And the real winners are ....

[housewolf]

The American people.

Honestly, I think this is the BEST outcome for the American people!

When I think about the horrible partisanship and emnity that would have resulted from a nuclear option vote tomorrow - however it might have turned out - the Dems slowing things down in the senate, partisan fights, ongoing name-calling and bickering, fights over everything ...

The refusal to work together ... not being able to deal with anything like Social Security, health care, Medicare, finding an alternative energy, dealing with global warming, trying to figure out how to get some job growth going, addressing the issues of gas prices, the mess our educational system is in and all the rest ...

Not only could "they" _call_ us obstructionists, we would actually _be_ obstructionists ...

Deepening division and partisanship ...

Congress' approval ratings are down there below the president's. The public HATES an angry, bitter and bickering Congress. The nuclear option would help NO ONE when it came to te 2006 elections. It would put both parties in a fight that would hold up any progress on the people's work.

No... I don't think so. When taking a look at a bigger picture, I don't think the nuclear option would have helped us, even if we won it (which is doubtful as already 2 of the 7 mmoderate repubs today said that they _would_ have voted for it had in come down to a vote - that left us with a max of 5 and we needed 6).

Escpecially with the country as divided as it is today, a bipartisan compromise where both sides gave something is the best outcome for the country. And for the institution of the senate, where minority rights were protected.

So whether we won or lost today, time will tell. But it is in the best interests of a politically divided country to compromise and work together to get things done so in that light, the American people were big winners today.


Both those who think that we lost and those who think that we won have valid points. It depends on who your "we" are. Is your "we" the progressive wing of the Democratic Party? The Party as a whole? Or the American people?

[Nite Owl]

1. There are times that being

an obstructionist is actually a good thing. Maybe those moderate Republicans could have just voted with the dems this time.

[housewolf]

3. I think we would have lost it....

We needed 6 repubs on our side to get a majority of 51 votes. We know the only chance we had for votes were from the moderate repubs who were part of "the gang of 14." So there were a possible 7 votes there.

This afternoon at and after the press conference, 2 of them, Mike DeWine and Lindsey Graham, said that they would have voted for the nuclear option. That left us with at most, 5 votes.

Us: 45 + 5 = 50 ..... we lose.
Them: 55 - 5 = 50 plus Cheney's tie-breaker ... they win

[rigel99]

2. Tell That Story to the Teenagers

going to backroom abortion clinics,

to the african americans who continue to have their right to vote thrown away by the Republican VOTER ID mantra and bills passed state by state to reduce forms of ID to vote down to 3 or 4 govt' IDs

Tell that to all the folks who are going to be affected by these judges such as gay people who want to adopt,

or the clean air advocates who will see companies pollute beyond control

or the millions of people that will continue to die in their wars, without end.... and the judges who keep us accepting the patriot act (our fundamental right to due process in jeopardy with wire tapping and many other fundamental civil rights abridged).

TELL anyone else you like that this is a VICTORY and I will tell you that you are sadly mistaken.

We caved in on this one and it's been a long slow downhill slope of caving in, and we should not even be here except for unelected officials in the capitol.. who compromise our freedom to 3 judges that will cause thousands of lives to be ruined by their rulings..


I WILL NOT REST UNTIL I SEE EVERY REPUBLICAN SCUMBAG taken quietly and calmly out of the senate and house and replace with freedom loving, civil rights protecting democratic senators who will vote to 'impeach' the 97% judges that Bush got nominated....

[MSchreader]

4. My "we"

are the 180 million working people of all ages in this country who will be losing what little rights they have left thanks to this "compromise".

Martin