace . They ARE NOT carrying out the wishes of their constituients. Instead of wheeling and dealing and coming out losing, they need get some backbone and impeach Bush and Cheney.
well thats efficient! 458 billion direct to the contractors then? jesus christ these people need to be recalled.
we need to expand the definition of treason and fire up the guilotine
.
Triangulation. The "prevent defense" mentality embraced by the democratic party since 1972.
For those unfamiliar with football terminology, just ask a fan of the game.
What's disgusting is that the games the GOP plays, and the snarling smirking squatter in the White House protected by the so-called liberal media have brought us to this place in history. The crowning touch is the lack of intestinal fortitude within those who should be adamantly protecting the U.S. from its ever-increasing proximity to the abyss.
You shouldn't have capitulated, Harry. You should have used your common sense. Now the Democratic "leaders" will have no ammunition whatsoever when Mukasey is accused of condoning torture, because everyone who voted to confirm will be painted with the same broad brush.
This is a Pyrrhic victory, to say the least.
Interesting approach.
What was gained (questionable at best) is hardly worth what was sacrificed, in my opinion.
Christ... wheeling and dealing? Pragmatism? Caving in on Murkasey and his ambiguiety about torture so dems can say we did fund the troop later when the repubs want to point fingers??? Fuck... I truly don't know what to think about this.... Other than its a shit sandwich no matter how you slice it. And somehow, someway, I just have this gut feeling that in the end as far as the big dem strategy goes??.. It won't matter... The repubs will claim dims(spelled that way on purpose), are weak on troop support and the rightwing mouthpiece harpies along with the rest of the compliant MSM will go right along parroting all that shit.. And when U.S. troops or kidnapped citizens start experiencing torture first hand by those who hate us?
I wonder how Reid and the Dims will spin that???? I gaurentee you the goddamned republicans will have a spin ready...And it this point, I just don't have any good arguments when some claim the dims are truly no better then the repukes...........JD
Soulcore @ 1:
This is what I've been saying for months now!!!!
"You do yourself a disservice by thinking in a partisan manner. The Democrat and Republican PARTIES are BOTH nothing but vehicles for top-down oligarchical collectivism, where an "elite" few control all. Once you understand the false nature of partisanship, from a Hegelian Dialect angle, you see these scum for what they are. Ron Paul is the answer."
Holy God I hate fucking politics....
Somebody shoot me....
I can only echo what my husband just said when I pointed your headline out to him: That son-of-a-bitch!
hahahahaha...........is it any wonder why Amerikkka is where it is?
incompetent incompetancy..followed by even MORE
why don't you wake up to the fact that BOTH parties are hell bent on destroying your country?
rasta @ 43:
Precisely.
flash @ 23:
No, no! It just shows the Democratic leadership has no scruples, no morals, no conscience, no spine, no brains. . . .
mabye they'll grow some balls if we get a supermajority? na what am i thinking
With this guy wheeling & dealing look for a FISA turkey in time for thanksgiving when we'll be served as stuffing to make our great leader look even greater than he already is.
This is the lamest explanation from "sources" I have ever read.
What happened is that the ruling class in the USA supports the war, no matter what they say in public. It is obvious by how they vote and also f****ing obvious because after the Democratic sweep we are still in Iraq, in the quagmire, and are not negotiating with the involved parties for some kind of after occupation settlement.
The politicians do exactly what big oil, big business and AIPAC tell them to do.
The rest is just a circus act to fool the American public.
timotheus @ 48:
and how well they fool the American sheeple.
These guys are always ready to protect themselves. How about protecting the Constitution and our unalienable rights?!
The Dems are not only NOT getting the magic beans for the cow, they forked over all the seed corn to the slicks at the fair as return insurance should the beans prove unsatisfactory.
The Dem leadership are betrayers ...
Ellie @ 51:
no kidding.....neville chamberlain...uhhh...i mean harry reid....is the reincarnated nazi appeaser and fascist denialist.
It should be the least of all our worries, but George W. probably goes to bed every night convinced that he is the smartest man in Washington.
He continues to get whatever it is that he wants, so why should he believe he's not doing one "heck of a job"?
There's no end in sight to what he can accomplish with a well placed opposition.
Does Reid really believe the Republicans will hold up their end of the bargain? They get what they want, then it's back to the tricks.
Anyone who is DLC is a Fifth Columnist for the Republican Party. The Democratic Party has been riddled by Republican moles.
these dems are FUCK-ALL STUPID if they think anyone in the media is gonna give them a break or credit for anything!
they could give BUSH™ everything he wants to the letter & they would *STILL* be smeared, i dont kjnow what fucking universe fucking reid is living in where people "play fair".
Ellie @ 51:
Do magic beans lead to magic farts?
Here's a funny though, albeit off topic.
In the medieval age they often referred to the cross as the Holy Rood.
Notice the similarity to Hollywood?
Harry Reid Allowed Mukasey Vote To Make Deal On Military Spending Bill
Maybe we should elect Howie Mandel to the Senate.
