Not Even Close

FISA passed. Obama voted to strip immunity, but that failed 37-61. 69-28 was the vote which passed the bill. Obama voted yea. Among those voting nay were Biden, Clinton, Dodd, Feingold and Reid.

This is my one disappointment with Obama - yet I still can't help thinking he knows something about this bill. - some wording or some "out" which could be overturned under his watch. Not having read the entire thing word-by-word, I can't say, but he has a reason for his vote.

Oh well, movin' on.

Comments

[lib4]

That "out" is called a freakin signing statement baby.....Thanks you GW Bush for the precedent.....WAHOO...

[David Aquarius]

I'm disappointed as well, but what can you do? The one thing I have to remember is that Sen. Obama and I aren't going to agree on everything and as such, there will be times when I'm down right pissed at his performance.

I was for Edwards early on, but Obama wasn't a bad second choice. I think our choices for president were far and wide miles ahead of the goons and goobers the GOoPers assembled. And McSame was the best they could do?

That said, it ain't going to be a cake walk. The 'Liberal Media' won't rest until they can even the score. They want a close contest, a photo finish horse race; ratings and advertisers demand it. They figure it'll happen by dogging Obama at every turn and building up McCain. They have their work cut out for them. McCain's one great failing is that his short fuse temper is directly connected to his mouth. McSame is his own worse enemy.

Sen. Obama will make choices I don't like - that's a given. But he still represents the best choice to take this country back from the deep dark sewer George Bush has left us. The details can be worked on and debated after Jan. 20, 2009. I'd rather deal with our problems with Obama in the big chair than Sen. McFossil. Our hole is deep enough after 8 years of Bush incompetence, we can't afford four more years of digging.

[BKLN]

Good point lib4. I hadn't even considered that one though my hunch is that Obama won't use them, and may even try to get a law passed against signing statements since those really do undermine the notion of accountable government.

John Dean and the ACLU already made clear another potential "out":
http://www.hoffmania.com/blog/2008/07/olbermann-obama.html

Did Obama just take one for the team? Hard to say, but looking at the roster of "nay" votes it seems likely and as has been noted elsewhere, Obama was going to get savaged no matter what his vote was. Although it should be continually pointed out that McCain did not show for this vote. BTW, I don't see anyone railing against Webb for his "yea" vote at this point.

And like you say David, and as everyone here knows, there will be times when we are "disappointed" at his "caving" on our progressive values. I'm guessing that such will always be the case in this country full of wild individualists yearning to be free to do as they damn well please. Selah.

Movin'on cuz there's serious work to do.

[wdh]

I'll still vote for him, but no more donations from me. I don't care about most of the "move to the center" stuff. Telecom immunity cannot be reversed. We will never know the details, esp about the fact that this was going on BEFORE 911. This is a very real disapointment in Obama. He could have shown real leadership in this. Instead we just get another caving, fearful Democrat. Afraid of what the Repubs will say. There was no valid reason for Obama or Reid/ Pelosi to let this go through.

[wdh]

Webb is a disapointment also on this vote and others, but I don't recall any previous statements by him that he would oppose this. I'm glad he backed out of the VP stakes.

[Karen]

I certainly hope there is some sort of hidden text in this bill that will allow action to be taken at a later date. Why oh why would the majority of Democrats, including Obama, vote for it if there isn't? They know the people are against it big time! Why are they cowing down to Bush? Nothing is making sense with this Senate anymore. I am clinging to that hidden text thought for the time being, in hopes that in the not too distant future we can nail Bush and the telecom companies to the wall. If unfortunately, there is no hidden miracle, my middle finger is fully extended saluting the majority of the Senate that voted for this FISA bill. There, now I feel somewhat better.

[Corporatism You Can Believe In]

"Oh well, movin' on."

Yeah. It's just the Constitution, you know, that thing that The Fraud took an oath to defend. Fuck it.

[mustang sally]

I don't see how anyone can defend voting to shred the Constitution. This is extremely disheartening. Honestly, i thought Obama would do better than this. The faith-based initiative crap also bothered me, as did throwing MoveOn.org & Wes Clark under the bus. I think gun control is a good thing, as is a woman's right to choose. The death penalty is wrong, no matter what the crime. And if Obama really does admire Reagan that much, well, i wish he would keep that to himself cause, having lived through the Reagan years, i just don't want to hear praise for that man. What's next? Jesse Helms was a pretty good guy? If it sounds like i am very angry, well, i am. And yeah, he is better than the other guy but pretty speechifyin' ain't cuttin it.

[donna]

Yup, no more monies.

Unless there's stuff for it, of course. Some of the shirts are kinda cool. ;^)

But I am very very pissed at Obama today.

[BKLN]

Karen - do your homework. The majority of Dems did NOT vote for this bill. But your single finger salute is duly noted and appreciated.
Sally - Obama never said he admired Reagan. That's a Hannity talking point. As is most of the other flip-flop criticism coming from "our" side of the fence. This really is a decent take on the situation, so you should read it: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/opinion/10collins.html

The last I checked, laws CAN be undone if they are wrong, so let's get our candidate in the big office and keep the heat on.

[Corporatism You Can Believe In]

“I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path, because the country was ready for it. I think they felt like with all the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s and government had grown and grown, but there wasn’t much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating. I think people—he just tapped into what people were already feeling, which was we want clarity, we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing.”

See, Sally, BKLN thinks you're too stupid to read a quote like that and understand what Saint Barack is saying. Aren't you glad that BKLN is here to explain it to you?

[Karen]

BKLN -Okay, okay, okay okay. I realized my error after I posted. I was just so irate and seeing red I should have checked. I think what led me to believe this was the media reported who voted against it. So like a dummy, when they mentioned a few names, I just thought.... So without checking I just assumed.... you get the picture. Great observation on your part. Glad you read my post. Heck, glad anyone reads what I post. Commenting on it is just an added bonus. LOL