A post I should never have had to write

One more time with feeling: "Fuck Sherrod Brown"

Five weeks before the election.  This was perfectly set to make up GOP campaign ads in the nefarious manner the GOP used to defeat Senator Max Cleland in 2002. 

 Hopefully, someone with standing will challenge this in court and the Bush law will be set down.  After all, it was *this* supreme court that declared current practices unconstitutional--a ruling that led to this law.

 I can understand why Sherrod voted as he did and I will back him on it.

Last time I checked, the Greens had put Fitrakis up for Governor, but nobody up for Senate. 

 Peace and brotherhood. 

so they're not pointless.

There is a spot where I just sent a message:

http://www.progressivepatriotsfund.com/suggest-a-candidate/index.html

This is Russ Feingold's Progressive Patriot fund and Sherrod Brown was the most recent recipient of their support (and if I remember right, money).

I put in "NOT Sherrod Brown" and wrote why in the comments.

Something like this may make an impact as well.

Is something we probably won't get.

A Senate filibuster.

As for you Sherrod, remember this from Mark 8:36:

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

The only excuse I can think of for your vote on House Bill 6166 is political posturing.

Can you give me another rational reason?

I wrote about your campaign for Senate as being the Politics of Hope vs. the Politics of Terror, following the inspiring interview you gave us at Meet the Bloggers in Cleveland.

Today you traded in that hope for what?

Color me disgusted, disappointed and waiting a justifiable reason.

scott

Sorry, Sherrod, I don't understand this vote on political grounds; I don't think that is valid or even useful here. This is a clear stand-and-fight issue. So obviously he thinks this is the right vote. Like many others here, I'd love to hear an explanation.

because if we don't accomplish the mission NOW, in 2006, then 2008 won't matter. There is no "savior" we can elect to the WH who can make it all better from the top down. It has to start NOW. I just blogged some thoughts on this:

http://blueohioan.blogspot.com/ 

That's the weak kneed piss your pants excuse.

If Brown had voted the other way and DeWine voted for torture are you saying that we are so fucking pathetic as to not be able to use a vote for torture against DeWine ? sick to death of pussy Democrats worried about what the fuck the GOP are gonna do and never think about what we cold do back in return. Give more credit to the American people.

If you;re seriously going to argue that torture is a majority political position in this country, then really what's the point of any of this anyway ?

The point of being pissed about this vote is it shows Brown's cowardice. There is ALWAYS going to be difficult votes, that's the nature of the job. Whether it is weeks before an election or not. Think you can trust Brown still ?

The media and the pundits had all basically endorsed passing this bill by 5pm Friday--a scant period of time after the bill's details had become public.  How could we claw back against an Orwellian misinformation campaign?  Round up a few International-A*N*S*W*E*R-types and have a rally on Euclid Avenue?

Because there was literally NO counter argument from any Democrat. Did Brown do anything to work against this bill in the last 2 or 3 weeks ? He has a pretty big megaphone you know.

Sick of spineless Democrats. The more I type and think about this the more angry I am becoming.

How  could a Democrat "campaign" against a deal whose details were a secret until the bill was presented (along with talking points)? 

I don't think anybody in John Mccain's office would have coffee with Sherrod's aides and let him in on the deal.

That's BS.

I'm sick of this ridiculous Democratic excuse of it being a political trap.

What if the bill was to legalize eating muslim babies to minimize future terrorists ? Where do you draw the line and say, you know what. I think I am going to vote the right way and trust the American people on this one.

Instead over the last 3 weeks this has been going on Democrats have hid from the Debate as usual like fucking cowards. They don't trust themselves or the American people.

But at least the bulk of them had the decency to vote the right way.

How many more crucial issues is Brown going to dodge and vote the wrong way over the next 6 years so his reelection is "easy" ?

Your argument is basically to win we have to become what we don't believe it.

If you really want to rationalize this excuse and do it the right way the answer is to miss the vote and release a statement saying you want nothing to do with this dangerous and ill thought out bill.

I don't like it any better than you do. It tastes like shit to me any way you slice it.

