Goodbye and Good Riddance, Joe Lieberman

Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman made his farewell speech yesterday to a mostly empty Senate chamber. And for good reason: nobody gives a shit about him.

Whenever I hear the name Joe Lieberman my reaction is "fuck that guy."

Lieberman droned about the need for bipartisanship in the Senate. He recalled the days when things got done by working with friends on the other side of the aisle. But Lieberman lost Democratic support not because he sided with Republicans on occasion, but because not only was he was an opportunistic scumbag who would stab you in the back, but more importantly because he was so goddamn consistently wrong.

He almost blew the 2000 Election (before the Supreme Court actually blew it) when he gnashed his yellow teeth on the Sunday talk shows and couldn't stick to what he knew to be the truth, what he was told by his own advisers. I remember that day well, as I was watching with bleary eyes and suddenly my hair caught fire. Here's the dramatized scene from HBO's fantastic movie, Recount.



The Democratic Party didn't leave Joe Lieberman. Joe Lieberman left the Democratic Party.

He left it when he supported the Iraq War even after we found out the truth. Joe Lieberman left the Democratic Party when he lost his 2006 Democratic primary against Ned Lamont and decided to run as an "independent." After he won the election in a three way race, he then he held his vote hostage to keep leadership positions on certain committees.

Joe Lieberman left the Democratic Party when he endorsed John McCain for president and speechified his mind-numbing patented drone that only Lieberman can drone at the Republican National Convention in 2008.

And don't fool yourself about why he's quitting. If he thought he had a chance to win he would have run in a second. He lost his support because he's become completely untrustworthy. He supported lowering the Medicare eligibility age to 55 until then Rep. Anthony Weiner and other liberals touted it as a great idea and included a Medicare buy-in in the Affordable Care Act. Then Lieberman completely backed off the idea. Was it because of fiscal reasons as he states, or was it payback for feeling rejected by the party he walked away from? So much for that bipartisanship he was mumbling about on the floor yesterday.

Whenever I hear idiots on the right whine on and on that President Obama had majorities* in both the House and the Senate, including that the Democrats had 60 votes in the Senate, where Republicans have engaged in record filibusters to stymie every bill that comes their way, all I can think of is three words: Joe. Fucking. Lieberman. He was consistently a thorn in the side of the Democratic party and leadership when his vote really counted. Sort of like McCain was after 2000. The only difference between McCain and Lieberman is that you know McCain is just prison fucking you in the ass out of spite, while Lieberman smiles that yellow toothy smile as he reaches for the Vaseline. Both are nasty, old, bitter warmongers who legislate out of spite while the latter tries to do it in sheep's clothing.

So goodbye and good riddance, Holy Joe. I'd say, "Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out" but actually, I don't give a fuck.

__________________
* And don't get me started about waiting for Al Franken for six fucking months and then Ted Kennedy dying less than two months later. The fact is that Democrats NEVER HAD 60 fucking votes.

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Al Franken on DADT

Here's the full speech that Senator Al Franken made on the Senate floor. An impassioned speech and a must see.

If Only There Were More Like Him

Senator Franken's Easy Explanation of Reform

The lady with the Tea party shirt wants an answer, but when she realizes how complex the health care reform issue is, she looks bored five minutes in. Franken does a masterful job explaining that we can't sustain the way we do things in regards to health care insurance now, and that there is much more in common with regards to reform that everyone agrees on than there is discord.



Can someone tell me why President Obama hasn't tried this approach? I've seen enough of his town halls to give you his answers by rote, like "keeping the insurance companies honest." You need to spell it out for the six year olds, Mr. President. Talk to them like you would a 3rd grade class.

Don't get me wrong, one of the things I appreciate about President Obama is that he talks to us like adults and doesn't try to sweep the bad news under the rug. But those who usually listen to him and trust him aren't the ones he should be trying to connect with - the crazies and the teabaggers who got really tired of being overtaxed and became so fiscally conscious on January 20th are the ones he should try to reach. How? By speaking to them like six year olds. Use pretty charts with fancy colors, give a slide presentation, use doctor and patient hand puppets, do SOMETHING to make them understand that protesting on the same side as the very insurance companies that ass fuck them on a regular basis might not be in their best interest.

They've been acting like six year olds at town hall meetings all month. Maybe it's time to treat them like six year olds.

Franken Slams Supreme Court

During his statement in support of Judge Sonia Sotomayor and his vote to approve her to the Supreme Court, Senator Al Franken defined the real meaning of "judicial activism" and pointed to the current Supreme Court as an example. It's times like this that I wished more Senators spoke with such conviction for what is right rather than what is advantageous to their party.

