Feinstein Faces Dem Censure After Backing Mukasey

One day after voting to elevate a divisive conservative judge to the federal appeals court in New Orleans, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein was the president's guest aboard Air Force One. She had been invited to survey the damage from the recent spate of Southern California wildfires.

The senator later remarked privately that she found her conversation with Bush aboard Air Force One "illuminating," a source close to Feinstein told the Huffington Post.

Two weeks later, Feinstein was one of two Democrats on the Senate judiciary committee to vote to send Michael Mukasey's nomination to be the new attorney general to the full Senate. Her support helped turn the tide in favor of a nomination that faced an uncertain future after Mukasey refused to say whether waterboarding was torture.

When the full Senate voted, Feinstein was one of only six Democrats to vote in favor of confirming Mukasey.

Now, a coalition of progressive Democrats upset with Feinstein's controversial votes will ask the California Democratic Party to censure her at its executive board meeting this weekend, the Huffington Post has learned.

The move comes as Feinstein again finds herself under fire for saying Thursday that she now supports granting legal immunity to telecom companies that shared customer email and phone messages with the federal government as part of the warrantless surveillance program.

"Dianne Feinstein does not listen to the people of California," said Rick Jacobs, president of the Courage Campaign, a progressive organization in California. "She supports George Bush's agenda time after time."

Feinstein's office did not respond to messages seeking comment.

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East Bay For Democracy, a chartered Democratic Club outside San Francisco, will introduce the censure motion on Saturday at the state party's executive board meeting in Anaheim. The Governing Board of the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party and the Progressive Democrats of America are also backing the measure.

In addition to her move to back Mukasey, critics have lashed out at her decision last month to vote to confirm Judge Leslie Southwick to the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Southwick's opponents charged that his record on the bench in Mississippi demonstrated that he was both racist and homophobic. The Congressional Black Caucus, Human Rights Campaign and People for the American Way opposed his nomination.

The censure resolution faces an uphill battle. In order to be considered by the full executive board, it must first make it through the party's resolutions committee, which must approve the text unanimously.

The text of the resolution is below:

Whereas Senator Dianne Feinstein voted to support the nomination of Judge Michael Mukasey as United States Attorney General, thereby elevating to the highest position in law enforcement a man who refused to renounce the right of the President to resort to torture and who refused to recognize waterboarding as a form of torture, and by this action Senator Feinstein failed to oppose President Bush and failed to stand for the ideals of the Democratic Party, which abhors torture and stands firmly against its use by the United States at all times and places; and

Whereas Senator Feinstein voted to confirm Judge Leslie Southwick for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit despite his clear record of racism and gender discrimination, thus failing to stand firmly with the Democratic Party, which supports gender equality and opposes racism in any of its manifestations; and

Whereas these examples are far from the only instances where Senator Feinstein, after seeking and securing the support and endorsement of the California Democratic Party, has failed to support the policies and principles of our party

Therefore be it resolved that the California Democratic Party expresses its disappointment at, and censure of, Senator Feinstein for ignoring Democratic principles and falling so far below the standard of what we expect of our elected officials.

Comments

[vegasobserver]

An Honored Member of the Dempublicratic Party... and I used to work for her in DC! :(

[atomic]

CENSURE THIS GOD DAMNED NEOCON SNAKE WHORE IN THE GRASS.... HA.... THROW HER OUT ON HER ASS INSTEAD. FEINSTEIN IS A BUSHIE.

What Feinstein did was unbelievable ... I think it's a huge blow to the overall context of who is fighting the real enemies of this country and who are the actually enemies.

Feinstein is an enemy of this country. She is for big business, specifically her husbands, and she is worthless to the people. She's a Bushie.

At a time when we need real heros who took the oath to defend the constitution she has basically betrayed those who supported her.

Feinstein is guilty of a betrayal so deep that there is no redemption. She could step down but the damage she has brought us is done.

She should leave now and make that her one good thing she does for the people.

[wordvarc]

'

Despite the theories and postings above, Feinstein's recent moves make no sense...unless there's some quid pro quo that she does not want us to know about.

I'm as baffled by her as I was when the US advertised having 'special knowledge (fron 'curveball') that entitled 'w' to initiate unjust pre-emptive war.

.

[Phrank]

It is obvious from their votes that "the Fix" is still being put in. I don't how they control Feinstein, Schumer, Clinton and the other Democlicans, but they do. So long as the people keep electing these traitors to American interests and values continue to be re-elected the establishment that has ruined the middle-class and gotten us into four UNWINNABLE wars in the past 50 years will be are real rulers. We have spent about $5,000,000,000,000 on "defense" over that past 10 years. Yet to hear them tell it we are under greater threeat than ever. Am I the only one that thinks we may be doing something wrong?

[FirstBlowupDollLaura]

They should censure Pelosi too - for taking away the right to impeach which the founding fathers gave us to protect against abuse of executive power.

