Lieberman is petty. Obviously, the man’s ego is fragile. This might just be enough for him to withdraw his already dubious support for the denatured but still monumentally transformative health care bill. I appreciate the moxy on Franken’s part, but is this sort of behavior helpful? We’ve got to at least take step one, people. Many on this site are always complaining about the weakness of the democratic party, especially in terms of unity and organization. Well, from what I can tell, many of you are part of the reason for the stigma. You fail to understand the nature of power in the context of our system of government. Your short-sighted tantrums are, politically speaking, suicidal.

“reeeeaaly”

Lieberman and his Republican friends have raised the the act of being petty to an art form, so I think it’s deliciously just to see it being used against them.

Heh, I preferred the original “STFU” headline!

I gave more money to Franken’s election campaign than I’ve ever given to any other candidate, and every penny was well-spent!

Get over it!

Delays had to be stopped.

Neat it was Joe’s turn, but in fairness, he wasn’t the first to get shut off.

Franken had the job to tell Michael Stupid that hi s delay playbook item # * “asking for extra minutes” wasn’t going to play today.

Franken. Comity. Comedy. Christmas break.
Let’s all go ski-ing.
Good Grief. (You notice, no All Caps).

Nobody squelches John McCain’s butt gerbil except John McCain.

butt gerbil always makes me think of That Actor, the other Rich.
So cute. You could forgive anything.

Franken was probably under strict orders to keep debate to a minimum

probably was especially after yesterday’s Coburn debacle.

but I could swear Franken told him he was responding as the Senator from Minnesota and I took that to mean one pissed off Democrat was telling that murderous martinet to sit down and stfu

Yikes! That’s quite the zinger!

Douchlieber’s mistake was in asking “for a moment” which isn’t an actual unit of time. Had he asked for 30 seconds, or even a minute, Al probably would have allowed it. But, jeebus, a “moment?” How do you instruct the Clerk of the Senate to set the clock for a “moment,” especially when it’s LieberLiar?

Concern Troll much?
Listen up, the monumentl transformation of garuanteeing the insurenace industry a larger market share with too few restrictions will still not allow my brother (a cancer surviver) to get affordable healthcare coverage, but will ensure that he is mandated to buy unaffordable, crappy coverage. The Wellpoints of this country will do just fine, while working Americans will lose employer-based coverage. So how about just sahutting YOUR pie-hole.

Without much ado…..20 minutes later,….

I’m pretty confident that’s just a slanderous urban legend. Such an action would be inconsistent with Buddhist teachings.

Left you a reply in the previous thread. Nothing important, just impotent venting.

“the nature of power.”? Jeezus, the nature of power in America is sure looking like the “nature of power” in some, oh, I don’t know, Argentina. A corporate oligarachy is NOT what our founders had in mind. That you would tut tut the concerns of the participants on this blog leaves me to question your motives.

I’ve thought that with an open mind, too. That, and Soooooo Cuuuuute.
I’m sorry. It’s just that there are so Few moments of Ohhhh Gawwwwd left, in our present situation.
I hope Mr. Gere accepts my apologies for his reference.
I do have some fudge left over from last night’s cookie exchange, however.
I can pull out a piece of walnut for Bob, if he likes

After half the senators in the chamber have slid under their desks so they could sneak out the back doors ….

Really?
Thanks.
Breezy?

Thanks, how about if I eat the fudge and the walnut and tell him about it? UPS delivered his xmas present today. I haven’t assembled it yet. Shhh! I think he’s reading over my shoulder.

Christmas Morning!
Okay, you have the walnut fudge. Bob can have the Persimmon Bread.

Thaaaaat’s right, John; we don’t want to harm the comedy…er, comity of the Senate.

Instead, we want any democrat with his spinal column still moderately intact to go up to the podium, drop trou, and hang a nice, steaming shit there, as a token of their esteem for the great courage and statesmanship being shown by that august body.

(John, if anyone complains, just tell them it’s the Senate’s monthly stool sample for the healthcare insurance industry…)

Just think, in a week it’ll be almost over. I sure hope ’10 is a better year for all.

Thank you Al. These vicious puke buttwipes (and Lieberman is nothing but a far-right PUKE) had no compunction about locking us out of fucking hearing rooms, shutting off lights and mics. FUCK THEM. SHUT UP JOE. (oh, ok.) SEE, THAT WAS EASY.

ooh, McCain gettin his war hero grandpa simpson umbrage on.

That whole politics thing is a game.
’10 will be like every other year for me. What I make of it.
(Don’t tell Bob about the molasses cookies, lemon bars, pumpkkin bread, oatmeal cookies…)

Is it wrong to love a new senator too much. Maybe but I can’t help it, Al is just too cool.
Droopy Dog, zip it you insurance company HOEBAG. If want to polish some knob jump into “Walnut’s” pants.

Every minute counts. Eat it, Lieberman. But as poorpaul has said, pissing him off may have been counter-productive.

S’okay, Bob don’t get no processed sugar. He’ll get a little Christmas apple.

Not too bad, actually. I’ve met much worse. (At least it isn’t cold.)

Got to wear my ‘Loud Socks’ today, for our group Christmas picture. Since I get to sit on the floor in the front row, I figured it was a good occasion for them.

All the more for me, and you.
See? I’m learning.

True, but we didn’t figure that he’d try to fuck up the lives of 300 million people to get even with 3000 (or whatever the actual number should be).

Oh? How Fun!
And a big, progressive grin.
(I always want to make Them ask why I’m always smiling.)

late night up at the mothership — walker texas manger

Thank you, hon.
Big *g*

Here is the full version.

It just goes to show you how refreshing it is to get new blood in Congress. As much as I respect and appreciate Russ Feingold, he’s just too polite and obsequious to pull off change. I’d trade him for another Al Franken in a heartbeat. We need new progressives in Congress. The Chris Dodd/Barbara Boxer wing of the Democratic Party have conditioned themselves for failure.

Democrats negotiated with liars. So, …

The gentleman’s time has expired!

I can only assume you don’t know very much about the status of healthcare reform in Congress, or that you were using “transformative” in a pejorative ironic capacity, and the rest of your post was sarcasm?

I sure like Al Franken. I’m stuck with McCain and Kyl. Tools that need to be retired. Does anyone know of any progressives that are going against these 2 that I can get behind and support in Arizona?

I have known people like Judas Lieberman. That shit-eating grin on his face, I’ve seen it before.

It means, how dare you embarrass me like that.

Judas never forgets.

Appearing in a comity club near you

In burlesque, usually the comics go before the strippers.

Way to go Al.

Either you’re a troll, or you DO believe in spooks, or you don’t watch enough C-SPAN. It doesn’t matter to me, but what you said does.

Al Franken was at worst — though I’d say “at best” — matching Republican roughhousing with parliamentarian wits. It was on the right side of a red line beyond which is “You lie!” (Or was that in step with “the nature of power”?) If he can keep this up, he may do for the Senate what Alan Grayson is doing for the House. Both will cut the BS quotient in that den of mostly preening cadavers known as Congress. The body needs it bad.

Just a few days ago Franken took John Thune to task for misstating facts about the Senate bill, basically for lying through his bleached teeth. Thune did no worse than what Republicans have been doing not only throughout this debate but all their political lives. It was great to see facts laid out in rapid succession on the heels of Thune’s lies, which he spouted thinking he could get away with it.

It outdid Byron Dorgan’s speech in its bravado. All I can compare to it in the Senate debate is Bernie Sanders’s floor speech after Tom Coburn — through a parliamentary move (Quick: in or out of the nature?) — asked to have Bernie’s amendment read in full. In case you don’t watch C-SPAN and missed it, when they stopped the reading — with parliamentary justification (as Dick Durbin explained [Quick: same question]) — this sent Mitch McConnell into such a tizzy that he blustered on about how physical combat used to be allowed in the Senate but that this didn’t make it all right.

Or was he suggesting it did? You don’t have to be a psychoanalyst to figure out where his primary process was heading. He wanted to pistol-whip Bernie. Don’t doubt it for a second.

Republicans are sore losers. They don’t know their place and so try to emanate this aura. It’s cheap neon, but it blinds most Democrats, who don’t know the Republicans’ place either. This accounts for a lot of what ails us. Remember when Harry Reid doused the Senate lights? We all thought it meant something. It didn’t. Reid’s more scared of the dark than the Republicans. But I hope we’re getting a taste of the real Al Franken.

