"Bitter" North Carolina rednecks who are tired of corporate capitulation and politicians that bow to the mean voter "theory," the intelligent design to real electoral political theory.

How does Obama get off as being progressive while John Edwards and Jim Webb do not?  Like so many problems in this country, they are endemic to every part of this country.  All the while, Democrats from the South are conflated with "Southern Democrats," and the South remains the scapegoat caricature for racism, economic darwinism, and any other form of parochialism.  

I'm damn bitter that Democrats fell for the smoke and mirrors of the Obama campaign because of a speech in 2002.  When Jim Webb does the same thing, but capitulates on telcom immunity (which I'm none too thrilled over), "progressives" stick a fork in him.  Edwards runs the most progressive campaign in at least 28 years (and in all of my time), and explicitly admits his errors from 2002 (something Obama-bot Kerry still won't do), and we stuck a fork in him.

In his latest kos diary and "Special Comment," Keith Olbermann repeats the same inane and now quite stale refrain that we should all be comfortable with the FISA capitulation and stop complaining because Olbermann, in his infinite wisdom, has uncovered some little-known flaw in the bill. This fortuitous fuck-up saves everything, you see, and makes it OK for Obama to vote for it because -- get this, folks! -- the bill ONLY grants civil immunity! So yes, we're holding the guilty telecoms' bottom lines harmless and denying millions of Americans their day in court, but thanks to this "mistake" in the bill, Obama will prosecute these evil companies to the full extent of the law!

Ever since the House’s approval of the FISA capitulation and Obama’s subsequent embrace of it, those of us who care about the Constitution, the Fourth Amendment and accountability have been told by many on this site to essentially "sit down and shut up." Then we're told we also need to keep giving our money and time. That sounds too much like a mugging to me.

We are at a crossroads as a progressive movement, and what we do now will determine our relevancy for the foreseeable future. It may also determine our country’s future.

Last week, the majority of this community was on the verge of immolating itself on the altar of "party unity" and accepting the FISA capitulation without a fight. But Feingold's maneuverings on the Senate floor have given us a little over a week’s reprieve. A week’s time to make it CRYSTAL CLEAR that the Fourth Amendment and the Constitution are OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE to us and that eviscerating  is not just "one issue" that we can live with. It is THE ISSUE. And we need to tell Democrats everywhere, especially Obama, that it is a non-negotiable item. And this should be our SOLE FOCUS between now and the time the Senate reconvenes after the July Fourth holiday.

I'm a former shop owner.  Most of my customers were happy with me; with my wares, my easy-going attitude, and my service.  I am a pragmatist.  

So, please bear with me as we explore why I am now a former shop owner instead of a current shop owner.

Like many I was disappointed when I heard that Obama was supporting the House capitulation on FISA, giving telecoms immunity.  I was so angry I sent a missive to the Obama campaign vowing that I would no longer support them with money or by volunteering.

Today I heard something that opened my mind.  

I don't want to fawn over Feingold; he's just a pol, after all; but he's showing once again why he's the best Senator there is, with apologies to Sanders, Brown, Kennedy, and Reed.

It's a meme we've heard for so long...the weakness of our party on issues of defense. We're 'capitulators,' as our President would say. Weak-kneed. Soft Sallys. Roll over Beethoven. Go on, say it. You have some snarky two-word combo that perhaps rhymes to describe their behavior. Lofty softies? Elities with no wheaties? Pliable unreliables?

But....it's true.

We are weak on defense.

I'm live-blogging this evening from the prestigious Heritage Foundation Annual Democrat Capitulator Awards in Washington, DC.  Every year conservatives gather to heap praise upon those Democrats who are willing to compromise and work across the aisle with their fellow Republicans.  Of course, the dirty little secret that everyone in the room knows is that conservatives never given in, it's the Democrats always who cave in.

This evening they are honoring Steny Hoyer, the Democrat Majority Leader in the House and Jay Rockefeller, lead Democrat who pushed hardest for Bush and Cheney's FISA bill.  

So, "they" capitulated on FISA in order to grant telecom companies and corporations immunity from lawsuits for illegally using and providing private information of their consumers to security agencies at the behest of the U.S. government.