But a political trap is exactly what it was.  And you KNOW Brown's chances of getting elected would have evaporated if he had made the other choice. You KNOW how BEYOND FILTHY the game has become, and how LITTLE most voters pay attention.

And all the crying in the world about the way things ARE and why they SHOULDN'T be that way doesn't make a damned bit of difference if we don't seize the power to change things. And right now, that means checking your gut and making some damned hard decisions. Because it's about no less than the future of our country and our way of life.

Electing Democrats (even if we don't particularly like the Democrats we've been dealt) and halting our slide into HELL is our ONLY choice at this point. Once we do what needs to be done, and achieve a position that doesn't leave us reduced to squeaking mice, then we can set about reversing some of the damage done by this rogue government and rediscovering our souls.

More of my thoughts here:  http://blueohioan.blogspot.com/

Brown opposed Bush and his war vehemently--long before anyone knew that Rumsfeld's botched planning would make the war a disaster.  Sherrod put his political career on the line for constituents like me who wrote him letters opposing the war.

Brown has opposed globalization trade pacts although the newspapers never give him any good ink on that. 

sherrod brown has been a champion for trade and he was one of many democrats who opposed the war in iraq.

but doing the right thing when it's also the safe thing is just, well, doing the right thing.

it's doing the right thing when it's tough -- when there are personal consequences -- that makes someone courageous.

Opposing the war in 2003 was hardly "the safe thing" to do.

Can't disturb the sheeples' beautiful minds, though, so let's give 'em runaway brides and s[eculation about who is the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby?

This drama is the reality the whole country needs to be dealing with, not just the faction of us who are paying attention to the man behind the curtain. 

that I seem to be arguing in support of Sherrod Brown on this, because  his vote feels like a stab in the back to me.

And yet...we don't need any heroes who stand on principle and commit political suicide right now. Because we need someone who will still be around when the dust settles on November 8 to lead us toward the light.

What is our alternative? What, REALLY, is our alternative? 

isn't that the fundamental question? 

i think the answer is that the gop has proven time and again that they will always put politics over people.    they will demonize african-americans (the southern strategy), glbt (the ohio 04 strategy), and anyone else if it helps them win.  hell, they will even vote for torture if it wins elections.

when they do govern, it is a disaster (bush economy vs. clinton economy -- your pick...)

so, we turn to democrats for common-sense solutions.  for some sense of hope.  for leadership.

where was any of that in sherrod brown's vote? 

none of this will stand. We will be in a position to reverse some of the damage.

 IF the Democrats take back Congress.

Do you realize that arguing over  whether this Democratic candidate or that Democratic  candidate is ideologically and morally PURE ENOUGH is a ridiculous and elitist rhetorical exercise in futility?

We don't have the LUXURY of being that picky right now. The country is being dismantled before our eyes.

Let's elect Democrats and get some checks and balances back, and then we can get picky.

he voted for torture and indefinite imprisonment w/o charge or trail. that was his choice.  we all have to live with it.

does it mean he'll lose votes?  i don't know.  but that's the calcuted risk of a calculated vote.  that's politics.

(p.s., being a democratic candidate isn't some sort of superhero anti-accountability immunity shield.) 

yeah, i know exactly what it was.  i'm no political genius, but i saw it coming weeks ago. 

what matters to me is how brown handled it.  he did nothing to stop the bad bill from happening, then voted for it.

he was strategic within the confines of the box into which republicans put him -- instead of being, well, strategic. 

i guess i just don't agree that voting no would have cost him the election.  he should have fought against torture.  it's just wrong. 

I believe a correct vote would have had no impact on the race, and anyone who thinks this was an issue pushed for campaign advantage has bought way too far into the "Karl Rove is so clever we can't fight him" line of b.s. This is a dangerous, volatile issue that any Democrat will half a brain could make into as big an albatross for a Republican as calling someone "macaca."

Put it in this space.  What message would/could Sherrod have used to destroy Dewine?

you dont give them enough credit and you assume there is only one way to frame this argument - and I think that is because you have only been exposed ot one argument because the Dems have been silent.

voting against this bill protects the troops. It's why Colin Powell opposed it, and a whole raft of others. That with a couple of abu gharaib photo's would convince a lot of people of the depravity of this bill.

