Franken's Long Road is Finally Over, Sworn in to Senate

Comedian candidate Senator Al Franken was finally sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden today, eight months after election day on November 4th. Raw video of the swearing-in can be found here.

There's been a lot of talk since this whole Franken-Coleman thing started, about how Franken would be the 60th vote, that some iron-clad fist would come down upon the Senate, preventing any and all possible filibusters. That is such a load of bull. There will be no 60-vote filibuster override. There will likely not even be any serious filibusters -- even the back-and-forth threats of filibusters during the Bush Administration produced more threats than actual attempts. Have any of these any of these Senators actually sat down and listened to debates on the floor of the Senate? Where you find a member of Congress, you'll likely find two different opinions on a matter. 60 votes means 120 different opinions, folks -- there's no way this will ever happen. Especially when you look at some of these Democrats in the so-called super-majority. Let's take a look at one in particular:

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) - Former Democrat. Caucused with the Democrats, and sides with them on a majority of issues, with the exception of the that get talked about on the news. One these issues, Joe always seems to surround himself with Republicans and denounce whatever happens to be on the table at the time CNN's cameras show up. Won't likely vote for cloture on big issues; smaller issues won't likely be filibustered. He's may be caucused with the Democrats, but since he had to get there as an independent, I have to imagine that he's still somewhat upset at his former party, and no one should put it beyond an elected officials to stick it to someone he doesn't like, just because.

This brings the total down to 59. I really doubt a vote for cloture would come to rest at 59-41, but it would be enough. You know, I'm sure that Joe Lieberman is a great guy, but c'mon, Connecticut, you couldn't have voted for Ned Lamont?

-Adam

Sanford & ...Argentine Beauty?

Gov. Mark Sanford, who recently destroyed his marriage admitted to having an affair with a woman in Argentina... on state time... using state money, was censured yesterday after a vote within the the South Carolina Republican Party. Their vote fell short of asking him to resign, however. The vote was 22 to censure, 10 to resign, and 9 in support of the embattled governor.

Sanford's biggest problem, to me anyway, was the fact that he left the state,. and the country, without taking the appropriate steps to transfer power to the Lt. Governor first. And spending state funds during these trips. And while the state review shows Sanford did no wrong doing, we know he did use state money, since he wrote the state a $3,300 personal check. Yes, the affair was personally wrong, and it speaks to character if the elected leader of a state decides to go outside of his marriage, but an affair hurts the state and the people differently than misuse of state funds and failing to perform the duties of the office you're elected to. Those most hurt are your own family, while the state is dragged through the mud. Perhaps one of these offenses alone would be forgivable, as least as far as the general public is concerned, but with all of these things against him, a censure of the governor is getting off pretty well.

And for some personal advice for the governor: Lord knows you shouldn't ask me for relationship advice, but Gov. Sanford, if you are not in love with your life, and if this other woman is your "soul mate", get a divorce, move her up here, so you can stay near your kids, and live contently ever after (it's not happily ever after since he blew his chances of running in 2012.) Your kids will gain nothing by "staying together for the kids", which is likely what you are doing now. They're smarter than that, Sanford.

-Adam

No Title

I sit here dumbfounded that it has been 665 days since my last post of this blog. I most likely suffered some burn-out during the drawn-out campaign process -- as an avid news junkie, almost everything I watched on television was election-based news coverage. Everything that I read, or typed, on the internet had to do with Obama, McCain, and 2008. I couldn't get enough.

It would be a logical assumption to assume that I was not the only one this happened to -- after all, with the rush to place primaries so close to the beginning of the year, resulting ever earlier campaigning by the perspective candidates, this country's election process has now become, like it or not, a two-year affair (which may or may not be longer than Gov. Sanford's affair, and Gov. Palin's career.) Politics seemed to almost become a daily burden, and while the right man won, the whole thing lasted way to long in my opinion.

It is my intent to revive this site, and if it is to be so, than it will happen; otherwise, it'll likely fizzle out like last time. The objective of this blog remains the same -- as the title says, these posts are the ideas, thoughts, and views of a Democrat, me, and anyone whom wishes may read my thoughts (at least those thoughts which are transcribed here anyway, for the rest is likely too dirty, and nobody would want it.)

-Adam

Six Year Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks

God bless those who were lost, the families they left behind, the United States of America, and all her citizens.

-Adam

The Fall of Karl Rove

Karl Rove submitted his resignation to the President today, and it was accepted. He will leave at the end of August. There is no more I could put here that could make this post any greater than it currently is, so I'll stop here.

-Adam

Hit The Snooze... It's Too Early For Politics

I love politics.

I find it enjoyable. When I watch T.V., often the news channels are my first choice (thus causing me to not watch the ever-increasing amount of programs on my DVR). Politics is one of the things I love to talk about. I have yet to determine whether this makes me twisted and insane, or lining me up for a career in the political world; when I find out for sure, I'll let you know.

But unfortunately, the world of politics has taken an unfortunate, and possibly unbearable, turn. The 2008 campaign for the general elections will, if certain state's laws are held up, last almost an entire year. Of course, this all depends if New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's prediction holds true that a winner will be picked by the first four states.

