Cycloptichorn wrote:Now a Republican is holding up the vote on a judge. This ought to be fun to watch.
Cycloptichorn
Slight correction: it's not a vote on a judge .... its a vote on an Ambassador. And it sounds ridiculous if accurate.
Ticomaya wrote:Cycloptichorn wrote:Now a Republican is holding up the vote on a judge. This ought to be fun to watch.
Cycloptichorn
Slight correction: it's not a vote on a judge .... its a vote on an Ambassador. And it sounds ridiculous if accurate.
Not only did the hold not pertain to a judicial nomination, if Cyc blinked, he missed all that fun the fun he was so looking forward to. It sure didn't last very long:
Quote:Brownback lifts hold on diplomatic nominee
Friday, June 10, 2005 ยท Last updated 10:17 a.m. PT
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Sam Brownback has lifted his hold on the nomination of a prominent abortion-rights supporter to a European diplomatic post.
The action clears the way for Julie Finley to be confirmed by the full Senate as ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Finley is a longtime Bush supporter and Republican fund raiser who helped found the WISH list, a political action committee that raises money for female Republican candidates who support abortion rights.
Her nomination had provoked an outcry among some anti-abortion groups, which claimed Finley might promote her pro-abortion views at the Vienna-based organization that monitors compliance with human rights and security standards in Europe.
Brownback, a Kansas Republican who strongly opposes abortion, said he temporarily blocked Finley's appointment because of "concerns" he did not specify. He met privately with Finley on Thursday and an office spokesman said the hold was released after the meeting.
"I had a very good meeting with Ms. Finley yesterday, and we had an opportunity to address concerns I and others have regarding the OSCE," Brownback said in a statement. "I am satisfied that she will well represent the interests of the United States."
Brownback is chairman of the Helsinki Commission, an independent U.S. government agency that formulates policy on OSCE issues.
shrug. I didn't blink, just are unable to see the future is all.
I mean, it's a good eye that I have, but not that good....
Cycloptichorn
Good for Sam. His "stands" are quite rigid for my tastes, but I think this little wrangle was a tip of the Stetson to the Democrats, who think they are the only ones who should brand appointments.
I think it is uproarious (yeeee---HAH!) that the boot was on the conservative foot for a change.
Better to kick Dem ass! YEEEEE---HAH!!!
(Allusions to ranching dedicated to LW.)
And, of course, though you flail desperately to absolve the dunce of the Dems, Dean was hired as a spokesman and figurehead for the DEMS. He is their chosen representative.
Ken Melman is the GOP's. Ken is out working.
Dean is creating havoc for his party. He spends 40% of his time explaining stupid **** he says. The other sixty percent is, of course, spent saying the stupid ****.
Dean: Bad
The more you guys don't like him, the better job he is doing.
As I've said earlier, he is out working as hard as anyone can be expected to. I've no doubt that Ken is busy 'sucking' up to fat cats; who would expect anything else from the pro-wealthy, pro-business party?
But Dean has raised a loooooot of money from ordinary folks. This transalates to volunteers, workers, and votes.
I wouldn't be so smug until my party turned the American opinion around these days if I were you, Lash.... I guess you ignore poll numbers as well...
Cycloptichorn
Oh, I almost forgot.
Quote:Dean is creating havoc for his party. He spends 40% of his time explaining stupid **** he says. The other sixty percent is, of course, spent saying the stupid ****.
Sheesh!
You people don't know
anything about your own party, do you?
http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/06/oops-gop-really-is-all-white-study.html
Quote:FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jessica Smith or Brendan McCarthy,
Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2004 Fenton Communications
BEHIND TODAY'S FACADE OF DIVERSITY LIES
A NEARLY ALL-WHITE REPUBLICAN PARTY
One Percent of Republican Legislators in the States And Washington are African-American or Hispanic
Newspaper Ads Point to Retro Republican Reality
The uninformed viewer watching TV coverage of this week's Republican national convention in New York might come away thinking that the President's party is built upon a solid commitment to inclusion of racial minorities. Once again, as it does every four years, the Republican Party is trying to portray itself as a 'big tent,' with room for every American.
But a new book about America's political divisions notes that the 99 percent of all Republican legislators across the country and in Congress are white. The national Republican Party, whose base is in the South, the Plains and the Mountain states, looks to white men as its power base and source of leadership. Even when Republican states have significant minority populations, the elected Republican representatives rarely are drawn from those communities.
