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

[OCPatriot]

I'm sick and tired of Democrats who fold, make bold statements and don't follow them up with action. How long have some of the Democratic leaders been threatening to end the war, get documents from the White House, subpoena testimony from key Bush Administration players, etc., etc.? It's all sham and Feinstein's acquiescence in the face of putting Mukasky in the drivers' aseat and her apparent wish to absolve telecom companies from any charges when what they did was only satisfy their own self-interest. So, yes, let's condemn her publicly. They’re all the same – Steny, Leahy, Reid and Feinstein. Let's also replace all these weak-willed Democrats who are more bluster than action, and who cave whenever the Administration takes another liberty away. My question now is, who can we replace Feinstein with?

[marinemomof3]

Feel free to leave a comment regarding

SCHUMER, FEINSTEIN, BAYH, LANDRIEU, CARPER AND NELSON (NE)

http://www.dscc.org/blog?blog_entry_KEY=94

[lacasarosada]

Sen. Dianne Feinstein is the worst! California's very own Joseph Leiberman. I bet in this photo she's whispering into Bush's ear...

"don't worry I'm all for legal immunity for telecommunications companies that shared millions of American's phone and e-mail records with you".

I don't know who is worst, Feinstein or Pelosi? Both seem to believe the political machinery is more important then the will of the people.

Hope you girls have a good time at the White House Christmas Party!

[unpoetaloco]

You read it here first: Feinstein is slowing morphing into a female version of Lieberman. I bet anything she'll start talking about how the Democratic Party has strayed from the principles it once represented. See more hawkishness from Feinstein. She's already beginning to signal her allegiance to Israel over the Democratic Party.

[Grommitt]

Censure, hell. Feinstein pays as much attention to criticism as does Bush. A slap on the wrist will leave this Bush toady in power to continue her mischief. Recall her! Yes, I know, she has squirmed out of a recall previously (as mayor), but it's worth a try. As with Bush, this country can't afford her public disdain and the damage she surely will do over the next five years.

[TheRightRuinedUS]

oh golllly gee! She's going to get censured... my...how horrible for her. As if she even cares!!!

Let me see... there's a pattern here:

Feinstein
Lieberman
Schumer

Basically, it's starting to look like electing a jewish official could very well result in betrayal of the people.

[FirstBlowupDollLaura]

Feinstein should have been censured when she fawned all over Condi at her confirmation hearing, leaving Barbara Boxer to ask the hard questions.

It was nauseating. Feinstein revealed herself as a Bushite then, as far as I was concerned.

[freespeach]

This from Nonamnesiac, worth repeating.....

"The whole thing was staged by the Dems. It should be Harry Reid, Hillary Clinton, Barak Obama, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, not low-lifes Feinstein or Schumer.

Are people so blind they don't see this whole thing was staged by the full Democratic Party so that torturer, Divine-Right-of-Presidents-to-Break-the-Law Mukdasey would get confirmed?

Harry Reid could have stopped this thing. Had they intended to stop it, all they had to do was filibuster. The 4 AWOL Seantors who are vying for the Presidential nomination could simply have shown up and joined the other 40 who voted agaisnt Mukasey. Any one of the 44 could have filibustered and so long as 40 of the other 43 supported the filibuster, Mukasey could not have been confirmed.

Does anyone believe all 4 of the Democratic Senators Presidential contenders would not have voted if it was not part of a script or that it is possible for someone like Mukasey to get confirmed in a Democratically controlled House?

The Dems support torture and the Divine Right of Presidents to break the law and that's why all war action and assault the Constitution actions have been bi-partisan. They are LYING when they talk against the war and against the assault on the Constitution trying to keep the mass of self-deluded so-called progressives committed to supporting their neo-liberal, pro-war, pro-assault on the Constitution agenda.

The evidence is overwhelming for any politically conscious observer to see, and for so-called progressives to use the "lesser of the evils" argument to support them just makes those so-called progressives complicit in the murder and maiming of our troops and countless Iraqis and the assault on the Constituion. The Dems are the equal of the evils -- neo-lib murderers instead of neo-con murderers. If you vote for one of them, you hvae blood on your hands and oppose the Constituion too. You're simply the "good German" for WWII, privately opposing genocide while you vote for those who commit it."

[pigsatthetrough]

First Lieberman gives him a kiss, and now the pictures are Feinstein and Bush walking hand in hand. Now this is true bipPartisanship. What will Schummer do to top this gathering.

[wndrwrthg]

I hope Arnie will appoint a dem when this loathsome, withered douche-bag is offed.

[MA]

Censure her? Yeah, like she'd really care!
A recall might get her attention though.
Why couldn't she have taken the one for Harvey Milk.....

[aicon]

Feinstein is just trying to help her husband who is profiteering from the war in IRAQ and gets plenty of contracting jobs. They are gathering as much money as they can before she will declare that she won't seek reelection for the Senate next time.

She doesn't give a damn about California voters, never needs to call for support, cause she is plenty rich, and for what I am concerned, she is useless and detrimental to the Democratic party. She never once stood up to Bush with conviction. Her picture with him hand in hand, speaks for itself.

She may think she is honorable. the truth is that she is two faced, useless and fake.

SHAME ON HER!!

[Airborne2]

Throw the bums out, it's that simple. 13 months and counting. If we don't get her , Lieberman and the Schumer on this election we will on the next one.

I am tired of these dwibs when they get to the land of the big money (DC) they can't follow instructions. Put her butt on the street, maybe the Terminator could take her spot.............

[seamunky]

I'm sick of the Dem's not listening to their constituency; down the line from this to the war, to immigration. Sometimes I wonder what our easdropping Bush has on these people. My Gawd, they can't even uphold the constitution! Out with the game players! This is not a game!!!

[samuraijack]

Schumer as well as Lady Di. Apparently their must have been some Kool Aid sipped on Air Force One. Better wash that arm off Diane, you will have some residual presidential blood and crud all over it. When will the Dems learn that only by standing together will they beat these bastards? And what a pathetic excuse for a Democrat Joe Leiberman is! Didn't this guy help out with the civil rights movement? Maybe it was just to earn some creds-you know- keepin it real. What happened to our civil rights in this country now? Say it ain't so, JOE. Jack Out.