big news on the filibuster coming today - plus some saturday morning linkage

January 28, 2006

Ok folks, it's crunch time. I've been notified by a very reliable source that we are only two votes shy of sustaining a filibuster (note - i typoed this originally; it should have read "three votes". my sincerest apologies)! Massive progress has been made in the past 48 hours, and with your help, we can do this. At this point, Dianne Fienstein has come onboard as supporting the filibuster, which is HUGE news. Right now, we need to target Maryland's Barbara Mikulski and Colorado's Ken Salazar. Atrios has the info on Salazar and please remember to be nice, but urgent. Mikulski's contact info is as follows:

Baltimore Office
Brown's Wharf
1629 Thames Street
Suite 400
Baltimore, Maryland 21231
410-962-4510 (phone)
410-962-4760 (fax)
410-962-4512 (TDD)

Annapolis Office
Suite 202
60 West Street
Annapolis, MD 21401-2448
410-263-1805 (phone)
410-269-1650 (Balt. line)
410-263-5949 (fax)

Greenbelt Office
Suite 406
6404 Ivy Lane
Greenbelt, MD 20770-1407
301-345-5517 (phone)
301-345-7573 (fax)

Hagerstown Office
32 West Washington Street, Room 203
Hagerstown, MD 21740-4804
301-797-2826 (phone)
301-797-2241 (fax)

Salisbury Office
Suite 1E, Building B
1201 Pemberton Drive
Salisbury, MD 21801-2403
410-546-7711 (phone)
410-546-9324 (fax)

Washington, D.C. Office
503 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-2003
202-224-4654 (phone)
202-224-8858 (fax)
202-224-5223 (TDD)

Of course, you can always use the toll free congressional switchboard as well: 888-355-3588 or 888-818-6641

It is really looking like we can make this happen, people. PLEASE make the calls today, tomorrow, and Monday morning.

The Intergalactic Jester dropped a link in the comments yesterday which pretty much sums up why we should fight for the filibuster and on what grounds. He echos what I said yesterday about the theory of the unitary executive (great wikipedia article, BTW). Remember, Gore gave us the talking points a few weeks back, and now we've got to run with it. Forget about Roe (wow, that's something I never thought I'd write): it's all about executive power and protecting checks and balances.

As soon as I receive the information about the filibuster I will pass it along.

Now moving on to some other links that I was unable to post while I was oncall...

Karen Felthauser, candidate for TX House-52, got a DFA endorsement! This is great news for Williamson county democrats. Karen's a longtime DFA member who deserves this support for all the work she's done. Go Karen!

Texas blogger PDiddie is now the campaign manager for TX-AG candidate David Van Os. Congrats, P!! I think it's pretty amazing, and hope that this move will further legitimise bloggers as real strategists. David Van Os is a great guy and I wish P luck as he embarks on this new journey.

Also, the Hardball/Chris Matthews campaign really kicked into high gear this week. In case you don't recall, Matthews compared Michael Moore to Osama bin Laden, then issued one of those non-apology apologies, then went on Imus in the Morning and cracked fag jokes. And this guy calls himself a Democrat? MY ASS. I signed on as a co-sponsor because I think it's time to bite back at the media. I'm tired of so-called "neutral journalists" repeating RNC smears. It's got to end. So, we're urging people to contact three advertisers: Toyota, Verizon, and Intuit (makers of Turbotax). I'd like to add that if you are a Scion owner, you should get in on this as well. Being one of those folks, I've made a call to my local dealer as well as the corporate office. I also contact the ScionBoost people.

But what I really want to talk about here is Verizon. I think that we can be succeed in pressuring Verizon to remove their ads from Hardball, and here's why. Verizon is one of a few big corporations that claims to value diversity in their workforce while backing that claim up with tangible programs. They offer same-sex partner benefits, and even have "Diversity Councils" in each business unit. Last year, all Verizon employees had to go through diversity training. The point was to increase awareness and teach people how to respect those who may not be like them. It was a thirty-something hour course that covered everything from cultural differences in business practises to how to recognise your own discriminatory behavior and overcome it.