Nancy Pelosi said if she receives 10,000 handwritten letters she will put impeachment back on the table. Cindy Sheehan says if you send them in care of her campaign office the letters will be accurately counted.

Office of the Speaker
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
[phone]

Cindy for Congress
RE: Impeach Dick Cheney
1260 Mission Blvd
San Francisco, Ca 94103

[namesis]

feinstein is a classical example of what is wrong with our political system. To serve We The People (WTP) is an honor and privilege, not a trough for career opportunists. We are in our 230th year and what worked then, does not anymore. It's time for:

1. congresspeople and senators are servants of WTP. If they offend, they must be fired. It's time WTP change the federal laws which were designed to keep rich, white men in power.

2. term limits: one 3-yr term and that's it. Anything more and they lose touch with the real world and forget to whom they owe their job and allegiance. There are 350+ million people in this country, and more than a few who want to serve, not profit at all cost;

3. no more travelling to foreign states during an election year;

4. anyone with a proven loyalty to a foreign state must be fired immediately, then tried and sentenced for treason;

5. "Funding" by corporate and interest groups are bribes that are the mark of a 3rd world country. Federal funding in equal measure to all competent aspirants will curb excess, waste and give equal access to all of WTP with a desire to serve;

6. Costly travelling across the country is an anachronism. Can somebody tell those people that we have radio, tv and the internet where they can and should present their agendas?

7. Instead of meaningless and costly travelling around the country, we need real public debates moderated by a strong and competent moderator, such as Keith Olberman, who will cut off blabering incompetents.

8. No more presidential dynasties.

Let's bring democracy back to our republic.

[PeteBogs]

this is deserved, but is a waste of time in my view...

[swift goat pet for truth]

The dems could have filibusterd Mukasey if they really wanted to stop him.

The Pres Candidates did not even show up to vote.

[Bobby]

Here's more dirt on Fein$tein.

http://newsbusters.org/node/12481

Corruption is everywhere in Washington. Both parties as well. For every Fein$tein and LIEberman, you also have Larry Craig, Orren Hatch and Lindsey Graham. All have sold their souls for 30 pieces of silver. And Craig and Graham are closet queens that do one thing and vote another way. Then you have the assholes that talk a big game, then never do shit like Schumer and Spector. But in terms of corruption, nobody holds a candle to the Bu$h family. Their history of treason and war profiteering is second to none.

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2006/10/05/dynasty_of_death_part_1

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2006/10/10/dynasty_of_death_part_2

[RogerHWerner]

Fienstein is an interesting politician. I suspect the only reason she's a Democrat is because she is from San Francisco and in that city Republicans rarely bother to run for office. When she was mayor, her record was pro-business and most of us understand that she's closer to the old Rockefeller wing of the GOP than to FDR progressive Democrats. To be honest, she and the CLintons share a great deal in common politically speaking.

Her centrist political philosophy works in California because politically, the state is rather evenly divided between liberals/progressives and old style conservatives with additional independent voters and religious conservatives (the later have very little influence). While we are a blue state, substantial numbers of voters are centrist or slightly right of center and Feinstein wins because she wins many of these voters and all of the Democratic voters, which explains her healthy margins of victory.

I personal find her voting repellent but I can't think of a single Republican in California that I'd prefer over her and the chances of a Democrat unseating her are nill. She is reaching retirement age and we can only hope that she'll give up the ghost sooner rather than later.

[JuliaKRosen]

You can join Courage Campaign's call to censure here:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/censurethesenator

And hold Senator Feinstein accountable.

Julia
Online Political Director
Courage Campaign

[lancelotfl]

When in doubt, follow the money. Feinstein's husband is making a ton of money from the Iraq War. She has a vested interest in making sure that Dumbyah's War never ends. She's doing a heck of a job.

If the people of California gave two shits, they could recall her. Then again, there's Britney's kids to worry about.

[Paco216]

Why is it that the two that support Israel voted to confirm?

What a coincidence!!!

Welcome to the United Interests of Israel; it's a new nation without a coup.

[ShamanOmaha]

Waterboard Dianne Feinstain!

Feinstain doesn't think waterboarding is torture. Therefore, Feinstain should be waterboarded until she discloses the truth about why she voted for Mukasey and why she gave immunity to the treasonous telecoms.

[KeysDan]

Frank Rich's Sunday column in the NYT presents the Schumer/Feinstein vote in the context of the Bush coup. Mr. Rich's article is interesting reading, but I would (as most writing here would agree) quarrel with his characterization of these two Vichy senators as "liberals". Schumer, maybe, but certainly not Mrs. Feinstein, as even a cursory review of her background and voting record would indicate. Mrs. Feinstein is not a lawyer, and she is on the Judiciary Committee (the only non-lawyer on this committee)--an expert on judges and attorneys. Senator Reid needs to remove her from this post, as sign of dissaproval. All of us, not only CA citizens, can help in this kind of censure.