Here's a question that has been nagging at me all along with this desire on the part of telecom companies to be granted such immunity: was it really in order to avoid lawsuits?

The Democratic Party is at it again. They are doing they're best to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by rolling over for the Republicans out of fear of being called names, and of actually making a decision that might garner tangible results that could possibly be cast in a negative light. Obama is demonstrating a willingness to be an accomplice to this. We can hold and intervention.

Well, by now we all know that the House passed the shameful (and inherently unconstitutional by just about any study of the Constitution) disgrace that is the current FISA bill with a whopping 105 Democrats supporting its passage. This is the bill that makes the warrantless wiretapping legal as well as provides immunity for the telecom companies who knowingly provided the Bush Administration with our conversations illegally.

Many of us know that a filibuster is the surest way to kill a bill in the Senate and that there are 49 Democratic Senators, nine more than are needed to sustain a filibuster. By now, many of us also know that Obama intends to vote for the bill, as of course does head capitulator Harry Reid and other assorted Senators including some Democrats. And we are starting to hear the gurgling forth of excuses from a few of them, much of it akin to what we heard in the House last Friday.

(cross posted at the EENR blog)

Senators, please follow me below the fold...

For comparison from Obama's Senate Site:

“Senator Obama unequivocally opposes giving retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies and has cosponsored Senator Dodd's efforts to remove that provision from the FISA bill. Granting such immunity undermines the constitutional protections Americans trust the Congress to protect. Senator Obama supports a filibuster of this bill, and strongly urges others to do the same.  It's not clear whether he can return for the vote, but under the Senate rules, the side trying to end a filibuster must produce 60 votes to cut off debate. Whether he is present for the vote or not, Senator Obama will not be among those voting to end the filibuster.”

(all emphasis mine)

If you remember, he did return for the vote, and did vote the proper way, though because of Harry Reid's manipulation of Senate rules, Senator Dodd wasn't given the opportunity to filibuster.

All the time? Can't you for once stand up for the constitution, the people who elected you and the principles you claim to espouse as a member of the Democratic party and member of congress?

I just finished sending copies of the U.S. Constitution to Steny Hoyer, Nancy Pelosi, Rahm Emanuel, Harry Reid & Jay Rockefeller.

Basically, my note in each packaged said, "You should try reading this sometime" with only a slight variation on each.

It cost $6.11 each, shipped from Barnes and Noble.  They had to be shipped separately obviously, but it was, for me, well worth the cost.

Here's the link/book:

The Constitution of the United States: With the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation

More below the fold...

This one's going to be a bit of a rant, but I have to get this off my chest.

Nancy Pelosi is my Rep. I just got off the phone with her office after expressing my disgust at her support of the FISA bill. You'll never believe what happened next.

President Bush is the most unpopular president of all time - literally. No one has had approval ratings this low for this long in American history. Yet he keeps on kicking the crap out of the Democrats.

If you keep losing to the worst, what does that make you?

Today, President Bush will win another huge victory on telecom immunity. He will get away with breaking the law and ordering private companies to break the law for him, which he freely admits. He is making the argument that the president is above the law in the United States of America. And the Democrats can't find a way to beat that argument.

UPDATED: I changed the title, as it was not my intention to piss people off.  I suppose I was projecting my self-anger.

Anyhow, thanks for putting this on the rec list.

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

I am really pissed off about FISA.

I've finally had my fill of the Pelosi regime.  I've had enough of Steny Hoyer.  I can't help but admit that the 110th Congress has been a horrible failure.

I am even disappointed in Barack Obama.  I wish he were showing more leadership on this issue.  I wish he were speaking out against this bill.  I'm hoping he's working behind the scenes to kill this bill.

BUT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES IS MY SUPPORT FOR OBAMA CONDITIONAL ON THIS OR ANY OTHER LEGISLATION THIS YEAR.

An admission: I supported and voted for Nader in 2000.  Gore was a "sell out" as far as I was concerned.  I halfheartedly supported Kerry in 2004, whose leadership skills at the time make Obama look like the second coming of FDR.

And I have nobody but myself to blame for the rotten stinking mess we're in.