In case you haven't heard (if you have, you will have no doubt performed several bouts of eye-rolling and groaning) many states have recently switched their primaries to near the beginning of the year. The South Carolina Republican party has officially switched their primary to January 19, assuring the Palmetto State will be the first southern state to hold a primary. This was due to, in part, Florida changing its primary to January 29. The SC Democratic party has stated that it will not change its primary date. However, New Hampshire has a law on it's books which requires their primary to be held 7 days be fore any other state primary. If that isn't enough, Iowa has a special law of it's own, which requires that the Iowa Caucuses be held 8 days before ANY other state votes at all, regardless of whether it uses the primary or caucus system. It's possible that Iowa new caucus date could take place at the very end of this year.

This is very concerning. After all, campaign coverage has already been going full swing for several months, and this is with just shy of 20 candidates and lots of speculation. If this thing gets locked by February, all the coverage on T.V., online, and in the papers will cause a severe strain on the American people. People who already aren't extremely interested in politics could distance themselves from it even more, because two candidates continually repeating the same slogans are all that plays in the media. People like myself will no doubt become less tolerable to the endless mudslinging and false promises continually being thrown around. While a year-long Presidential campaign could get voters to know the candidates more, it will no doubt be a continuous string of rhetoric. I don't think it will result in less voter turn-out (Bush pretty well wrapped that one up, didn't he?), but it will start a wave of Americans who are not as involved in politics as they should be; I count on that.

-Adam

AFL-CIO Democratic Debates

I'm going to forego the fact that I promised to update this site more, than took several months off. As the old adage (okay, song) goes: "It's my party [blog] and I'll cry [choose not to compose posts] if I want to" [this part works].

The debate was impressive, and addressed many issues the the "average, everyday American" was concerned about. I did note a few problems, though:

1. The candidates, as usual, didn't always completely ask the questions. I especially noticed this with Chris Dodd & John Edwards. Look, I'm glad that you walked on picket lines and support unions (my father's in a union), but I want to hear about what you WILL do, not what you HAVE done. But don't get me wrong, I want to know what you have done to help a certain issue, but perhaps that's better suited for a campaign commercial, or for a flash video on your website. Lets focus on the future, guys (and girl.) Unfortunately for us, the guy who directly answered the most questions directly was Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who was voted "Hobbit least likely to win the Presidency."

2. Joe Biden is vying for Hillary Clinton's V.P. position.

3. Not enough time is given to many of the candidates, which really bothers me. People like Gov. Bill Richardson (N.M.), who probably has more experience for the Presidency than most of the candidates combined. I should note here that while I have yet to decide on whom I will vote for, Richardson is one of my higher probables, along with Obama, and maybe Clinton. These so-called second-tier candidates have a lot of good ideas, and a lot to bring to the table, but they are simply not getting enough questions in these debates, nor enough debate between this so-called political strategists. But I don't suppose it's a problem many people can solve.

4. Rep. Dennis Kucinich is the funniest Democrat -- hands down. He was also very much correct, in respect to China.

While these problems did exist during the debates, and will most likely be present in the future, but I think that the AFL-CIO debates was the best Democratic debate yet. Maybe we should shove Presidential candidates in the middle of union members who want to protect their pension EVERY TIME there is a debate.

-Adam

Clip: Iraq For Sale

The following is a four-minute segment from the documentary Iraq For Sale. The director of the documentary, Robert Greenwald, appeared before Congress today, May 10th, after being invited by Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) but was not allowed to show the clip, which was the original intention.

This clip shows how KBR/Halliburtion is robbing the U.S. blind, and stealing jobs away from the U.S. military. This entire video is unbelievable. You must watch.

Bush Out of Touch?

Last week on Larry King Live, President George Herbert-Walker Bush, otherwise known as Bush 41, said that America may be getting tired of the Bush family. I tend to agree with him, and I don't really even remember when Bush 41 was President. I can tell you that I am certainly sick of this one.

President Bush issued a warning to Congress Friday, saying that he will indeed veto the defense spending bill, due to the October 1st withdrawal from Iraq stipulation. Now, we all know that the President doesn't "read newspapers or watch the news", but I've always believed he's lying. But maybe he's right. I don't think he accurately grasps exactly how many people want out of Iraq. The number of Republicans who support the war drop every time another poll is released. Many of the American public have spoke out against it, as have most of the elected officials. We can no longer continue on the track we are on. But the President must not understand this.

Somebody give Bush 50 cents for a newspaper.

Vetoing this spending bill is foolish. It provides enough money to fund the troops until October, technically probably longer. Bush needs to either sign this into law, which he openly said he won't do, so it falls upon conservative Congressmen to, God-forbid, vote the way that represents a majority of their constituents, instead of the platform of the GOP.

Since the President isn't willing to listen to the American people, the job of correcting Iraq now falls upon the shoulders several elected legislatures. And that still doesn't comfort me.

-Adam

Are You An Expert Voter?

I found a site a while back that that holds no secrets.

ExpertVoter is a site where you can discover where EXACTLY each candidate running for President stands on some of the most important issues, straight from the politicians mouth. On ExpertVoter, you can view video, from show all cards C-SPAN to everyone's favorite spin doctors, of what each candidates declares their stances as. So, if you ever hear Mitt Romney flip-flop on another issue again, you can check this site and see if he's "misspoke". Oh, and I suppose it can also help you decide who to vote for, though the former is much more fun.

Visit ExpertVoter.org

-Adam