Today's News

In my continuing effort to get my apartment ready to put on the market, I've completely neglected the blog today. I managed to get a couple of Tweets in (follow me!) during the installation of a medicine cabinet, bathroom lighting fixture and a pantry door.

So here's my version of today's news:

Judge Sotomayor's hearing in finally underway. And along the way Senators Sessions and Kyl show how bitchy they are to the world. Senator Hatch also gave us his whiny, wimpy side (as if he has any other) during Hardball. It was nice to see Senator Al Franken in his first Committee hearing as was the last to speak being the most junior senator. Speaking of seniority, the penultimate speaker at the hearing? Alren Specter. ...Heh.

Dick Cheney, in his latest impression of Dr. Evil, is exposed for ordering the CIA to withhold information from Congress for eight years! That would be his whole time in office as Vice President. Hmm... would that mean that Nancy Pelosi wasn't entirely incorrect when she was vilified a few weeks ago for claiming that she was lied to by the CIA? Still waiting on one of those creeps, namely John Boehner to apologize to Pelosi.

The future ex son-in-law of Sarah Palin, Levi Johnston continues his media tour and suggests Palin quit because she couldn't hack it. She couldn't take the pressure. Take it with a grain of salt considering the source, but you have to wonder about someone who quits because, according to her, she was tired of the attacks. And yet, the GOP and 7 in 10 Republicans would vote for her in 2012.

Minnesota GOP Sends Franken $96K

Is this a magic number or what? First Ensign's parent's send $96,000 in hush money to his mistress, and now this:

In the last chapter of a stinging loss to now-Sen. Al Franken, Minnesota's Republican Party has sent the Democrat almost $96,000 to cover lawsuit costs.

...Minnesota law required Republican Norm Coleman to reimburse Franken for some costs because the election lawsuit didn't change the outcome. The judgment excluded Franken's attorney fees.

Whew! I thought maybe Franken was secretly the Minnesota GOP's mistress... mister? Whatever.

Signing that check sure had to hurt. Heh.

Tweet of the Day

NO MORE EXCUSES!

Franken makes 60 votes. Get your spineless Democrats in order, Senator Reid... that includes you.

Reality check... I know the magic number 60 is more symbolic than anything else. Think about it. Sixty senators in the "Democratic" Caucus means the inclusion of Joe Lieberman, Arlen Specter, Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, Diane Feinstein, Evan Bayh and the list goes on. We know that Democrats don't march in lockstep like the distinguished douchebags on the other side of the aisle, but the thought of "60" looming in the feeble brains of the GOP is more of a psychological effect than the reality of having to deal with Blue Dogs, GOP converts and two Independent members (one a former DINO, Lieberman, and a true Indy who is more of a Democrat in Sanders).

Still, it's nice to have something to rub GOP noses in.

It Only Took 238 Days

Senator Al Franken



The unanimous 5-0 decision of the Minnesota Supreme Court declaring Franken the winner also contained language that politely stated the Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty should not hesitate to sign the certification of the election.

...Pawlenty had indicated as late as Monday that he was willing to certify Mr. Franken as the winner once the state’s highest court decided the recount and Mr. Coleman’s battle. On CNN on Sunday, Mr. Pawlenty said: “I’m prepared to sign it as soon as they give the green light.”

A 5-0 unanimous decision sounds like a green light to me. Will Norm Coleman now do the right thing and not appeal to SCOTUS? I'm not so sure he's that smart.

UPDATE (4pm): Coleman concedes! Congratulates Al Franken as state's new Senator. Respects Minnesota Supreme Court's decision although does state he "also thought it was important to stand up for enfranchesing thousands of Minnesotans whose votes weren't counted like others' were."

UPDATE (4:40pm): Fox had this waiting in the can and couldn't wait to use it.



Stay classy, Foxies. The Star Magazine of cable news.

(H/T GottaLaff)

Specter Stripped of Seniority... And BITCHES About It!

Let me get this straight. Arlen Specter switches parties for political expediency, tells President Obama that he is "a loyal Democrat," that he supports the President's agenda, and supposedly worked out a deal with Harry Reid to keep his seniority on the committee chairs he holds.

Apparently, Specter still thinks that the backstabbing GOP ways are the modus operandi of the Democratic Party because within the first week of having a 'D' after his name, Specter has voted against Obama's budget, voted against the rewriting of the bankruptcy bill, backtracked on his "loyal Democrat" statement on Meet The Stretch and what apparently broke the donkey's back, when questioned if he cared about the absence of any Jews in the Republican Senate, made this amazingly stupid statement:

I sure do. There's still time for the Minnesota courts to do justice and declare Norm Coleman the winner.