Dems always playing defence to the Republicant offense BEFORE there is any offense. Pissing their pants all the time.
If there are any Dem big wigs reading this, note: I will NOT vote Democratic candidates anymore.
Albatross @ 5:
you do not make progress by planning to be on the defensive!!
The top Democratic leadership is planning to adopt some kind of whiny rationalization, as a campaign tactic? Geeze Louise do wonder this party is so f-ed up! Yeah, that sputtering "But... but we..." response is really going to win over the hearts and minds of the American people. 'Ooh, ooh, the Democrats have a weak comeback to White House talking points!' Well I guess I will vote for Hilary after all!
Cripes.
AMEN!!!!
HALLUJAH!!!
SING OUT, LOUISE!!!!
I've been hit up for money again and again. I gave money through the netroots campaigns. I most particularly supported Webb and I got something for it. The Democratic part can just fuck off until I see something done. Override Bush's veto? The fucking Water Pork Barrel Bill!!!! Give me a fucking break. I don't want one of ours to self-immolate, but they've got to do more than a fucking pork barrel bill. Where's the next round in S-CHIP? And, Jesus fuck you Rahm Emmanuel.
redratio1 @ 3:
I have often wondered about that myself. He has not been very strong either before the dem majority or after... puzzling
Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi need to be replaced. They are both traitors to the people who voted in the democratic majority. They are soft on everything. Neither one of them have the leadership qualities of an eleven year old cheerleader. They suck!!!! They are from that old school of democratic politics of tuck tail and try to look like you are republican lite.
Well the American people are sick of it and of them. We need some true, honest to goodness, opposition leadership to the hateful, evil administration. People who are going to stand up and stay up and make sure that we get this country back on the right track. People who will keep sending Bush the same bills over and over and over again. People who will prosecute the criminals who refuse to answer subpoenas. People who are willing to impeach the biggest criminal ever to hold the presidency. What we have now are pussies. What we need are tigers.
That was a piss poor deal no matter how you slice it.
Trading a thumbs up to strengthened executive powers for a budget bill they could have fillibustered, might as well just name Chimp Emperor and get it done with.
you sleep with dirty dogs and you get fleas.
The fact remains, UIAM, that Bush could have RECESS APPOINTED Mukasey over Thanksgiving or Christmas.
So the work of that opposition was mainly:
• Outing Feinstain and Schumer.
• Strengthening the mood to resist waterboarding specifically among the seven other committee Dems (a bill is on its way).
As for Mukasey, yeah, when I brought up the need to oppose him in this blog a month before the brouhaha, commenters were too busy fantasizing about replacing Pelosi to pay any attention to the urgent need to oppose him.
Maybe it didn't matter (recess appt.s).
The disaffiliated leftist spin around here is perennial. Let us just note, once again, that there are ZERO leftists in Congress. None of the third party candidates has any chance of winning anything next year (SFAIK). The effort of DLs in the last year has been to 1) Bash Pelosi (& Reid), 2) Confront Conyers, 3) Hornswaggle GSM Sheehan into a MEANINGLESS run against Pelosi (rather than the recovery she needs), and 4) Talking up arch-segregationalist Ron Paul (the love interest of the KKK).
That's quite a record of idiotic activities. Congratulations.
Soulcore @ 1:
Yet another reason to vote independent or write in next year.
A deal with the devil in NOT A GOOD DEAL.
foolme1ns @ 65 "Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi need to be replaced. They are both traitors to the people who voted in the democratic majority."
So the REPUBLICANS who stayed home or voted for Democrats for the first time have been betrayed.
Cry me a river.
If you are arguing that YOU voted in the Dem "majority", then NAME THE CANDIDATE YOU VOTED FOR WHO WASN'T GOING TO WIN OTHERWISE.
That bullshit is the gift that keeps on giving. Living so far up the asshole of FANTASY, it amazes me that to you the stink of that lie smells like roses.
Mark Richards @ 70:
Such characterizations are propaganda, nothing more.
Scott in Chicago @ 69 "Yet another reason [to waste your vote] next year."
SteveinSC @ 63 "The fucking Water Pork Barrel Bill!!!! Give me a fucking break."
OK, now you want it both ways. EITHER the bill has no funding attached and is a myth, or it is "pork barrel." Which is it?
Answer: Whichever allows for bashing the Dems, your favorite scapegoats.
Hi Paul, back to defend the indefensible again I see.
Hows that Party kool aid tasting these days?
Smells kind of bitter.
Medical Diagnosis by Video @ 61 "If there are any Dem big wigs reading this, note: I will NOT vote Democratic candidates anymore."
It won't matter. Disaffiliated leftists voting or not voting for most Democratic candidates has very little impact on anything.
Especially when the strategy is 1) Bash the Dems for not doing anything, 2) Bash the Dems for doing something.
