Democrats Break with Liberal Base
“The Senate today began debate on a FISA bill that would overhaul the rules for electronic surveillance and provide retroactive immunity for telecom companies that participated in the Bush administration’s illegal spying efforts,” Think Progress reports.
Ten people voted against cloture on the telecom immunity bill. Newshoggers lists them: Boxer (D-CA), Brown (D-OH), Cantwell (D-WA), Cardin (D-MD), Dodd (D-CT), Feingold (D-WI), Harkin (D-IA), Kerry (D-MA), Menendez (D-NJ), Wyden (D-OR).
Wondering who weren’t present? Obama, Clinton, Biden and McCain all weren’t there. Funny that.
Instead of voting Obama decided to release a statement in support of Dodd, but that doesn’t accomplish much of course (as was his intention: got to keep clean hands).
It’s interesting to see that the liberal base once again isn’t happy with the Democrats. Cernig writes, for instance: “Over at TP, commenters are calling this as the bitter end of progressive hopes that the Democratic party is ever going to be more than Republican-Lite. I have to say I agree with that.” After that he goes on to talk about how Tony Blair ruined Labor, which is a bit of a distortion of history of course since if Blair would’ve done what the old Laborites would’ve wanted him to do, Britain would be in big trouble.
The point about the Democrats, though, stands. If one doesn’t agree with Cernig, then at least it makes clear how fed up the liberal base is.
Another unhappy liberal is Kyle E. Moore.
if Blair would’ve done what the old Laborites would’ve wanted him to do, Britain would be in big trouble.
A happy conservative myth that, based on a misunderstanding of what social democratism is all about. Brown was the financial guru and it was Brown’s economic successes that kept Blair in power. All based on Anthony Crosland’s seminal works. There’s good reason to believe Crosland would have been happy with Brown as Chancellor, in the main. As have I been.
However, Brown has followed Blair in pandering to the lowest denominator of fear to garner votes and so has trampled on civil liberties which were always more sacrosanct to Labour than they were to Tories. (Witness Thatcher’s legislation against lawful assembly, which was opposed by the late, great John Smith among others.) His pandering to Saudi bribers and willingness to accept cash for honours from rich donors were also betrayals of Smith, who held the door open for him before his early death because he believed the Blairite panaceas. Likewise, they betrayed the principles of Labour.
Michael, I was involved in politics when the Blairites were putting together their dynasties using student parties as a springboard to local councils and then the party as a whole. I knew McConnell, Connarty, Ritchie and others as students and my uncle, a Labour old-hand, introduced me to several others including Brown. There wasn’t one of them had a principle except power for power’s sake. They were why I left the Labour party at an early age.
Regards, C