Klobuchar and Bayh still holding the bag

by David Waldman

Mon Nov 24, 2008 at 06:40:33 AM PDT

Joe Lieberman hit MTP yesterday, and of course the conversation made its way to the recent Senate Democratic Caucus vote allowing him to keep his Homeland Security chair.

Think Progress has the video and a key highlight:

BROKAW: I hear the word regret, but not the word apologize.

LIEBERMAN: Well, I do — I regret it. I mean, you know, I’m going forward. You can take from the word "regret" what you will. I wish I had not said some of the things I’ve said. But again, we all do it.

As you'll recall, Evan Bayh made a big show of insisting that Lieberman would have to apologize for his actions. Amy Klobuchar kinda-sorta-maybe joined him in that call.

But let's be clear: There was no apology, and to the extent that any Senator insisted that there be one before Lieberman could retake the gavel, they were writing checks they couldn't cash.

Yes, what's done is done. But there's nothing wrong with keeping accounts. In fact, keeping accounts is the power that underlies "the spirit of reconciliation." Reconciliation without awareness and a clear accounting of what it is you're reconciling is just rolling over.

I'll have it in the back of my mind next time I hear Bayh or Klobuchar naming their terms on something. What's in the back of my mind, of course, doesn't matter. But you can bet it'll also be in the back of some minds that matter a great deal more.

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Tags: Amy Klobuchar, Evan Bayh, Joe Lieberman, Senate Democratic Caucus (all tags) :: Previous Tag Versions

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  •  O/T (4+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    annan, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, jnhobbs, blueocean

    Just want to say Congrats on the new place. Looks good. Feels good. And is very important addition to the blogosphere. OK. I'm gonna look around a little more.

    There are moments when the body is as numinous as words, days that are the good flesh continuing. -- Robert Hass

    by srkp23 on Mon Nov 24, 2008 at 08:15:46 AM PDT

  •  Nice, bright sunshiney place you got here (5+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    srkp23, larryrant, annan, jnhobbs, blueocean

    Keeping accounts and splashing sunshine all over the hill - I like it!

    O snail, climb Mount Fuji, but slowly, slowly! - Issa

    by bumblebums on Mon Nov 24, 2008 at 08:27:49 AM PDT

  •  I'm glad this site is happening, (2+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    annan, blueocean

    and look forward to visiting frequently.

    Also, I really appreciate those remarks about reconciliation:

    ... keeping accounts is the power that underlies "the spirit of reconciliation."  Reconciliation without awareness and a clear accounting of what it is you're reconciling is just rolling over.

    Yes!  We don't keep accounts as an obsession, nor as a way of self-congratulation or other-hating.  We keep accounts in the interests of realism and progress.  The alternative is a hike into the swamp.

    "We must become the change we want to see." -Gandhi    PublicChristian.com

    by larryrant on Mon Nov 24, 2008 at 08:28:14 AM PDT

  •  Kudos! Excellent new site. (4+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    bumblebums, srkp23, jnhobbs, blueocean

    I'm delighted and I look forward to participating in the ongoing conversation.

    Right after the midterm elections in 2006 we attempted to organize Kossacks around the Congressional Committees Project, which didn't flourish as intended for a variety of reasons.

    Kangro X, do you think any of the diskopedia infrastructure  that was created for that project might be useful here?

    "Let us not look back to the past with anger, nor towards the future with fear, but look around with awareness." James Thurber

    by annan on Mon Nov 24, 2008 at 08:42:28 AM PDT

    •  I'm glad you brought that up. (3+ / 0-)

      Recommended by:
      bumblebums, srkp23, blueocean

      I was actually going to ask you that.

      Congress Matters, I hope, can provide a blogging home base for the project. And if we're lucky, we'll get the participation of the institutional activist and advocacy communities in doing our committee watching, which can add a lot to what we learn along the way.

      This aspect of Congress Matters is going to help us move from a community of activists who made calls to Congress on the day of an important floor vote to a community that intervenes earlier in the process (when lobbyists do), so that we'll have a better chance of success. By the time a bill reaches the floor, the voting is just about locked in one way or the other. But if we're contacting Members before committee markups, we have at least a theoretical chance of helping make a real difference when legislation is still much more flexible, and the issue isn't simply yes or no on the bill.

      by David Waldman on Mon Nov 24, 2008 at 08:59:13 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  Congressional Committees Project (0+ / 0-)

        Kangro, my main contribution to the Congressional Committees Project was community building, not direct activism.

        For a time, I became the chief advocate by virtue of my writing and community building skills: linking the need to watch congress with an opportunity to use the project as a form of community building at Daily Kos.

        Since 2006 several other developments (Netroots Nation, the Obama campaign) were more successful at community building because ultimately there is no substitute for face-to-face, real time interaction between peers. I still wish I knew who my dKos kindred spirits were in the Obama campaign (hidden behind our alter ego/user names)  but eventually we'll find a way around that, too.

        However, there were other outstanding organizers and activists involved with the project whose passion was truly an activist's passion to watch congress. Hopefully many of them will step forward again.

        I'll keep my eye on Congress Matters and step up again if I can see a role for my skills.

        "Let us not look back to the past with anger, nor towards the future with fear, but look around with awareness." James Thurber

        by annan on Tue Nov 25, 2008 at 07:36:34 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

  •  I'm going to be soooooo smart by the time you (3+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    srkp23, larryrant, hikerbiker

    guys and gals are finished with me.   I'm going to be an informed citizen!  

    Watch out Washington... Here we come.

    When do the discussions on Healthcare Reform start?

    I'm fired up and ready to go!

    by blueocean on Mon Nov 24, 2008 at 08:52:47 AM PDT

  •  cheers on great site set up (1+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    srkp23

    i'm having problems posting or even reccing at dk due to accidental visit at porno site that infected my puter with trojans...but i can rec here, np! :)

    Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Mohandas K. Gandhi

    by Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse on Mon Nov 24, 2008 at 09:15:09 AM PDT

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