Liberal Hero Alan Grayson To Harry Reid: Get Tougher On Fellow Dems!
Liberal hero Alan Grayson — who’s suddenly a national figure thanks to his high-octane tirades against Republicans — is joining the campaign to pressure Harry Reid to get tougher with Senate Dems who might join the GOP health care filubuster.
I’m told Dem Rep. Grayson will hold a press conference this afternoon in D.C. to unveil a petition to Reid bearing more than 90,000 signatures, collected by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, insisting that “any Democratic senators who support a Republican attempt to block a vote on health care reform should be stripped of their leadership titles.”
Reid’s office has strongly protested this pressure campaign, saying that it won’t have an impact, because the Dem caucus reaches decisions on legislation together. That only prompted further demands from the left that Reid “lead.”
Either way, the group running this campaign hopes Grayson will be an ideal messenger to draw attention to it. Grayson is a nationally revered on the left as a symbol of the feisty and combative approach to partisan warfare that the liberal rank and file has long craved from the Dem leadership. So Grayson, the group hopes, will prove an ideal foil to Reid.
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Good! I’d like nothing more than to see Reid squirming as Grayson slams him for repeatedly being punked by his own party. Grayson seems to be the only one willing to call out Reid publically along with the blue dogs for their part in blocking the public option. None of us voted for Olympia Snowe for president. It’s time she took a hike. If House progressives stand firm, there will have to be a strong public option. Counting on Harry Reid isn’t looking like a smart bet. I hope he loses his reelection bid either way. He’s completely useless.
Reid’s spine had erectile dysfunction. The only way to motivate him is to do what Grayson has been doing; demand that Reid do what his caucus, constituents, and the citizens of the country are demanding. Do not give Reid a pass.
Gasman, are you sure a spine can suffer from erectile dysfunction?
Any senator or representative is within his or her rights to attempt to block a vote for any piece of legislation that they disagree with. That is the way our government is supposed to work.
The Republicans are on especially solid ground here because they have been cut completely out of the process simply because they disagree with one or two ideas that are especially dear to the liberal left.
Do you guys believe there shoud be a one party system with everyone marching in lock-step with no dissent allowed?
I understand the rules and traditions of the Senate can be arcane and have been around for awhile. And the Senate can feel free to set whichever majority number..simple..60..70..whatever to PASS legislation.
I do not understand the morality of a filabuster. I understand BOTH parties have used this legislative tactic and I get that you have to play by the rules given you…but voting to simply prevent making your vote public on the Senate floor. I can live with any Blue Dog who wants to vote against the HCR bill or a P.O. but just do it..out in the open..have your vote recorded and STAND BEHIND YOUR VOTE. Don’t hide behind a filabuster…Americans have the right to know which way their Senators are voting.
If the Senate is so afraid of a bill passing with a simple majority they wish to insure more protection for a bigger majority…then simply make 60 the number required. They tinker with these numbers through the years and all I can say is I vote for a permanent cloture on filabusters by either party. Vote and let us see your vote.
lardo,
I must disagree. The republicans have united against reform because they feel it will help them in the next election as it did when Clinton failed to reform health care. They have been allowed in on the process but have CHOSEN not to help for this reason.
The republicans have also threatened that anyone who votes for health reform will not be supported in the next election; that the party will essentially turn their backs to them.
Those of us who support this petition merely want to see our representatives representing the people and NOT the insurance and health care industries.
@rukidding
The Senate was designed to be the most undemocratic body of government. It’s not perfect, but it can sometimes be a useful check.
That said, people aren’t hiding behind the fillibuster…Harry Reid is letting them hide behind the THREAT of a fillibuster. Which is even more pathetic. There are 60 Dems (2 Indies) in the caucus, so there should be no issue getting a floor vote.
If only Dems weren’t stupid enough to stick Harry “Spineless” Reid into a leadership position.
OOPS! I really meant larbo. Sorry about that!
Larbo, I guess you dont remember the 8 long devestating years your party ruled. And look at where that got us. (you know the facts) It’s gonna take a long time to get through this mess…but get through it we will, no thanks to you.
Yay! I like Grayson – he is just big bunch of common sense and straightforwardness.
Go Grayson!
