| By Erik Love - Nov 13th, 2007 at 10:39 am PST |
Our Senator, Dianne Feinstein, has been ignoring us for far too long. She has voted again and again and again to enable the worst elements of Bush policy: war, torture, racism, homophobia. I've had enough of my representative in Washington ignoring me. Let's do what we have to do to hold the Senator accountable for her actions. Join the coalition of Californians moving to Censure the Senator by visiting http://www.couragecampaign.org/censurethesenator
See all the details below, from Rick Jacobs.
Dianne Feinstein has failed us.
Failed progressives. Failed Democrats. Failed Californians. Failed Americans.
As the world watches, you want someone to take a stand. To hold Senator Feinstein accountable. Now.That's what Courage Campaign members overwhelmingly told us after Senator Feinstein's pivotal Judiciary Committee vote to approve Judge Michael Mukasey as U.S. Attorney General -- a man who refuses to acknowledge that "waterboarding" is torture and will look the other way if President Bush ignores the rule of law. The Senator's vote condoning torture closely followed her vote to approve Judge Leslie Southwick to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit -- a man with a clear record of condoning racism and gender discriminaton.
Whether it's condoning torture, racism or homophobia, Senator Feinstein's actions are unacceptable.
You demanded action. We're taking action: The Courage Campaign is calling on the California Democratic Party to officially censure Senator Feinstein.
Will you join and help build the movement to censure the Senator? With the CDP Executive Board meeting in just a few days, time is running out. A growing group of progressive grassroots organizations needs your support for a censure resolution no later than Friday at noon:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/censurethesenator
Last Wednesday, we expressed our frustration with Senator Feinstein and asked you to send us your ideas on how to hold her accountable. We told you we would take action on at least one of the many brilliant ideas brainstormed by the Courage Campaign community to hold our senior Senator accountable.
The idea to censure Senator Feinstein came from you, not us. It came from the bottom-up, not the top-down. Flooded by calls for accountability, the Courage Campaign decided to take direct action on a grassroots resolution supported by progressive California Democratic Party delegates and Executive Board members.
Right now, hundreds of grassroots and netroots activists are organizing support to censure the Senator, burning up their phone lines and email lists with calls to action. People just like you who have had enough. Enough caving. Enough capitulation. Enough Republican-lite triangulation.
You can read a version of the full censure resolution of Senator Feinstein by clicking here. If you support censuring the Senator, please sign on and be counted before the California Democratic Party Executive Board meeting that starts this Friday.Join the movement now to censure the Senator:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/censurethesenator
How did this movement to censure the Senator spring to life? This is what democracy looks like:
As with any popular political action, the idea popped into the minds of numerous activists simultaneously last week. As many of you were writing the Courage Campaign encouraging a censure of Senator Feinstein, grassroots activists within the California Democratic Party began pursuing the same action.
On Wednesday night, California Democratic Party Progressive Caucus co-chair Mal Burnstein stood up at an Oakland "Democracy for America" Meetup and read his original censure resolution aloud to dozens of attendees, including several members of the East Bay for Democracy Democratic Club. Inspired by Mal's call to action, East Bay for Democracy officers unanimously endorsed Mal's censure resolution a few days later. The endorsed resolution then went viral over the holiday weekend, as activists across California emailed it to friends, Democratic Clubs, progressive organizations and grassroots groups.
By Monday, several grassroots organizations joined the movement to censure the Senator, including the Executive Board of the Progressive Caucus -- the second largest caucus sanctioned by the California Democratic Party. Progressive Democrats of America added their endorsement a few hours later. Late last night, the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, San Diego Democracy for America and Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles all endorsed the resolution. With only a few days before the Executive Board meeting, other Democratic Clubs and organizations are working towards endorsement as well.Join the movement now to censure the Senator:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/censurethesenatorSenator Feinstein has repeatedly undermined core American values at historic moments, enabling President Bush to maintain his radical right-wing agenda. Even though the Senator represents one of the most progressive states in America, she votes time after time to support the President, despite the fact that 70% of California voters and 91% of California Democrats disapprove of his policies.
As we said on Wednesday, "if Senator Feinstein cares about nothing else, she cares about her legacy."That's why it's so important that you call on the California Democratic Party right now to hold her accountable -- and tell your friends, family and neighbors to join the movement to censure the Senator as soon as possible.
Thank you for taking action today.Rick Jacobs
Courage Campaign
P.S. Dianne Feinstein is about to fail us on civil liberties as well, having expressed her support in favor of granting huge telecom companies retroactive immunity from prosecution for wiretapping Americans.
If you think condoning torture, racism, homophobia -- and spying on Americans -- is unacceptable, please take just a few seconds to sign your name in support of the movement to censure the Senator:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/censurethesenator
Comments are closed for this post.
