> Well put. I wonder -- is Byrd the only Senator threatening a filibuster?
> Where's Wellstone? Locked in a reelection fight, I know (one he said he'd
> never be in, but in the end he pulled a D'Amato), but surely the Dems can do
> better than a rickety Byrd, whose KKK past is being brought up in certain
> amen corners, I notice.
I'm not sure what's up vis-a-vis Wellstone's participation in a filibuster, but he (along with three other Minnesota Democrats so far - McCollum, Oberstar and Sabo) is on record as saying he will vote against the resolution authorizing force. He spoke at length in opposition to unilateral action on the Senate floor last week. In a related twist, and seemingly dovetailing with the President's veto of the defense bill as a result of Bush's opposition to increased pension benefits for disabled vets, Wellstone also received the ringing endorsement of the political arm of the Veterans of Foreign Wars this week for his perceived efforts on their behalf.
As for the dockworkers' strike, Wellstone's spokesman said, "The most constructive thing the President can do now is to persuade the PMA to end its lockout." His opponent in the neck-and-neck Minnesota senate race, the shameless Bush lackey (and recent, former Democratic lackey) Norm Coleman, is 100 percent behind Bush's effort to forcibly reopen the ports - which, BTW, was cemented earlier today when Bush formally asked the Attorney General to seek an injunction. And Coleman will continue to back Bush on every front, because he has an insatiable urge to bend over at every opportunity. It's embarrassing to watch. Regardless of what one thinks of Wellstone, Coleman needs to be opposed on every front. He's a rudderless, unprincipled opportunist of the worst kind, which makes him, as a political entity, dangerous to the lives of other human beings.
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/ dave /