The leadership has already noted your PERMANENT disaffiliation and complete failure to identify yourselves with the real problems (instead of your convenient bashing toy). So they are now ignoring you entirely. Congratulations.
Symes @ 75:
When do you run away with the piss running down your leg?
I want to send you flowers.
TPM's unnamed sources are as good as NYT's unnamed sources.
JOSH MARSHALL SUPPORTED THE WAR IN IRAQ.
Between him and kos there are about five major idiocies per week.
And now Josh Marshall believes he is the cutting edge. Occasionally he is. Mostly his operation is busily trying to make news for its own advancement, even if it has to make it up.
Did he ever walk back his support for the war? No, but why should he? He thougth it was a good idea, only they botched the implementation.
One key reason Dem leaders wanted this defense approps bill passed, sources tell me, is that they wanted to be able to argue that they had sent a bill to the President funding the military, if not the war itself. The idea was that doing this would allow them to protect themselves in the days ahead when the battle over Iraq funding heats up and Republicans inevitably charge that Dems are refusing to fund the troops.
So they gave us a guy to be Attorney General who wouldn't say whether or not torture really IS torture, just to cover their collective asses from Republican cheap-shot advertising.
Wow. Now that's some ballsy leadership right there.
Hey, Senator Brainiac! What happens when Bush refuses to sign the bill?
So much bull, they should all be executed for treason against all of us. Bastards i wish they taste the pain all of us feel knowing that they are not serving us.
Paul in LA @ 77:
Symes @ 75:
.
.
[Deleted. Boys boys boys. Don't turn this thread into a pissing match, OK? You've each had one hit, now give it a rest. Thanks-Sitemonitor]
Paul in LA @ 73:
Obviously, it was a freakin waste of a vote LAST time!!!!!
WE. ARE. NO. BETTER. OFF.
Its a fucking plutocracy. The defense contractors need to get paid. The Sen.s need to get their checks, that's all you need to know.
That's about the most twisted f*cking logic I've ever heard. The GOP always have, are now, and will continue to screech through their megaphones, "The Dems are cut and runners, they don't support the troops, and they are terrorist lovers." The base will still believe them. Dems, liberals, and prgressives will remember them spinelessly selling out again.
"Crush, kill, destroy." My new slogan?? (from the robot on Lost in Space. Man I loved that show... anyhoo)
Yep business as usual in Washington. Both Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi exclaim, "How high?" when the Bush administration command them to jump. Pathetic.
Reid, Hoyer, Reid and that little bitch Rahm Emanuel HAVE TO FUCKING GO!!!
The party is over, people!
RIP America!
nsr @ 80:
He can't. Vetoing a defense spending bill just does not happen. Period.
Stop whipping yourself into a frenzy for something that is a good trade. This blind partisanship ignores the fact that the Dems have a 1-seat majority that doesn't really count because of Joe Lieberman. So we have to play it close to get anything done. This maneuvering is distasteful to you because of blind partisanship, but it's necessary. Bush would have recess appointed Mukasey anyway, so now instead of having nothing, the Dems walk away with something.
It was a good trade, stop trying to make it into something else.
Reid & Pelosi are like Chihuahua's, all bark and no bite, but they sure do a great job peeing themselves in a corner.
JonfromAL @ 89:
Time to lay off that glue, JonfromAL.
Brad @ 86:
WHAT did Speaker Pelosi have to do with the Mukasey nomination?
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
Political neophytes who DO NOTHING to change the world other than call the Dem leadership dirty names on a blog are not going to start doing anything any time soon. Their world is supposed to have a bow on it, with mommy's kiss on their quivering lips.
Study some history. The U.S. Congress is a political body based on COMPROMISE. That you think every compromise is a betrayal is moot to the real issues of our day.
Select from this list: Shit, piss, pussy, sonofabitch, crap, wuss, no balls, fucker, both parties are the same, traitors. Then add whichever Dem is your scapegoat today, and add an exclamation point.
Congratulations! You've JUST CHANGED THE WORLD!!!
Repeat every time you don't get a lollipop.
JonfromAL @ 89:
It was a good trade, stop trying to make it into something else.
setting aside the issue of PRINCIPLES (as reid obviously has), you would have to braindead to think that the repubs would honor their side of a bargain.
why would they? theyve already got what they want!
when people say that the dems dont stand for anything, i will not be able to defend them anymore. its true; everything & anything is up for bargaining.
grover nerdkissed @ 83 "Obviously, it was a freakin waste of a vote LAST time!!!!!"
Fine, so you say. NAME THE DEMOCRAT YOU VOTED FOR WHO WAS NOT GOING TO WIN ANYHOW.
I'll wait.
Paul in LA @ 94:
so why would they need my vote?
grover nerdkissed @ 93 "setting aside the issue of PRINCIPLES (as reid obviously has)"
This whole thread is based on RUMOR.
Rumor from TPM, which lately specializes in Dem bashing based on unconfirmed rumors.
Josh Marshall supported the Iraq invasion.
They're busy digging muck. And trying to