The Great Divide: Retro vs. Metro America, a new look at political divisions in America by educator-entrepreneur Dr. John Sperling, calls those states 'Retro America,' and notes: 'Its whiteness and maleness are mirrored in the Republican Party.'
Of 3,643 Republicans serving in the state legislatures, only 44 are minorities, or 1.2 percent. In the Congress, with 274 of the 535 elected senators and representatives Republican, only five are minorities - three Cuban Americans from Florida, a Mexican American from Texas and a Native American senator originally elected as a Democrat. [NOTE FROM JOHN: That means the GOP has elected ZERO blacks to Congress.
'President Bush's home state leads the way.
Texas, with a minority population of 47 percent, has 106 Republicans in the state legislature, but there are 0 blacks and 0 Hispanics among them,' Sperling writes. 'No major corporation doing business with the government could be so white without being subject to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) action!'
An advertisement appearing in the New York Times and Washington Post this week describes this 'Retro Republican Reality.' For more information and to download chapters of the Sperling book, go to
www.retrovsmetro.org. Print editions of The Great Divide are on sale exclusively at amazon.com/greatdivide.
You really are attacking Dean for
telling the truth. You should take a look at your own party sometime....
Let me repeat that all big and bolded for ya
One Percent of Republican Legislators in the States And Washington are African-American or Hispanic
Cycloptichorn
Um. Hey. Dean's not raising money. He did for himself--but he hasn't been able to for the party.
<apply incredibly smug tone to that, please>
The poll I watch is taken on election day. My poll has turned out incredibly well. But, you can use the other ones....
<That was so smug I made MYSELF sick>
Cheers!
Quote:Boston Globe staff writer twice repeated Dean fund-raising canard
Boston Globe staff writer Rick Klein twice reported that Democratic National Committee (DNC) fund-raising was "lagging" or "falling behind" under new chairman Howard Dean. In fact, Dean's fund-raising to date has surpassed his predecessor's, both in raw dollars and relative to Republican fund-raising.
A June 9 Globe article co-authored by Klein and staff writer Nina J. Easton reported that DNC fund-raising was "falling behind" when compared to the Republicans:
Meanwhile, some donors are upset that the DNC under Dean's stewardship is falling behind in fund-raising, failing to appeal to party high-rollers. In the first quarter of this year, the DNC raised $14.1 million, compared with $32.3 million by the Republican National Committee.
Klein wrote a second article on Dean June 10 in which he reported simply that Dean's fund-raising is "lagging":
Dean's comments have drawn public rebukes from other prominent Democrats, including potential 2008 presidential contenders. When compounded with lagging fund-raising under Dean's leadership, the controversial comments have contributed to an image of disarray within the Democratic Party.
Media Matters for America documented that, as DNC chairman, Dean raised $14.8 million between February and April 2005 -- roughly a 74 percent increase from the same period in 2003, the previous non-election year. Additionally, over that same three-month period, the DNC has raised more money in 2005 in comparison to the Republican National Committee than it did in 2003.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200506100005
Apparently, the fund-raising issue isn't so much of an issue.
Interesting times.
~~~~~
I'm sure factcheck.org will weigh on this eventually, if it's meaningful in any way.
Cycloptichorn wrote:The more you guys don't like him, the better job he is doing.
Well, I don't like him, but I love the fact that he's the head of the DNC. :wink:
EhBeth-- I had seen quotes of less than enthusiastic success for Dean's fundraising--widespread. If I see proof it's an error, certainly I'll accept it as truth. Since I have seen more of the "lagging quotes", and just one with a different conclusion, I'll have to look further in to it.
-------------
I've got a rather bold statement for you, too, cyclops.
When a large group of people is referred to as "monolithic", and one assumes that means color of their skin, that is quite instructive to who they are--and what they see as a person's primary composition.
I guess this is the primary difference in Democrats and Republicans.
You see a group of like-colored people as a monolithic group. Guess Dean does as well.
I know that people from all nationalities, creeds, education levels, family backgrounds, ethnicities, and from either sex can hold varying--or quite similar views.
Monolithic meant 'thought' to me--'color' to you.
You shouldn't group people by the color of their skin. I thought we'd gotten past that.
