Further complicating the Dem's already distant hopes of retaking the Senate -- John Breaux announced this afternoon that he will not seek a fourth term in the Senate.

The Dems. probably have a pretty good shot at holding the seat -- Chris John -- a Congressman from cajun country -- will probably run.

Isn't he one of the guys that sold out the democrats on the prescription drug program?

Considering that Louisiana Democrats are experts in illegal voting and rigging elections (must've learned from the Masters in Cook County), the Democrats will probably retain this seat.

Florida...cough...presidential race...cough...2000...geez, I really need to get something for this cough.

I didn't think the planet on which you're presently located had coughs, bobbie.

Breaux was one of the rare breed of Democrats who, like Miller, weren't held hostage by the radical Left. He employed common sense and didn't always vote the party line just because his leaders demanded it. He's not much different from Republican Peter Fitzgerald, who angered Illinois' country club Republican establishment by refusing to be "one of the boys" (translated: corrupt, good ole boys).

Oh please come off your high horse, MIB. What "radical left"? The "radical left" has about as much influence with the Congressional Democrats as rank and file Catholics have with the US cardinals.

Breaux's retirement is a major loss for the party, and they'll have to work hard to retain his seat. Ça sera trés dificile, je le sais! C'est dommage. Au revoir, JB!

BTW, doesn't he have some very lucrative, bipartisan lobbying gig already set up?

[ December 15, 2003, 09:37 PM: Message edited by: fantomas ]

I don't know what's worse--the radical Left's hold on these politicians or the fact that you actually believe what you just printed. eek!

Are you serious? Which truly powerful politicians are beholden to this "radical left"? Not our last Democrat President OR his VP, who, when he ran for president in 2000, ran far away from this "radical left" and chose a pseudo-Democrat as his running mate. Not the DLC, headed by the pig-headed and right-leaning Terry McAuliffe. Do you mean Teddy Kennedy, who actually 1) worked with W to give us that underfunded education bill debacle and 2) actually signed on the Medicare giveaway to the insurance industries? Or maybe you mean Hillary Clinton, who may in her heart of hearts bleed Socialist blood, but ran against Rick Lazio as a moderate Democrat, and who half the time treats the "radical left' as pariahs. Hmmm....who could you be talking about? Aren't the majority of Democratic presidential aspirants now TRASHING the moderate leader in the campaign to replace W, for his "leftist" views on the war? Is the Democratic party even behind Dean yet? Please, don't believe the hype. The "radical left" couldn't even elect its candidate the mayor of San Francisco!

[ December 15, 2003, 09:37 PM: Message edited by: fantomas ]

But Fitzgerald is a "country club" Republican, from a very wealthy banking family, who mumbled and stammered his maverick way through his terms in office. He wasn't maverick enough, though, to keep telling Chicago's dictator where to get lost, though. That really takes some balls!

[ December 15, 2003, 09:41 PM: Message edited by: fantomas ]

Yeah -- supposedly he and Senator Don Nickles (R-OK) (who's also leaving office) are putting up their shingle.

There were rumors earlier this year that Breaux might be named as Jack Valenti's successor at the Motion Picture Association (about as glamorous a position in town as any) -- but that job now looks to go to fellow Louisianan Billy Tauzin.

I thought there was some sort of lobbying organization or partnership he'd created with a Republican.

I guess it's too much to wish for a politician cut from the William Proxmire mold. (Or maybe I should just say, a Democrat from that mold, since he was from that party.) Do any of you remember him? He was one of my favorites.

Taxpayers for Common Sense: William Proxmire



[ December 16, 2003, 10:01 AM: Message edited by: fantomas ]

Katherine Harris, please phone your office.

Right on Raze!!!

So Katherine Harris follows the law, and you guys complain. NOW I know why you dislike her so much. Can't have an elected official do her job if it means a Republican wins an election, can we?

Oh, come now. Just because Fitzgerald comes from a wealthy family doesn't make him a country club Republican. There's more to it than that. Senator Corzine from N.J. is loaded, so does that make HIM a country club Republican (even though he's a Democrat)?

The fact that Fitzgerald was unabashedly conservative didn't let him ever be one of the good ole boys here, which is sad. What sealed his fate with the C.C. Repubs here was his decision to bring in a corruption-fighting outsider as U.S. Atty. for the Northern District of Illinois, the district that, obviously, oversees all of the Chicago metropolitan area.

IL. Republicans demanded one of their own as U.S. Atty., but Sen. Fitzgerald would have none of it. He was tired of all the corruption among elected officials, Democrat and Republican alike, so he brought in Patrick Fitzgerald (no relation), a softspoken but tough-as-nails prosecutor who's been quite busy indicting and convicting current and former politicians on both sides of the aisle. Of course, this has enraged the establishment here, for Senator Fitzgerald has upset the entire apple cart.

Sadly, several Republican and Democratic candidates running for his seat have said they would replace U.S. Atty. Fitzgerald immediately. I just hope Patrick would refuse to step down.

As I was a Florida resident during the 2000 election, I have NO problem with Katherine Harris following the law (which, admittedly, she did). I DO have a problem, however, with the Secretary of State, the administrator who is supposed to ensure that the election is run fairly, serving as George W. Bush's Florida election chairwoman. There are CHECKS and BALANCES written into our system of government to prevent CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, which this most certainly was.

Who/What IS a radcial lefty supposed to be?

The Baader-Meinhoff Gang (or Red Army Faction, to be precise), were radical leftists.

The Italian Brigade Rosse were radical leftists.

The only American equivalent would have been The Weathermen, but, compared to the RAF and BR, they were spoiled bougie dilletantes with issues about authority.

So, c'mon, out those Radical Lefties that are supposedly in our midst. Expose them to the light.