I believe that her decision was based on a review of the whole of the testimony she heard, not on sound bites heard on a news program. I was very disappointed with her vote so I went to her website to read the letter she posted about her decision and it wasn't that hard to understand her reasoning. I might not agree that there is no better candidate likely to be offered but I believe she has the right to act on her own convictions.
Censuring someone's vote is ridiculous. Anyone's. Censuring illegal activity makes more sense. Let's stop wasting time on this type of petty-ante activity and focus on the big guns, the real criminals, the Bush administration.
Your complaint there's no checkbox for "No, don't censure" is pretty self-indulgent. Disingenuously so.
Petitions are for gathering support for a particular point of view. Not counting up the cutesy meaningless tea-party Yay-sies and No-sies you're looking for. So they asked a rhetorical question or posed a non-sequitur, so what.
MORE important, you wrote:
"Censuring someone's vote is ridiculous. Anyone's. Censuring illegal activity makes more sense."
Frankly, Feinstein's vote ITSELF can be thought of as illegal, in that it contradicts/betrays inviolable American legal principles. It installs a nominee who overtly and intentionally mis-reads existing law.
And everything we know points to Diane Feinstein's continuing support for a legal regime that eviscerates and betrays the Constitution. Intentionally.
Quite frankly, that's tantamount to treason.
Lectures about the 'horror' of censuring a vote, in the context of this obscene war and Feinstein's obscene attitude towards the Constitution, her Constituents--and teh country--is offensive, frivolous, and shows a real lack of seriousness on your part.
You are welcome to, as everyone is, do your own research as to why Dianne Feinstein voted for Mukasey. Indeed, you seemed to figure it out quite easily.
This organization is evidently trying to show why a censure is being requested; something one CAN'T find out by reading the papers or the Senators website.
If you think calling a Senator on her (too regular) votes that favor defense contractor's and her new buddy Bush is petty, then you would do well to let the rest of us write up strong arguments in favor of censure and you can stay cozy in the belief that reading the Senator's explanation is just hunky-dory!
Thank you very much,
A Concerned Citizen in California.
along with Joe Lieberman.
Censuring is too good for her, but if that is all we have at the moment, so be it.
People should _remember_ this rage and write a check to any future primary challenger she may have, or otherwise work to get this pig out of office.
Feinstein is just another rubber stamp for the Bush administration. She has failed us. She must be given a warning she can hear. Censure will do it.
Her hero, the imbecile in the oval orifice has divider the country so deeply as to be almost irrepairable.
This is just ANOTHER of bush's ally, feinstein's confidence game ploys.
Impeachment would bring back much of that which we REAL AMERICANS have lost, pride in America as it is reflected in the government.
It is high time that we the REAL AMERICANS took back our country from these types who have stolen it.
They are no more than self-serving vandals.
Senator Feinstein, in this past year, broke ranks with the rest of the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee and passed Judge Leslie Southwick's nomination to the full Senate. Judge Southwick made Judge Priscilla Owen look good.
So it is time she was censured. She is not a progressive - fine. But she is starting to hurt the Democratic Party in the way that Lieberman did by always giving cover to the most hateful actions of this administration.
Recall (which I believe is allowed by CA law)? F***g hell yes!
If California can recall Gray Davis for his "transgressions" then we sure as hell should recall DiFi for utterly failing to represent the wishes, desires, convictions, and values of her constituency.
What we need is a strong progressive candidate from this district who we can replace her with. Given that her district includes the most progressive city and area in the United States, there's no excuse for her votes recently.
I think some follow up investigation into her husband's business dealings and contracts in Iraq might be interesting.
She has actively supported the Governator, she has backed every major Bush appointment and policy initiative. She is at best a Republican trojan horse.
As it turns out, her husband has received, millions of dollars in no-bid military contracts, since the start of the Iraq war. In addition, until last April, she sat on the appropriations committee that awarded those contracts.
Link
Her votes, look even worse, when viewed through the lens of her husband's enrichment, at the american people's expense.
Votes:
*For additional war funding
*For Southwick (Racist homophobe with a shiney new lifetime appt)
*For Cornyn Amendment. (We wouldn't want evidence of Iran's nuclear ambitions to come in the form of a mushroom cloud. Also, they hate our freedom. Oh, also we better fight them over there)
*For “Is Waterboarding Really Torture?” Mukasy
*For immunizing the telecommunications companies, the administration's lapdogs in spying on American citizens, because they are "unable to defend themselves in court" (won't somebody PLEASE think about the telecommunications conglomerates???)
Please, we've got to de-Leibermanize California. Because if we don't do it, no one will.
listen, until we beat down the crypto-republicans like Feinstein, we'll continue to be splintered and off-message and ineffective and losers. do you think that a republican for a split second would even consider voting against "Go Waterboard Yourself" Mukasey?
how about McCain of all people? NO. he just didn't show up. and neither did Obama, Clinton or Biden. if strength comes in numbers, and the prinicples of the people who elected you matter AT ALL, then Feinstein had better rejoin the flock or run as an independent next time.