The GOP isn't monolithic. There are diverse people who find belonging under the GOP tent. People who lean Federalist, national security soccer moms, Christians, middle class working people, tough on crime people, low tax people (though I imagine they aren't too happy right now), people who don't feel comfortable with the Dems' relationship to unions, people who disagree with the Dems' liberalized policy that protects the perpetrator and de facto works against the victim in the criminal justice system, many average people who want the Constitution followed, rather than rewritten, people who feel like the GOP represents common sense moreso than the other party...
More and more, people who traditionally felt they HAD to be Democrat are beginning to see they have options.
They may see that they have more in common with the ideals of the GOP.
But, monolithic wasn't all Dean said, was it? They all look alike...they all think alike...? Funny. I think that's the first racist comment I have heard aimed at whites. Leave it to Dean.
He's mentally ill. I've never seen a more self-destructive person in the public arena.
Hmmm.
EhBeth. Why do you think it is being widely reported by so many sources that Dean's fund raising is down--?
This will be a good lesson in spin. MediaMatters is spinning this for all they're worth.
They are trying to say that the figures--which are true, and they don't try to contest--would be more accurately compared to two years ago. Not compared to the GOP--their fund raising rival-- today. Not percentages compared. The actual numerical figure of years ago!
Donorship goes up every year, with the blip of election years factored in, or at least rises and falls with economic realities of a given year. The only real comparison--is the comparison to how Dean is doing against the GOP--and if the percentage difference is higher or lower than other years.
Media Matters is spinning for the Dems. Dean's numbers are down.
The articles I can find that give numbers show that the actual Dem numbers are up - MediaMatters was the only one that had a statistic.
They are comparing non-election years. That makes sense.
The "numbers are down" articles I can find have no numbers, and/or link back to that Boston writer.
Something's funky.
~~~~~~~
factcheck.org's not interested in this one yet, so I think I'll wait it out a bit longer.
Fundraisers jilt Dean
By Alexander Bolton
Three top fundraisers at the Democratic National Committee have resigned at a time when its chairman, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, has come under fire from fellow Democrats for controversial comments and his Republican counterpart has raised more than twice as much money.
Democratic sources link the resignations to Dean's decision to focus on raising money in small increments through the Internet, as he did during his 2004 presidential bid, and building up the party's grassroots infrastructure while paying little attention to major Democratic donors.
But other Democrats say the first several months after a party's losing presidential campaign are naturally a time of transition and it will take time for committee officials to get their "sea legs."
Dean's defenders also note that DNC fundraising is ahead of where it was at this point after the last presidential election, when Democrats could still raise unlimited amounts of soft money.
The committee's finance directors for the two biggest hubs of Democratic fundraising have quit. Bridget Siegel, finance director for New York and the surrounding area, resigned last week, and Lori Kreloff, finance director for California, left the committee last month.
A third top DNC fundraiser, Nancy Eiring, the director of grassroots fundraising, has also resigned, citing strategic differences with aides to Dean, according to a report yesterday in ABC News' "The Note."
Siegel told The Hill that she remained at the DNC for the first few months of the year only to help with the transition to leadership under a new chairman and that "Dean is moving the party in a great direction." Siegel will raise money for Andrew Cuomo's race for New York attorney general.
Kreloff has set up her own consulting firm, LBK Consulting Inc., and has signed on Maryland Senate hopeful Rep. Ben Cardin (D) as a new client. She said Dean is "doing a wonderful job building the grassroots."
Eiring did not return a call for comment.
Democratic fundraisers say that there is growing concern over what they call Dean's lack of attention to major donors and that donors are much less likely to give money if they don't have sufficient opportunity to meet with the party's leadership.
"When you don't have the chairman to fundraise with, or any principals of the leadership, you can't get major donors to help you," a veteran Democratic fundraiser said. "You want the leaders of the party to sit down with them so they can discuss their plan."
(Well, now I see the problem...)
"It's frustrating to be the staff person in charge of that group," the fundraiser said. "No one wants to stay in a job in which they're not successful." The fundraiser added that New York is a competitive place to raise money and that donors often demand detailed explanations of how the money will be spent.
Dean stressed Internet fundraising at a speech he delivered in Washington last week at a "Take Back America" convention of liberal activists and strategists sponsored by Campaign for America's Future.
In that speech, Dean said many Republicans have "never made an honest living in their lives," a remark that has prompted criticism from Republicans and caused such Democrats as Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) and former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) to distance themselves from Dean.
Concern over Dean's remarks has fused with concern over the party's fundraising pace compared with that of Republicans.
Through the end of April, the DNC raised $18.2 million in total contributions, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission, although DNC officials say that $18.6 million is a more accurate total.
