Why didn't Senator Kerry / Clinton support the CBC that day?

[Used and Abused]

I just heard about that scene in F911, and I'm very disappointed in Sen. Kerry, but particularly my favorite Senator H. Clinton. Very disgusted that we cannot even count on our fellow Democrats to speak up for what's right.

[Tosca]

1. They're all a bunch of fucktards

So whaddya gonna do? I mean, not even Paul Wellstone?

[TheDebbieDee]

2. Are you sure Hillary had even been sworn in then?

[shraby]

4. It would have been an exercise in

futility. The house would have been the one to decide anyway and guess which way it would have gone?

[Tosca]

9. That's not the point

Even if it was an exercise in futility (which it surely was), some senators should have had the balls to dissent.

[Used and Abused]

15. whatever

All these excuses just boil down to the fact that Blacks are still treated like second class citizens in this country.

[Zen Democrat]

8. You gotta remember that Gore had conceded and it was a done deal.

I do believe that any clairvoyants in the Senate would have signed! As for Hillary, she'd been in the Senate 3 days. She was still "First Lady" and as the wife of Bill Clinton with only 3 days in the Senate, it would have been political suicide for her to have exerted herself over the election results. The entire Senate had just been sworn in .. there were no lame ducks in there who had nothing to lose. Everybody's trying to "get along." But, most importantly, Gore did not want the election contested at this point. He gave up after the Supremes did their dirty dance.

[NewJerseyDem]

20. I believe new senators and congressmen are involved in the count

I'm not certain but I did see Jon Corzine in F9/11 in that scene and he was elected in 2000.

[BurtWorm]

27. Yes, she was sworn in.

I think she may have thought her newbie status and the fact that half the people in the room despised her and would be ready to jump on anything to use against her excused her.

[spotbird]

3. Go see the movie.

It is hard to know what it says from someone with a bias.

[proud patriot]

5. as I'm dissapointed in Boxer

:-(

[asthmaticeog]

6. Hillary Clinton wasn't a senator yet.

She would become a freshman senator in the next congress. Still, there's Russ Feingold, Paul Wellstone, Teddy Kennedy, a few others I could name, but the point is the same - where the hell were the alleged liberals?

[Webster Green]

7. They were trying to take the high ground.....

Wouldn't have changed the outcome so they decided not to protest. Personally, I wish they had. I remember watching that live, and it was a sad thing to see the CBC members calling Gore "Mr. President" and knowing that he was elected but would not get a chance to serve.

[Tosca]

10. I can't imagine...

what was going through Gore's heart and mind during that session.

He handled it so well. Only increases my respect for the man.

[SW FL Dem]

11. Get your facts straight. There was a deal made before the CBC

went to the Senate. Hillary wasn't even in office at the time. It had to do with committee memberships. I watched in horror as it happened. I sent massive emails. As far as I am concerned, it is NOT a reason to attack Kerry.

[Used and Abused]

24. Then what is a good reason to attack Kerry?

I guess blacks being denied the right to vote in America isn't something I should be concerned about huh? Et tu, DU?

[SW FL Dem]

12. DUers Ask yourselves, why would a newer poster pick this one point

in the movie to comment on (not to mention the erroneous blame on Hillary).

[JI7]

16. and the fact that this has already been discussed here many times

[hope42mro]

17. Because it's a good question. I was irate during film

That part of the film was very upsetting for me.
It was kind of like watching someone who's drowning calling for help.
Just one senator. That's all.
To me (a laywoman, one of a significant part of the American population)it came across as demonstrating disunity and racism in the Democratic party. I could hear the Republican viewers already, "Look, even his colleagues didn't want to help make him President!"

Yeah, it was distressing.

[Used and Abused]

21. because it's a legitimate question?

I'm sorry I thought Hillary was in the Senate at that time. Again, I'm relying on the information relied to me by my sister and from watching Tavis Smiley's show this evening.

[SW FL Dem]

29. Is it the most troublesome part of the movie for you?

if so, I stand by my original post.

[Used and Abused]

33. Yes

From what I've heard it is. I'm sorry that being concerned about civil rights isn't an issue for you. This isn't about left vs. right. This issue only proved that Dems, in many aspects, are exactly like the Repubs.

[SW FL Dem]

34. Excuse me

First, you say "from what I've heard". Have you seen the movie? Second,who said I wasn't concerned about civil rights. I know the history of that particular scene. I watched it live. If you are concerned about civil right, there are many more issues in the movie that should concern you.

[Crachet2004]

13. "The Senator is missing"...the most disturbing scene in the film,

I thought. Not one damn Senator would, or could come forward. I thought, 'this just goes to show how BOUGHT the whole corrupt, reeking system is'. The Black American congresspeople were quite heroic, in that scene...and I could'nt believe it, even though I saw it-Al Gore putting the gavel to his own supporters. Abu Graib could'nt have made me do that!

They were afraid of a constitutional crisis, I suppose. Well so what? The Supreme Court had NO business in a state election, we had Clinton in the Whitehouse...and we own the street. If ever there was a time to call their bluff, it was then, when they stole the Florida election...and it was his own goddamn brother! Everyone knew Jeb had guaranteed the state to his brother. That alone should have given us the moral high ground in whatever action was necessary to keep the Whitehouse. The Republicans in Congress may have ruled the day in the end, but they would have had to DO IT! It was an unconstitutional descision by the Supreme Court, and the GOP got off cheap.

And look what that one act of cowardice on the part of the Democratic Party has cost us. And we had the power to stop the nightmare from happening, the nightmare Moore alluded to in the opening scenes...that continues to this day. They let a gang of criminals take over this country without a fight. On a bluff.