Now with this in mind, I'd like to suggest a positive way to pressure Verizon into removing those ads by explaining what is being done internally to increase the pressure. There is a group called GLOBE - the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Employees of Verizon and Their Allies. Here is their mission statement (I don't think this is proprietary information, and in fact I believe it shows Verizon's committment to diversity):

Mission
The purpose of this organization shall be to address the needs and concerns of employees of Verizon who are Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgender or who have family, friends or colleagues who are Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgender, thereby creating a working environment in which each individual is treated with respect and dignity.

Our success will be achieved by providing a support network for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender employees at Verizon; by promoting awareness, education, support and understanding of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender issues facing Verizon employees; by ensuring that Verizon corporate programs and policy address issues affecting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender employees at Verizon; and by seeking partnership whenever possible with all the appropriate groups within the Verizon corporate environment and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender communities.

In working towards this stated purpose, GLOBE will be acting as a resource to support and enhance Verizon's success and competitive advantage

Several people have contacted the GLOBE president and asked that he push this up the food chain.
Verizon has a stated committment to diversity, while Matthews probably lives in a very insulated, white bread world where everyone looks the same and comes from a similar background. These values completely contradict Verizon's committment to diversity in their workforce. I would rather that people NOT threaten to take their business elsewhere, and I cannot and will not support an outright boycott of Verizon. Rather, I feel that the best way to approach them would be to tell Verizon that they have a real chance to prove their committment to diversity by advertising with a different program. Turn this into a positive opportunity for the company to prove that they really mean what they say. I hope you all will take that into consideration when contacting them. Pressure is being applied from within, and with your help and the right approach, we can make this work.

Comments:

I hope the Dems in the Senate do filibuster. Another demonstration of their powerlessness and ineptitude is just what the party needs to accelerate its ongoing implosion and the rise of the true left-wing of this country - where we can put the final nails in the coffin of the American Communist Revolution of the 60's.

Filibuster! Please!!!

Posted by: Rick Orick at January 28, 2006 05:28 PM

Thanks for the kind words, anna. But the only legitimate thing I want is to see DVO on the steps of the Capitol, this time next year, taking the oath of office.

Posted by: PDiddie at January 28, 2006 07:31 PM

hey rick the troll - SUCK IT.

=)

and pdiddie, i as well want the same thing. david's a great guy. nothing would please me more than to see him inaugurated as our next AG.

Posted by: annatopia at January 29, 2006 12:00 AM

No, we need PRYOR annatopia. PRYOR, LANDRIEU, NELSON OF NE, CONRAD, JOHNSON Get them and we win

Posted by: ............ at January 29, 2006 01:13 PM

Rick, my dear...

if the government starts snooping around your place in the name of fighting terrorism or child porn WITHOUT a warrant, please don't go crying to that commie group, the ACLU.

Posted by: cats against bush at January 30, 2006 02:17 AM

I hope that we will all, finally, recognize the end of Democracy, if Alito is confirmed, and act accordingly. That is what "unitary executive" means; the end of balance of power, on which our Democratic Republic was founded

I am sick and tired of people saying that he, or anyone else, deserves and up or down vote. What would happen to any of us, if we applied for a job and wouldn't answer questions or told obvious lies.

If you have to lie, evade and give non-answers to questions about your agenda, maybe your agenda is not one the American people would want.

If Alito is confirmed to the Supreme Court, it will no longer be a matter of trying to save our Democracy, ir will be a matter of fighting to restore it. It makes me sick to think that what lies ahead will not be anymore bloodless than the last time a mad King Geroge was thrown out of America.

What we have been witnessing, since the early years of Clinton, has not been politics as usual. When will the Democrats realize it?

Posted by: Tram at January 30, 2006 06:40 AM

Anna,

Very nice post. I especially liked the Unitary Executive link to Wikipedia. I hadn't seen that yet, but it is quite comprehensive.

Could you point us to the Gore speech/statement/talking points that you refer to?

Thanks!

Posted by: Croaky at January 30, 2006 09:10 AM

hey folks, click over to the main page for more info.

Posted by: anna at January 30, 2006 11:16 AM

Croaky You asked about Vice President Gores' speech. I'm not coming up with the original link. But, I put a copy in a place where it won't get lost (too easy). Go to comment #89 on this thread.

Posted by: Frosted Flake at January 30, 2006 11:36 AM