Democrats have to argue their positions and trust the voters. That's how the GOP always win and we don't. Pure and simple.

just like we're being forced into our choices.

Who calls the shots, and what is wrong with this picture? 

Understand, I HATE the choice he made.

But to not show up for the vote would have been the real coward's choice, and would be spun by Rove exactly the same way as a No.

Strickland isn't running for Congress and that puts him in a whole different situation.  Ken Blackwell doesn't have a vote either.

If Brown was really the "Progressive Patriot" he's been made out to be, he would have voted against torture. Forget "terrorists," let's talk about uncharged detainees. Is it OK to torture people just because der Dubyer claims, citing secret evidence, that they are "enemy combatants?" Or even while they are "awaiting such determination?" The case of Canadian citizen Maher Arar, whose torture was outsourced to Syria, makes me forcefully say NO.

If you're so driven to win an election that you're unwilling to see that this kind of horror is immoral and goes against everything this nation has ever claimed to stand for, then America is already dead. "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

...who is also in a tight race (in Tennessee).  That race is probably tighter than Brown's race in Ohio.

• Sherrod Brown voted for secret evidence, which the accused cannot see or challenge.
• Sherrod Brown voted for indefinite detention without charge.
• Sherrod Brown voted for torture.
• Sherrod Brown voted to give Bush & Rumsfeld a pass on Gitmo, Abu Ghraib and the secret CIA prison/rendition network.
• Sherrod Brown voted to remove all judicial review and oversight from all of the above.

PS: I didn't put up with Brown-nosers telling me to shut my pie-hole back in February and I'm not putting up with it now. I can and will say whatever I good and damn well please.

and see if you can understand where I'm coming from and what I'm trying to tell you.

Everybody is being entirely too reactive when a bit of reflection is called for.

And since I've said all that I need to, I'm going to leave it at what I've already written here.

While you're taking the time to reflect on all that's been said and done, ask yourself two questions:

 Where is this country clearly headed?

 and

Do we have the stomach to do what is needed to stop this runaway train?

Because as real as your concerns are, they appear unhelpfully frivolous in view of the monstrously evil big picture. 

If we don't stop the train, it's going off the bridge with all of us in it.

The problem with your logic is that Brown is now part of the problem, not the solution.  His vote is Exhibit A.

Do I have the stomach to do what is needed to stop this runaway train? If that means tacit support of this:

(e)(1) No court, justice, or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider an application for a writ of habeas corpus filed by or on behalf of an alien detained by the United States who has been determined by the United States to have been properly detained as an enemy combatant or is awaiting such determination.

(2) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 1005(e) of the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (10 U.S.C. 801 note), no court, justice, or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider any other action against the United States or its agents relating to any aspect of the detention, transfer, treatment, trial, or conditions of confinement of an alien who is or was detained by the United States and has been determined by the United States to have been properly detained as an enemy combatant or is awaiting such determination.

(b) Effective Date- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply to all cases, without exception, pending on or after the date of the enactment of this Act which relate to any aspect of the detention, transfer, treatment, trial, or conditions of detention of an alien detained by the United States since September 11, 2001.

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." -- Edmund Burke

Why?  So these same politicians can continue to cast these same votes?  Or will they magically start voting the "right" way once they are in office?  Yeah right - I've heard that one before.  Many times.  It's getting old.

If Brown couldn't explain a "no" vote to potential voters then he doesn't have what it takes to hold higher office.

I'm a political independent.  I would have voted for a fighter.  I will not vote for a coward. 

How about everyone around the world watching at the direction we are heading with apparent conviction. Jesus.

You don't think despots and dictators are looking at this and rubbing their hands knowing the door is now wide open for them to torture, to hold people without trial or much due process or appeal ?

and our counter argument when they do that is going to be what exactly ?

How's Brown ever going to be able to speak to those issues with any moral clarity ?