Arlen, just because the Democratic Party's symbol is a donkey doesn't mean you have to act like a jackass. You switched parties because your "loyal" GOP brothers gave you shit about your stimulus vote after 29 years as a Republican in the Senate and told you they weren't supporting you, and yet you want the courts to overturn the legal results in the Minnesota Senate election in which Al Franken (who is Jewish, by the way!) narrowly won the popular vote? This isn't Florida in 2000 all over again, Arlen. And then you have the temerity to say you misspoke because of all the hoopla surrounding your party switch?

“In the swirl of moving from one caucus to another, I have to get used to my new teammates,” he said. “I’m ordinarily pretty correct in what I say. I’ve made a career of being precise. I conclusively misspoke.”

New teammates? How fucking stupid do you think we are? Did you just wake up that morning and happened to forget that you were the focal point of one of the biggest political news stories of the year?; you forgot the waves you made by crossing to the other side what, like misplacing your keys when speaking of a Coleman win? You thought you were still a Republican? Let me rephrase that: You forgot to speak like a Democrat? Because we all know you are still a Republican at heart.

And it's that's last point that has caused the Senate to decide to strip you of your seniority. It only took you one week to blow it. You now have less seniority than Roland Burris for crissake! How does it feel, Arlen? Was it worth it? And still, you have the balls to bitch about it.

"It was understood that the issue of subcommittee chairmanships would not be decided until after the 2010 election. Some members of the caucus have raised concerns about my seniority, so the caucus will vote on my seniority at the same time subcommittee chairmanships are confirmed after the 2010 election. I am confident my seniority will be maintained under the arrangement I worked out with Sen. Reid."

Not so fast, many in the party said. Concerned with Specter's actions -- and possibly by his cocky insistence to David Gregory on "Meet the Press" that his seniority was an "entitlement" -- members decided to stash the 29-year veteran at the far end of the committee table.

There's still plenty of time to backtrack on you and support Joe Sestak in 2010, Arlen. If you fuck with the donkey, sometimes you get kicked in the head. Deal with it.

#59

by Armadillo Joe

So, he's officially won. Say hello to the 59th vote in the anti-Rethugli-bot caucus:




Now, let's see if Norm "WATB" Coleman will do the honorable thing...



Oh, who am I kidding? Ole Norm's still a Rethugli-goon, well-financed and on a mission.

I guess we'll see you sworn in sometime in October or November, Al.

The Leon Panetta Thing (The post where I tell Diane Feinstein and Harry Reid to shut the fuck up.) - UPDATED

It seems that Senator Diane Feinstein (D[INO]-CA) must have been travelling to a different country to get some kind of stem cell procedure done in order to grow the spine she was missing these last few years. Why else would she say something like this about Obama's choice of Leon Panetta to head the CIA?

"My position has consistently been that I believe the agency is best served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time."

Really, Senator Feinstein? Then why say this back in 2004 after George W. Bush nominated Porter Goss for the same position?

"I believe the President should have the prerogative to appoint who he wants to be the DCI..."

Oh, right. It's because the President was a Republican, wasn't it? And we all know that Democrats in Congress are so used to bending over and taking it in the ass that it was only natural that you say something like that.

And you dared let your ego get the better of you and have a hissy fit. When Bush nominated Porter Goss for the same position you thought Goss' credentials were fine. Then Goss himself said he wasn't qualified for the position. (Why he accepted is another story.) So why should you really be kept in the loop as to who is nominated? You've proven that sometimes credentials don't make someone good at their job.

Jay McDonough: Both Senators Feinstein and Rockefeller had ranking positions on the Senate Intelligence Committee and were completely ineffectual at stemming the abuses of the Bush Administration and, in fact, in most cases sided with the Administration on key policy issues. It was just a week ago that Vice President Cheney confided they had shared information about the Administration's illegal surveillance programs with key Democrats (this, most certainly, included Sen. Rockefeller) and those Democrats advised Mr. Cheney the programs should continue and the Congress needn't be involved.

Well, I'm weally sorry you got your wittle feewings hurt by not being informed initially, but get the fuck over it. Take your hurt feelings, and your Donna Reed motherfuckin' hairdo and your fucking FISA vote and get the fuck outta here. You too Jay Rockefeller, you fat fuck.

We've all been worried about obstructionist Republicans, but it looks like the real problem might actually be Democrats who feel they can't be pushed around anymore... by a new Democratic president who has vowed for more transparency than ever before. Does this make any fucking sense?!

Now Majority Capitulater Harry Reid is all of a sudden become Captain Opposite Man, insisting that there was no way in hell he was going to seat Roland Burris to Obama's vacant Senate seat... unless of course Reid copped out and would seat him if he had the proper credentials; and he didn't bother trying to seat Al Franken for fear of a Republican block. And yet, he says this about his relationship with the President-elect:

Reid stated, "I don't believe in the executive power trumping everything... I believe in our Constitution, three separate but equal branches of government."
"If Obama steps over the bounds, I will tell him. ... I do not work for Barack Obama. I work with him," he said.