I am giving the Democrats one last chance with John Kerry, but my patience is not endless-and he can be a one-termer too! Many on the left are saying we should scrap the whole Party, if it cannot be driven left, start at the grassroots, and build another Party.

"The Senator is missing"...a very powerful and moving scene.

If we are successful in November and John Kerry becomes President, I hope he is never missing in such a fashion!

[JohnKleeb]

14. how the heck was hiliary supposed to do anything?

She was just elected that year.

[NewJerseyDem]

23. Clinton had been sworn in

The counting occured on January 6th, 3 days after new senators and congressmen had been sworn in.

[JohnKleeb]

25. didnt know that

[cosmicdot]

31. simply by coming to the aid of her country ...

it wasn't just about "party" ... America had been coup'ed ...

it's a question of leadership ... it's a question of putting self and personal agendas on the back burner ...

the ol' "now is the time for all good people to come to the aid of their country" was the clarion call ... and, so many were in a position to fight for our country; to be able to do something ... and, they chose complicity and silence ... some chose "move on" ...

James Baker was there for the coup.

Al pretty much stood alone. He stood abandoned by his Party leaders.

Of course, We could have been in the streets, but we weren't ... the GOP certainly was in Tom DeLay Mob Mode ... as it turned out, the first protests after the coronation (and, that J20 protest was a significant protest which the networks failed to find a camera for), were, e.g., organized against CNN for their Media Blackout; and, against Scalia who went on a talking tour after the coronation ... and, only handfuls showed up for those in those early days ... and, they were organized wherever Shrubalina went on his Tax Cut speaking tour away from major Blue voting areas ... but, folks were there ...

I may be wrong without double checking, but I'm thinking that had a Senator stood that day; the election would have been thrown into the House of Represenatives ... check the Constitution ...

Regardless of whether the Repukes would have contined the coup and selected Dumbya, at least history would have recorded such; and, the effort, and the people who rose to the occasion, to do the right thin ... to fight and protect our country's principles ...

The coup after J20 just wasn't going too well ... and, the quiet before the storm set in ... after * went on a early summer excursion overseas ... it got real quiet ... the only thing we could hear were Condit-Levy-sharks off Florida-Crawfor photo-ops ......... and, then 911 approached ...



my 2 cents

[BattyDem]

18. Randi Rhodes said yesterday ...

that the reason no Senator signed on was because the Senate was split 50-50, so Al Gore would have been the deciding vote ... and he didn't want to do that because he felt his presidency would always be considered illegitimate. (Let's face it, the media would have been saying that day and night until Gore was out :-( ). In other words, Gore asked them not to back the CBC.

I don't know how true that story is, I'm just repeating what Randi said yesterday - but I've never known Randi to say anything unless she had her facts straight.

[K8-EEE]

30. yes that's true, Al Gore Would have had to APPOINT HIMSELF..

AND UNLIKE SHRUB, HE WANTED A LEGITIMATE PRESIDENCY...

The "whips," they go around looking for votes and they could only muster up 50/50, so they knew that's how it would turn out.

[cosmicdot]

19. similar to why they weren't standing should to shoulder with Al Gore ...

... in Miami, FL ... they saw the door open for their own political agendas and desires ...

IIRC both Biden and Kerry brushed it off by saying that no one had asked them ... as if that was even necessary considering the coup d'etat ... nothing like putting country down a peg or two ... any patriot witnessing what had just happened in our country would have raced to the forefront ... not expect a telephone call ...

who is trying to fool whom here?

imo that Al Gore wised up to the control and the misdirection and bad influence the DLC was having on his campaign; and, imo, he began to move away from DLC influence and he became more populist ... I don't recall the DLC raising hell ... even, the DLC'er on the ticket was sitting back in Connecticut saying move on ...

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2001_01_07.php

if the CBC's action on the day the Electoral College wasn't about what happened to Black votes in Florida, and possibly Tennessee, and who knows where else ... then, we are living in parallel universe ... the CBC didn't do what they did for committee positions ... most of the CBC have good tenure and had already earned positions on committees ...

the CBC were the true patriots of the hour

history will serve them well

[Used and Abused]

22. some of you REALLY don't get it

THis is not about what the fu&& Al Gore wanted. This is about the hundreds of Black Americans who were trying to exercise their right to vote, and who, instead of being allowed to vote like everybody else, were wrongly denied that right. Get over yourselves. This was not about Al Gore!

[BattyDem]

32. I agree with you

I'm not saying Gore was right - frankly, I'm really pissed off at him for backing down. :mad:

But ..... why did the Bushies think they could get away with it in the first place? Because there is no independent media. They own it. We are all CSPAN junkies so we saw the outrage by the CBC, but I know plenty of people who never knew that happened.

Everything that has happened since the 2000 election has one common denominator: the media. The media didn't report the crap that went on in Florida. The media didn't report that Bush was protested on inaguration day. The media has not said one word about Bush's extremist agenda or the RW radicals he appoints. The media served as Bush's cheerleader leading up to and during the Iraq war. The list goes on and on.

If Gore and/or the Dems chose to fight, the media would have made them look sooooo bad, that no Democrat would have a chance of ever getting elected again. That really sucks ... but that's reality! Until we regain our media and/or until the "news" is required to be accurate, truthful and unbiased, we're screwed. :-(

[BurtWorm]

26. Not even Paul Wellstone!

Or John Corzine. Or Ted Kennedy. Or Russ Feingold. Or Barbara Boxer.

:wtf:

[NewJerseyDem]

28. There was a deal

Since the Senate was 50-50, Trent Lott agreed to let the democrats have even reprsentation on committees and have Lott has majority leader and republicans serve as committee chairman because Cheney would break the tie in favor of the republicans. Also, part of this deal was that no democrat would object during the Electoral College vote count.