Folks have got to stop analyzing everything in a purely election orientated prism, and start considering the broader ramifications of where these policies lead us.

We're slowly boiling the frog, and some folks can't wait for a taste.

Dude, this isn't about ideology fir christs sake. It's about having a pair of balls. There's nothing ideological about torturing people unless you are some fucking tin pot dictator.

Quit being a weak kneed fucking Democrat and stand up to obvious bullshit for just once.

Read this thread and tell me that Browns hard core base isn't now pissed off big time, then tell me it did no damage.

I dont mean to be rude, but that's foolish. Torture and habeous corpus aren't ideological debates. It's the core of what WE ALL ARE.

If we have descended so low as to make the arguments tin pot dictators try to make to rationalize their actions then we have no purpose left.

I happen to think that the American people know differently and can understand this. You and Brown obviously don't.

I said i was trying not to be rude :)

I think you are flat out wrong. We're in these predicaments because people have allowed the GOP to put us there without standing up to them, and instead cowering afraid of 30 second TV ads.

Isn't it crystal clear by now from all the polling that people are SICK AND TIRED of the GOP and their failed BS policies and politics and are looking for a change ?

How can we offer that credible change when we endorse what they do because Democrats are afraid ?

I simply do not understand why Democrats are utterly incapable of standing up for what they believe in. If what we believe in makes us unelectable, then what is the point anyway ?

and look at reality here. This isn't about whether or not Sherrod Brown is your soulmate.  It's about whether you want to allow the GOP (which has been hijacked by radical extremists) to keep its death grip on our democracy and continue its dismantling of the Constitution and our way of life, Back away from the trees and take a look at the whole damned forest. YES, it's THAT serious. 

We either break their power now or it's over. There will be no savior to make it all better in 2008.  The prospects for a non-violent transfer of power will grow dimmer. Anyone  think I'm being melodramatic? Quit navel gazing and wake up. 

listen, i want to start by saying that i'm not advocating anyone vote against brown here.  i do think it's a terrible argument that a democratic majority is more important that a vote for torture.  this isn't about ideological purity.  it's not about pie-in-the-sky, vote-against-the-not-progressive-enough-democrats. 

it's about goddamned torture.

let's be clear here -- sherrod brown voted for torture.

he voted for mutilation so long as it isn't permanently disabling.

he voted for cuts, abrasions, and bruises so long as it isn't physical disfigurement.

he voted for serious pain and suffering so long as it isn't “a substantial risk of death.”

he voted for humiliating treatment.

makes me sick.

might be hard to do if Democrats decide they aren't into torture and those who vote for it. I'm guessing those people weren't part of the political calculation, but they should have been. the primary result should have been a red flag.

A lot of voters vote their conscience not party lines. I think we forget that at our peril. They might just skip the senate race now.

Imagine if DeWine voted for abortions because he was worried about Democratic attack ads. Where do you the the danger in doing that would come from ?

1)  If Brown's vote doesn't matter, he could have simply ducked it like that great "leader" Ted Strickland.

2)  Protecting his ass?  What a joke.  Given Brown's voting record on these issues, the GOP has plenty of ammo for their "soft on terrorism" charade without using this vote.

Brown made a calculated political decision believing this vote would gain him votes & not piss too much of his base off.   

When it comes to truly important issues I'm absolutely an idealistic voter & make no apologies for it. 

brown didn't have to vote for torture. he could have voted the right way -- the democratic way -- and spent his money on ads attacking this bullshit vote. 

or he could have led a protest walkout by democrats unwilling to vote for torture. 

or he could have used his senate race bullie pulpit to frame the debate, shift the public's focus and maybe, just maybe, avoid the vote altogether.

he had plenty of choices and made the wrong one. 

doesn't mean i'm not voting for him -- and it doesn't mean he shouldn't be called out for a bad decision.

Yes, exactly.

My son is a soldier and Sherrod Brown just voted with the side that thinks the Geneva Conventions are just nonbinding suggestions. How the hell do you think I feel?

On the other hand, how do we get this country back under control if we start balking because the McDemocrats our party puts up aren't NICE enough?