By comparison, the Republican National Committee has raised $42.6The disparity comes as a shock to many Democrats who touted the ability of Democrats to match roughly the GOP's fundraising in last year's election.
"Governor Dean is focusing on the major donors and the grassroots fundraising," DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney said. "He meets with our major donors on all the trips."
Finney said Dean was in San Francisco on Monday and attended an event with donors there. She added that Dean was in Seattle on Sunday; Montana on Saturday; and Kansas, Missouri and Atlanta on Friday and "in each of those places [is] reaching out to the major donors as well as the grassroots."
Finney also said Dean has raised more money by this point in the presidential election cycle than any other DNC chairman had.
Through the first three months of this year, the DNC raised $14.1 million, ahead of the pace Chairman Terry McAuliffe set in 2001, when he raised $23.5 million in the first six months of that year.
But some donors say the party's leadership has not been clear about its policy goals.
"What would the leaders of the Democratic Party like to do five years from now?" asked Steve Kirsch, a California-based donor and founder of InfoSeek.com. "You don't know and nobody else knows, and that's a problem."
However, Steve Grossman, who was DNC chairman in the 1998 election cycle, defended Dean.
"In any period of new leadership, in any organization, there's going to be a transition, a shakedown period, and people are going to find their sea legs over a period of time," he said.
Pointing out that Dean traveled to Boston three and a half weeks ago to speak to about 100 major donors at two events, Grossman said, "People found him to be electrifying. They're seizing on the message," which Grossman described as "strategic, thoughtful and tactical."
(Namecalling. The Democrat Plan...)
Joe Cari, DNC finance director in 2000 and a DNC member, said Dean is "doing a great job."
"There is a transition period," he added. "He's clearly finding his footing as a chairman, but it takes a while. It takes a while to get the right people in place."
You can criticize Dean all you want, but the fact is that he's broken previous Dem records for the first year after an election, and that's WITHOUT going to the fat cats.
Only you could try and spin a Dem getting TONS of money in donations from individuals as a 'failure.'
Cycloptichorn
ps. Dean called Republicans the 'White, Christian party;' he was criticized for it; but as it turns out, it is overwhelmingly true. I noted that you didn't have anything to say about that little factoid.
According to the DNC's own spokeswoman, the fat cats are ignoring him.
"Governor Dean is focusing on the major donors and the grassroots fundraising," DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney said. "He meets with our major donors on all the trips."
Finney said Dean was in San Francisco on Monday and attended an event with donors there. She added that Dean was in Seattle on Sunday; Montana on Saturday; and Kansas, Missouri and Atlanta on Friday and "in each of those places [is] reaching out to the major donors as well as the grassroots."
I said plenty about it. That's the same thing as referring to a group as a "black, atheist party' or an 'Arab, Muslim' party.
Do you think, having two things in common completely defines a group of people?
Do you have nothing in common with people who aren't your race or don't hold your particular spiritual beliefs? Do you apply a knee-jerk stereotype to everyone based on skin color?
I think you should examine yourself on this issue.
Distressing.
When 99% of one's elected officials are white, then the label 'white party' is accurate.
If 99% of the members of a party in Iraq were Shiite Muslims, we'd refer to them as the Shiite Party. Which we do.
Quote:Do you have nothing in common with people who aren't your race or don't hold your particular spiritual beliefs? Do you apply a knee-jerk stereotype to everyone based on skin color?
Apparently your party has little in common with minorities; you certainly don't elect them.
Don't try to turn this back around on the Democrats; the fact is that Dean told the complete truth
and you know it and it pisses you off!
Cycloptichorn
Truthfully, the White Christian comment didn't bother me in the least, although it's not accurate, it does reflect the majority of the party. I think it reflects the majority of your party, too.
The monolithic comment, though--"they look alike and think alike..."
That said more about Dean's racism to me than anything. He attaches broad stereotypes to skin color. As I said, a major difference in Dems and the GOP. Three white people can have three differing views. That's not monolithic.
Like I have said-- he's not hurting the GOP. He is nailing your coffin, though.
BTW, women are minorities--though I hate to define people by their color, sex... They seem to like us plenty. And, as we destroy the stigma attached to black Republicans, we'll have more who want to run--and they will be elected in increasing numbers.
<smiles>
This whole Dean fiasco pisses you off, and you know it!!! You're suffering from this subconscious disorder called transference...