'Atta boy, Harry. Good thing you followed you own rules for the last two years when you blocked every move Bush made and called him out when overstepping his bounds; stopped him in his tracks when he thought he was above the law with all those signing statements and.... oh, wait. Nevermind. You didn't do any of that did you? You caved, didn't you? And now we can expect six more years of caving to the Republican minority... well, a minority at least until the Democrats blow it again and Republicans regain control of Congress.

Fuck cloture votes. Until Reid makes the Republicans actually filibuster something they're opposed to and not pee in his pants with just the threat of a filibuster, I'll apologize and take it all back. Until then, Harry Reid can shut the fuck up too, that worthless shit.


UPDATE (1/8/09 10:25am):

Politico: The Majority Leader thinks former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens shouldn't face jail time for his seven-count federal conviction last year, telling our Manu Raju, who was also in the room, "My personal feeling, you guys, I don't know what good that [would do]... He was a real war hero too, you know. He's been punished enough."

Punished enough? Please explain the punishment, Senator Reid. Please explain how Stevens didn't understand the procedure when he was recorded saying that the worst that can happen to him is a fine and a little jail time. Please explain how he didn't understand the rules changes. He's a goddamn Senator, for fuck's sake! If he doesn't know the rules, then he shouldn't fucking be there. I was always taught that ignorance of the law is not an excuse. I guess that is unless you're a member of the US Congress, of course.

And by the way, I think that it's a pretty big fuck up to get your home renovated for free. He didn't know there was something wrong with that? And what a fucking disgrace that the US Senate thought it appropriate to give a convicted felon a standing ovation on his last day there. That was a goddamn embarrassment.

Yeah, like I said, Reid needs to SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP.

(H/T Bob Cesca)

Senator Al Franken!

MINNEAPOLIS (REUTERS) -Democrat Al Franken will be declared the winner of the tight U.S. Senate contest in Minnesota, emerging from a ballot recount with a slim margin over Republican Norm Coleman, state officials said on Sunday.

But the party of smaller government wants the courts to continue to intervene until something falls in their favor. Remember 2000?

But Coleman, the incumbent, has asked Minnesota's supreme court to require that a few hundred additional absentee ballots be included in the recount -- and he could then ask the court to investigate the contest all over again.

...Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, [who's job it was to oversee the recount process] said unless the supreme court acts on Coleman's request and orders more ballots to be counted, he will reconvene the state's Canvassing Board on Monday to certify Franken as the winner of the November 4 contest.

Even so, Coleman's campaign said it will likely challenge the result, which would require the state supreme court's chief justice to appoint three judges to investigate its claims.

Now of course you know that the wingnuts will be calling this a "stolen" election because... well... because every eligible vote was counted! Plus they need a new weekly thing to bitch about. But the fact is that if the Minnesota Supreme Court becomes involved and overturns the hand recount required by the state in an election this close, it will be the exact opposite. Franken will be the one who'll have gotten robbed. It makes you wonder what these last four years would have been like had John Kerry stuck to his "every vote must be counted" rhetoric and become President in 2004.

Franken is supposed to be certified at 2:30pm this afternoon, with Republican Senators vowing they will not seat him and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is asking Coleman to concede.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say, "Congratulations, Senator Franken."

Al Franken Runs for Senate

When I first started listening to Air America Radio, Al Franken's was the show I would listen to. I was a devoted listener, as my fiancee would attest. She hated the car rides we took because I barely listened to anything else.

Over the course of the next three years, Franken would have weekly guests on his show such as Newsweek's Howard Fineman, Slate.com's John Dickerson, Media Matters' President David Brock, Christy Harvey, from The Center For American Progress and Joe Conason, a columnist for Salon and The New York Observer.

I really started learning a lot from the Franken show and started reading his books, and although I actually got a little tired of his radio schtick (he is a comedian and a comic writer after all) he was well worth listening to. I would get frustrated because he sometimes had too many guests on and therefore they didn't have time to answer the questions he asked, especially when he kept interrupting to get his jokes in, but I kept listening and kept learning. Through all the Air America troubles, Franken stayed on and kept plugging away, and although I tailed off in listening to him (my driving time schedule changed) I admired the guy for what he was attempting to do.

Well, February 14th marked Al Franken's last show on Air America. He has announced his candidacy for US Senate from Minnesota. Good luck to Al Franken in his political career. He would be a fresh voice in the Senate and work for the lower and middle classes in his state.

Here's his announcement: