Senate Dems still not getting it

[Bobstandard]

The Senate voted to confirm Chris Wright to head the Department of Energy. Trumps pick is the head of a fracking company who says his top priority is to develop more fossil fuels. Despite calls for Democrats to vote against every trump pick and policy, these Democrats voted for Wright.

Democrat Sens. Michael Bennet (Colo.), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Martin Heinrich (N.M.), John Hickenlooper (Colo.), Ben Ray Luján (N.M.) and Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) as well as ‘Independent ‘ Sen. Angus King (Maine) voted with Republicans to confirm him.

[Just Jerome]

1. Let's all play nice

and keep the sandbox clean.

Huh?

[RandySF]

2. It seems no one wants to be productive.

[Think. Again.]

4. or to protect us.

[Wiz Imp]

26. How is it productive to vote against a nominee who will be confirmed anyway?

It seems Senators are voting their conscience which should not be considered a bad thing when flipping that vote will not impact the end result.

[PBC_Democrat]

3. All of these people are tried-and-true Democrats!

I suspect that their district is telling them that they want government to work and that hyper-partisanship is going to be rewarded.

Their obligation is to the voters in their state and we have to trust them to make the call when it's time to vote.

To be able to say "I worked across the isle to get this done" is better than "I opposed everything the other side tried to do".

[Think. Again.]

5. This is not "business as usual"...

This is a takeover by fascists willing to us illegal means to break our Democracy.

[PBC_Democrat]

18. Sure it is ... (Business as usual)

The economy is doing okay
We're not fighting a world war
The kids are going to school
The vast majority of American lives are chugging along unchanged

We definitely need to rebuild our party and mount a resistance but hyperbole isn't helpful and hysterics are even worse.

Both houses are Congress are near even, damn near everything is going to have to be bi-partisan.

Remember, those Senators pledged to represent the red voters in their states also, that's where their loyalty has to be - not to the Democratic party.

[Think. Again.]

19. It is not hyperbole to say...

...that the undemocratic and illegal actions of the trump crowd are indeed a hostile takeover of our Republic.

A "doge" department or agency does not exist in our administrative framework.

Only Congress has authority of our Federal funds and accounts.

This is no longer between red and Blue representatives, this is between our legislatively and Constitutionally approved structures of governance and a mob of unelected, unappointed civilians, which the execute branch has no authority to assign these actions to.

[walkingman]

29. A good post...

Remember, those Senators pledged to represent the red voters in their states also, that's where their loyalty has to be - not to the Democratic Party.

That was really a thought-provoking comment - well done. It is something that frustrates me daily here in Texas. That is the way that it should be in a representative government but we both know it is not reality. If it was then our form of government could serve all Americans and it does not.

This mess we see these days makes me more aware every day that America is not what I thought it was most of my life.

For most of the 20th Century we had a weaponized FBI that did basically what we see happening these days by the Trump regime.

From the get go - we were never the so-called "shining light on the hill" that we were led to believe since our founding. Our very constitution made sure that was the case. The hypocrisy of "We the People" as written by Thomas Jefferson was more of a aspiration that a reality.

I 'm personally not that impressed by this idea of a "Republic" instead of a "Social Democracy". It appears that people might as well be living in separate countries governed by different rules based on State lines, etc.

We have made great progress over the last 250 years but a lot of it is being rolled back these days so the fight continues and success is not guaranteed but fight we must if we are to overcome this lawlessness.

As a white person who grew up taking my privilege for granted, I now better understand what minorities have experienced for centuries.

[dickthegrouch]

31. The States are indeed separate countries

Each has its own Governor, government, laws, taxation system, DMV, and on and on.
While most people like to call themselves Americans, they are actually citizens of the United States, and anyone from the more than 40 other countries, territories and protectorates that comprise North, Central and South America can legitimately call themselves “American”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_dependent_territories_in_the_Americas

[OneGrassRoot]

6. They take an oath to uphold...

The Constitution. Protecting Democracy is their greatest obligation.

[thesquanderer]

8. There is nothing unconstitutional about Chris Wright heading DoE. So then their obligation...

...is arguably to the constituents of their state over the general preferences of their party. Maybe Wright's positions are good for some of these states? And if so, maybe voting against him could cost them support in their own states.

[OneGrassRoot]

10. It's about the bigger picture...

which, as Chris Murphy is shouting from the rooftops, billionaires are destroying or democracy and plundering our government.

Do you not believe that’s happening?

[thesquanderer]

24. But does this particular nomination have an impact on that? And what might other consequences be?

For example, if a senator thinks that voting against this nomination could come back to bite him in the next election, there's a risk of making it harder for him to keep that seat, so there may be a long-term fall-out that is worse than whatever damage you perceive from this vote.

I understand that there is a position that says Dems should vote down *everything* Trump does (all nominations), especially with the current Musk craziness. But until/unless that is the official position as put forth by Dem leadership, I think it is understandable that an individual is balancing that approach against the pros and cons for their state, their constituents, and their longer term political health.

[OneGrassRoot]

30. I couldn't disagree more...

I certainly understand what you're saying, but the points you mention involve politics as usual. This is anything but.