The nature of power is to stand up for what’s right and march to the edge to do so. They win when you flinch, and they love to try and make you.

Hell, all this is, is rules, – otherwise, the stuff by which the Senatorial comity is maintained, and in this case the prerogative went to the President of the Senate. So, – bitch all they want, and because they will, – I am delighted.

Al Franken offered a little stand-up comity.

Huzzah!

-G

Comment of the day.

Finally, a Democrat stood up to Lieberman. I hope this is the first of many more “shame-ings” that this fool deserves. It was truly an “Emperor has no clothes” moment for Lieberman, and I think it really took him by surprise that someone actually stood up to him.

Rock on, Senator Franken!

I know what was said but I swear I heard STFU and an applause. Every time a democrat grows a pair an angel gets its wings. Go Franken!

Al Franken is is a goof. I am embarrassed that he is in the Senate, which is supposed to be made up of mature, right thinking people. No, now we have a SNL clown sitting in such a high and prestigious place as the Senate. TavernGuy must have spent too much time IN the tavern throwing down lagers. He actually thinks Al Franken is qualified to respresent his State. I am proud that my State has sent 2 right thinking Senators to D.C. to represent us. Not some goofy-ass like Al Franken. Nothing against the State of Minnesota, but people, I honestly think there had to be better choices than this…Have a nice day and Merry Christmas to all!!!!

Which state is “your state?”

You’re clearly extremely unaware of what is likely to be included in any bill that clears congress. Most importantly for your brother is that he will be able to get the same rates as everyone else (no pre-existing condition discrimination). And if what you’re saying is that he can’t afford to pay even those rates, then he’ll be happy to know that most of the $800+ billion price tag goes to subsidies for people like him. Plus, since you’re apparently concerned about benefits to corporations, insurance company profits will be effectively capped, requiring that either 85% or 90% of revenue go to health care. At this point, you’re just parroting angry, irrational talking points formed for you by the lazy, dishonest folks blogging on this site. For shame. You can do better.

Someone who calls themselves “Nogov” is proud of sending Senators to D.C.? One would think a true “Nogov-er” would send no one to govern.

The nature of power is to exercise it. And upon reflection, Al Franken was actually not misbehaving at all. It wasn’t the smackdown that you lot seem to be going on about. Al Franken was as polite as possible in pressing his need to adhere to a very demanding calendar. Poor things. You’re just itching for a fight. I’m sorry. You can delude yourself into thinking that you got one with Al Franken, but you didn’t.

Al Franken has become an effective, thoughtful and articulate senator. Perhaps we should have started electing comedians to the Senate years ago, as most of the amateur clowns we have now are a great disappointment. I would pay to see a C-Span broadcast of a floor speech by an agitated Senator Louis Black or Senator Sam Kinnison.

I think his is the state of denial.

Franken 2012!

Sen. Franken has been disgraceful on the issue of torture. Since July 2, 2009, when he was sworn in, I have called his office about two dozen times, trying to get anyone to say he supports the prosecution of torturers. They have taken my street address, my email address, and my phone number multiple times, and I have never heard back. Don’t put him on any pedestals yet, please.

You’re the one who’s itching for a fight. You’ll get none from this desk. You’ve pegged yourself.

It wasn’t the smackdown that you lot seem to be going on about. Al Franken was as polite as possible in pressing his need to adhere to a very demanding calendar. Poor things. You’re just itching for a fight. I’m sorry. You can delude yourself into thinking that you got one with Al Franken, but you didn’t.

Who cares? As long as it’s interpreted and reported as a smackdown, and that’s how it’s being reported, then whatever you think happened is just so much purple upchuck. You poor, irrelevant thing.

You are right, the name nogov is misleading. Just came to my head. Should be “nomoregovthanneeded” but thats too long… And Texas is my State.And when you are talking about a State in the United States, it is to be capitalized. Anyway, you obviously should be airing your complaints to the government also. This is forum for opinions and that is where I stated mine.Concerning your love for Al Franken and his inexperience in the Senate, he needs to learn a little about protocol and seniority. Also, I cant look at him without thinking of that wuss he play on SNL.