“The Republicans are on especially solid ground here because they have been cut completely out of the process simply because they disagree with one or two ideas that are especially dear to the liberal left.”
total hogwash. A complete lie.
# larbo | October 14th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Any senator or representative is within his or her rights to attempt to block a vote for any piece of legislation that they disagree with. That is the way our government is supposed to work.
The Republicans are on especially solid ground here because they have been cut completely out of the process simply because they disagree with one or two ideas that are especially dear to the liberal left.
Do you guys believe there shoud be a one party system with everyone marching in lock-step with no dissent allowed?
…………………….
Dissent is fine. I support it.
However, The Republicans, when they were in power did not allow it.
Remember their “Nuclear Option” threat in the US Senate, to eliminate Filibusters?
Just like Republicans only come up with Health care reform proposals when they are not in power, they are only for inclusion in the process, when they are out of power.
They want to have it both ways, and apparently so do you. Hypocrites!
@Larbo…a question for you…is Senator Jim Demint of S.C. a complete exception to the Republican response? Or do you believe having a Senator state publicly…and I’m paraphrasing…if we can kill HCR it will be Obama’s waterloo. He said NOTHING about
disagreeing with ” with one or two ideas that are especially dear to the liberal left.” He was clearly confirming nitanae’s post…”The republicans have united against reform because they feel it will help them in the next election as it did when Clinton failed to reform health care.”
@BBQ I take your point…I guess I’m just curious if the founding fathers realized what they REALLY had created. I suspect it might have made a lot more sense in the late 1700’s than it does in the new millenium when special interests can literally buy votes from small state Senators.
“They want to have it both ways,”
I’m still laughing over the website – “future leaders – 0″ “Latest accomplishments – 2004″ -
The Republicans: No accomplishments, no future.
Somehow I don’t think that a member of the House pressuring the Senate Majority Leader is going to sit too well with the members of the Senate. Interesting the way the comments devolved here with blame being cast at the republicans. The point of the post, and Grayson, is that Democrats themselves are to blame if they cannot pass a senate bill with a robust PO, not Republicans.
@Tena…I share your glee at the state of the Republican party as it is currenly constituted. It has been taken over by the far right has lead our country to disastrous consequences at home and abroad…they have literally f’d up vitually everything and they presently deserve the ridicule and lack of respect.
However as someone who does agree at least with the concept that a two party system functions best when there is a genuine attempt to discuss issues and not just mid term elections and that a LOYAL opposition is valuable…what’s next?
I guess what I’m asking..the Repubs constantly want to say our country is center-right…that is obviously shifting…if the shift continues far enough do you believe the Repubs will be FORCED by necessity to allow some centrists back into their fold and begin once again to bargain in good faith with civility or face the fate of the Whigs?
“I guess what I’m asking..the Repubs constantly want to say our country is center-right…that is obviously shifting…if the shift continues far enough do you believe the Repubs will be FORCED by necessity to allow some centrists back into their fold and begin once again to bargain in good faith with civility or face the fate of the Whigs?”
Darlin, they pulled the country to the right, starting with Reagan. They simultaneously insisted it was like that anyway, which was not true. Never has been true – Reagan struck a chord, but by the time his 2d term was up, we were back where we started – we are not a conservative country.
Either the Republicans grow up and understand that or they die as a viable party.
I think the idea that Republicans have been cut out is probably the most utterly ridiculous and stupid thing I have ever heard. The Democrats don’t have the spine to cut anyone out. The President of the United States is making speeches in the Rose Garden kissing Republican *** just to get ONE lousy vote. Republicans aren’t cut out, they withdrew. Olympia Snowe has basically written the half of the Fiannce bill that wasn’t already written by lobbyists and she is a Republican. All this in a Congress that was elected with a massive Democratic majority after the total failure of Conservative ideology. Larbo if you actually believe anything you said I certainly hope you aren’t contributing to the geen pool
On the House side the Repubs were cut out almost completely. In the Senate they offered amendments over 90% of which were technical in nature and virtually nothing substantive. The idea that offering amendments in cmte makes this a bipartisan effort is laughable. That means that virtually everything you blame the Repubs for doing for 8 years was actually a bipartisan effort.
O boo hoo hoo for the poor damn Republicans.
