Mukasey confirmed

The Senate roll call vote confirming Michael B. Mukasey of New York as Attorney General:
* 53 yeas (including surrender toadies Bayh, Carper, Feinstein, Landrieu, Nelson of NE, and Schumer)
* 40 nays (all Dems)
* 7 not voting (Alexander, Biden, Clinton, Cornyn, Dodd, McCain, and Obama).

Worms for the betrayal toads who sanctioned torture of detainees and our citizens, pissed on our international treaties, shit on the U.S. Constitution, blessed warrantless wiretapping, ignored the politicization of the DOJ, and appeased whatever the dictator preznut wants.

Only in Fear'merica. Humanity be damned.

UPDATE: In Comments from Gadfly's earlier post on the Mukasey confirmation, some speculation over what the hell happened... Gadfly also posted a link regarding Bill Richardson's response. Full statement (also available from the Richardson website) is below the fold...

Richardson: "We witnessed a devastating failure of leadership"

Says failure of Senators to vote is a failure to lead; reiterates that torture is unacceptable in any form, promises to prosecute anyone responsible for its use as President

SANTA FE, NM — New Mexico Governor and Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Richardson today issued the following statement in condemnation of the Senate's confirmation of Michael Mukasey as Attorney General of the United States:

"It is shocking that four U.S. Senators running for the Democratic Presidential nomination failed to show up and vote against Judge Mukasey or speak against him during the debate to persuade their fellow Senators that torture is a no-compromise issue.

"Judge Mukasey disqualified himself by refusing to acknowledge what the world has known for centuries: that waterboarding is torture and torture of any kind violates U.S. and international law. Alarmingly, Judge Mukasey already has shown a startling willingness to allow politics to influence his opinion regarding one of the most basic American principles -- human rights.

"The Attorney General is responsible for steadfastly defending the Constitution and implementing the laws of the land, without exception or equivocation. What should have been an easy question to answer-- waterboarding is torture, and torture is illegal-- was not easy for Judge Mukasey, who chose instead to dodge. His actions speak volumes. His answer was unacceptable, and he is unacceptable as the Attorney General of the United States. The Senate could have rejected this nomination with a filibuster. By showing up and speaking out, Senators Biden, Clinton, Dodd, and Obama might well have stopped his confirmation. Instead, they chose to sit on the sidelines and watch history pass them by.

"Last night, we witnessed a devastating failure of leadership in the fight to take back America, enforce the Constitution, and restore the principles on which this nation was founded.

"This is not what our country needs in its next President

"Let me be clear: As President, I will ensure that any form of torture, including waterboarding, will never be used. Furthermore, I will direct the Department of Justice to vigorously investigate and prosecute any individual responsible for the use of torture. No one is above the law. No one."

Sounding mighty presidential to me. We already know Dennis Kucinich is no chickenshit when it comes to facing off with Bush or Cheney (ITMFA!). Will Edwards pile on frontrunners Clinton and Obama for ducking the Mukasey debate and vote? Opportunity knocks.

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Better Democrats, Please

Can we get some real Democrats?

Or at least some who know how this game is played?

You see, we are a nation founded on Liberty, but some among us have a pretty screwed up idea of what constitutes Liberty. Unfortunately the poltroons in need of a refresher course are our elected representation.

If they will not hold this administration accountable, they do not represent me.

If they will not make the obstructionist pricks in the GOP actually filibuster a bill, they do not represent me.

If they think they can govern from the center, they do not represent me.

If they will not uphold the Fourth Amendment, they do not represent me.

If they will not uphold the First Amendment, they do not represent me.

If they will not restore Posse Comitatus, they do not represent me.

If they will not restore the Insurrection Acts of 1807, they do not represent me.

If they will not restore Habeas Corpus, they do not represent me.

If they will not revoke torture as official policy of this administration, they do not represent me.

If they will not vote for common-sense troop protections like the Webb Amendment, they do not represent me.

If they compromise on any part of the Constitution, they do not represent me.

If they do not stand up to the Deserter in Chief, they do not represent me.

If they do not take concrete steps to end the occupation of Iraq, they do not represent me.

If they get on board with a decades-long occupation of Iraq, they do not represent me.

If they do not represent me, I will support primary challenges.

***************

I was pissed off at the MoveOn ad, too - but not because it offended me. I was pissed off about it because I knew the frothing fuckwits would get worked up into a lather and draw fortification from it, at just a time when the public was getting there on their own.

But once it was out there, it was the job of the Democrats to defend the First Amendment, and ask pointedly "where was the criticism when Kerry was swift-boated and when Cleland was smeared?"

Instead, they lined up to take turns shredding the first amendment. Here is the thing about the First Amendment - it guarantees FREE speech - it does not guarantee that speech will be tasteful, or that no ones feelings will get hurt. It just means that it is FREE.

It means that I can tell Claire McCaskill that she is a disappointment and a disgrace and I am seriously starting to resent all the time that I spent on her campaign.

Fat lot of good it did me, for the way her votes have fallen.

Every single Democrat who has fallen in line needs a primary challenger. The rot in Washington is to the core in both parties. Democrats who won't stand up now need a primary challenge. If you are a Representative who wants to abdicate your responsibility to impeach this criminal administration, you need a primary challenger. If you are a senator who can not defend the Constitution, you need a primary challenger. If you are a Democrat who does not protest the long-term occupation of Iraq, you need a primary challenger.

The answer here is not to fall into an abject funk - it is to get pissed, and stay pissed, all the way from today through the first Tuesday in November 2008.

And I just did something I have never done before. I made a donation to MoveOn. Because they are standing up for free speech and the First Amendment, and besides that, there is the added benefit that it will agitate the fuck out of the squawking chickenhawks on the right. I want feathers to fill the air.

In closing, I want to remind every Democratic politician that elections have consequences - and so do their votes. They need to keep in the front of their mind that a failure to act upon the consequences we hit the Republicans over the head with in 2006 will lead to more consequences. It's called a stiff primary challenger with netroots fundraising support, bitches.

(hat tip to Pale Rider for his help with this post. The closing paragraph is almost all him.)

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The post where I call out Harry Reid

Just about an hour ago, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation requiring the pull-out of American forces from Iraq. Per the House legislation, the draw down would start in 120 days, to be completed by April.

Now it goes to the Senate.

Harry Reid, you feckless dolt, don’t bend over and spread ‘em when Joe “More War!!!” Lieberman threatens to filibuster.

Calling the threat to filibuster a filibuster is just procedural masturbation. And frankly, an insult to my intelligence.

Let the Senator from AIPAC talk for as long as he can. Bring out the roll-away beds and make the bastard stand there until his ankles swell and his lips crack and he can’t go on another second.

But don’t you dare call for a cloture vote from the get-go and then say the bill was "filibustered."

Democrats, listen up: you were sent back to the majority because Americans are sick to death of this idiotic, criminal, war-of-choice started by a mendacious fool and his equally-messed-up in the head neocon chickenhawk “advisers” – none of whom have any skin in the game.

Now, do your duty and don’t take the screwing that the Pubbies have been dishing out. They are nothing more than schoolyard bullies, and we all know that bullies are every last one cowards at their very core, and they crumble when they are called out.

So call them out.

And stop calling a parliamentary jacking-off a filibuster. Some of us didn’t sleep through Civics class, and we know you are full of shit. Which puts you a hell of a lot closer to the Pubbies in the public mind than you want to be.

So man up and call ‘em out.

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