They even need to reject any direction by Dem leadership to play nice and compromise. They need to do everything in their power to gum up the works, so to speak. I desperately wish Dem leadership would snap out of their polite politics approach.

As for worrying about their next election, if they all keep this up it's more and more likely not to happen. There won't be elections; if there are, it'll be Putin-style elections.

[Autumn]

15. Governor Frackinglooper, now Senator Frackinglooper. My Governor and now my Senator

has never found a fracking bill or person that he won't support. I knew this guy would get his vote. We call him that because to prove to we anti-fracking constituents of his that fracking fluid is harmless he drank a 'glass of fracking fluid' to prove to us how safe it was. Other than his fracking fetish he was a good governor.

That reach by Democrats for the holy fucking grail of bipartisanship will end us all.

[hatrack]

16. They don't have districts they have states . . . they're Senators

.

[airmid]

7. I making lists of those complicit. I need an explanation for that vote and it better be something more

“Just trying to keep government running” bs. And any other vote supporting even one iota of Trumps raiding of our government. If nothing else, this has taught me to never settle for people’s weak excuses.

[intheflow]

9. The CO Dems voted for him b/c fracking brings in A LOT

of money to the state. Disgusting but true.

[thesquanderer]

25. Even Kamala had to backtrack on fracking. There are political realties. (n/t)

[JI7]

11. No, it's Democrats on forums like this that seem to never understand state and local politics

[Loubee]

12. I'm so embarrassed for my Colorado senators

There are too many out of touch placeholders in the Senate

[Nanjeanne]

13. This is disgusting to do this now. A fracking CEO. Great image to people concerned with climate.

[orangecrush]

14. Someone PLEASE explain this to me.

[2naSalit]

20. Why not ask...

Those who voted for these candidates? Channel the energy in the proper direction, results happen sooner rather than later.

[travelingthrulife]

21. Our country has been trained by malicious media to hate anything liberal or anything put it place by Democrats.

That's why so much of it makes no sense. It is simply knee jerk pointless reactivity to anything Dems have done or issues important to liberals and moderates.

[orangecrush]

17. I'll send them a thank you card

From my cell in El Salvador.

[Wingus Dingus]

22. Why are any of them voting for any of these destructive clowns? Just vote fucking no, over and over.

[bigtree]

23. 'some ' senate Dems

...generalizing about 'Democrats' with titles like that is misinforming.

At least you bothered to include the names of the actual senators, though, which is rarely done when these otherwise correct criticisms come.

[Bread and Circuses]

27. Ever since Reagan....

The Democratic leadership has played nice , expecting the same in return.

I’m not happy. I’ve made calls and written emails.


Truthfully, if they don’t put their bodies out in front of of Treasury Bldg and block the hackers this week, we are all toast.

We are in a coup right now , along as being in a constitutional crisis.

Congress , specifically the House has the duty to check the power of the Executive branch.

I expected the republic would be lost by summer, it may be burned to the ground much sooner.

Once the coup is complete, the retaliatory action will follow. Wholesale warrants and arrests for Diaper Don’s enemies.
They may be sent to foreign lands while they await trial and we never hear of them again.

Think I’m Crazy?

Think again. A 25 foreign national from Croatia has admin privileges over the code that controls Social Security payments, tax returns, and more.
Marko Elez Is his name.
Other white young men are hacking countless IT systems.

[valleyrogue]

34. It is all the Democrats' fault the REPUBLICANS are doing what they are doing.

JFC on a cracker, put the blame where it belongs.

This is like blaming a domestic abuse victim for being beaten up.

[lapfog_1]

28. ok, one more time

The people that want to close the DOE ( Energy ), and most of the American public... have absolutely NO IDEA what the DOE actually does. People hear the word "energy" and they start thinking either electricity or oil / coal / natural gas... or even nuclear reactors.

The only one that even comes close is nuclear reactors.

The DOE has some minor roles in the production of energy... either fossil fuels or green, doesn't really matter.

The DOE is the agency of the government that make nuclear bombs. Makes them, tests them, improves them, etc. Period, Stop, end of story. It is the Manhattan Project, Los Alamos, Oakridge TN. etc.

It maintains the US nuclear stockpile... and does it without conducting tests ( either above ground or underground ). It has done so for many decades. It is also the premier set of laboratories for physics in the world. It researches fusion power, it improves fission reactors, and "dabbles" in green energy. While it does some things related to fossil fuels, it is so little that it disappears in the DOE budget.

It maintains the nuclear stockpile and develops new nuclear weapons by simulation... the world's largest supercomputers and hybrid ( AI plus trad super ) are located at DOE laboratories.

The people in charge of the DOE need to have a PhD in physics... it should be a requirement.

Not some fracking moron.

He will show up and ask what all these physics people are doing and will be bewildered at the answers.

Sigh. Again the USA is being set up to fail... because we have "elected" a complete moron.

[Attilatheblond]

32. I am now referring to my junior senator as Rubin Sinema

And I intend to make his days miserable until he shows me better.

[Jit423]

33. Fracking is still fucking bad for us all, I do not care what anyone says. Feeding the bear brings him back to eat you

when you run out of food.