Spare me! They were the ones running around talking about Obama’s Waterloo.
‘
The right had the entire month of August to say their say and they said it very loudly.
and your point is … ?
I’m sorry I got you guys so far off track and on to your familiar Republican bashing tirade.
If you simply re-read my post you will find that I am simply defending any legislators right to dissent, both within or outside of his party, either Republican or Democrat.
By the way, I am neither Republican or Democrat. I consider myself to be solidly “middle-of-the-road”, and have voted both ways in the past. I have no doubt that I am further to the right than anyone I have read on this blog, so I guess that makes me a Republican in your eyes.
I also contribute to blogs much further right than I am, and they are much the same way most of you are, rabid in their myopic view of “the way things should be”.
Grayson is my Hero, about time our “politically Correct” Dem’s stand up and stop taking the abuse by the Rep’s. The Rep’s are on the wrong side of history and need, a strong congressman like Grayson to point that out…..
Greg: What do you think of the idea of doing some research and seeing if what Grayson and other progressives are proposing is actually even possible?
What I’m seeing makes it look like leadership and committee assignments are positions elected by the entire caucus. Can Reid actually strip anyone of anything? If so, what positions does he control directly and what recourse does he actually have?
This seems to be an area (like filibusters) where there is an awful lot of misconception of the powers of the senate majority leader.
The best thing about Grayson that the media haven’t really noticed (present column excluded, natch) is that he’s willing to call out almost ANY impediment to reform. He’s giving Blue Dogs and Reid every bit as much bidness as the GOP. Which is exactly where much of his party is, but they’re typically too afraid to admit it in Congress. He’s calling BS wherever he sees it, GOP or Dem. That is a precious commodity in politics these days, that strength of character.
assman is right. Do not give Reid a pass.
Harry had a little medical problem when he was born. He was lacking a large portion of his back bone. His surgeon told a intern to go out and find a back bone of a crocodile, because it would big and strong. The intern left, but couldn’t find a crocodile and instead could only find a tentacle of a jelly fish. The surgeon said, well you have to work with what you have and implanted the tentacle in poor young harry’s back and this what we’ve been living with ever since.
What use is a caucus, if individuals are free to support a filibuster? Hash it all out in caucus, then stick together as a party.
Well Larbo, voting against a bill is not the same thing as not allowing a bill to be voted on. The former expresses an opinion on a substantive issue. The latter is merely obstructionist. Expressing dissent happens when one votes against a bill. Keeping a bill off the floor so that no one can express their opinion on a bill is flat out obstruction and should not be tolerated.
“Any senator or representative is within his or her rights to attempt to block a vote for any piece of legislation that they disagree with.”
Pathetically dishonest strawman. Alan Grayson is also within his rights to call for Dems who defy their party and America’s interests to be stripped of their leadership in the Dem Party, and Harry Reid is within his rights to do such stripping.
“The Republicans are on especially solid ground here because they have been cut completely out of the process simply because they disagree with one or two ideas that are especially dear to the liberal left.”
Liar.
“Do you guys believe there shoud be a one party system with everyone marching in lock-step with no dissent allowed?”
No, you dishonest hypocrite, that’s the other side. Google Karl Rove + “permanent Republican majority”
“Keeping a bill off the floor so that no one can express their opinion on a bill is flat out obstruction and should not be tolerated.”
Please don’t be misled by Larbo’s grossly dishonest strawman. Members of Congress have the right to vote as they please; they do NOT have a right to leadership positions in the Democratic Party. They do NOT have a right of immunity against political repercussions based on how they vote.
Grayson should probably be more worried about his job than Harry Reid’s. If he isn’t defeated in 2010, it will be an absolute miracle.
Larbo, the GOP has not been ‘cut out of the process’ because of a few ideas. They flat out refuse to bend. They have no meaning of what compromise entails, other than “Do it our way!”.They have well and truly become the Party of NO! And after running roughshod over every other party in the US for the past 12 years, being told to sit down and behave is what they need to be told. Just like bullies in school need to be told.
Any Dem who helps the GOP filibuster a REAL health reform bill shouldn’t just have their chairmanships taken away, they should be thrown out of the caucus! Hopefully those 89 co-sponsors of HR676 will take these fake Democrats out to the woodshed!!