Sen. Cruella Klobuchar is ranked as one of most conservative Democrat senators

[becxx]

If you want to be appalled, you can take a look at the following ranking of Dem senators -- from most liberal to most conservation at: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/2/26/841074/-Midday-open-thread

If you look at this list you will see Senator Cruella is right down there with the rest of the bottom feeders:

46. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
47. Robert Byrd (D-WV)
48. Bob Casey (D-PA)
49. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
50. Mark Pryor (D-AR)
51. Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
52. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
53. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)
54. Jim Webb (D-VA)
55. Russ Feingold (D-WI)

No wonder is despise the very ground Sen. Cruella walks on.

If you want to see the full ranking so you can appreciate Senator Cruella's love of Republicans and disdain for most Minnesotans, you can see that at: http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/nw_20100225_4841.php

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Ick. Only a couple of notches above Blanche Lincoln.

(But how did Feingold get down to #55? Thought he was supposed to be so progressive.)

Amy sux. I hope someone is waiting in the wings to challenge her next time around. Writing to her office is a total waste of time; all you get back (if anything) is some bit of lame blather that doesn't say anything at all. She is turning out to be way worse than I thought she'd be.

[Spike from MN]

46. "Amy sux." That would make a great bumper sticker.

Short and to the point.

[FiveGoodMen]

2. In what Bizzaro Universe is Russ Feingold one of the most conservative?

[CatholicEdHead]

3. Exactly

I do not see Klobuchar as bad as she is presented here. She is a moderate DFLer and is well liked across the state.

[CubFan7125]

5. She is moderate

She is moderate a moderate DFL'er. Unfortunately the views presented in this board are not rooted in reality. I have a question for everyone who wants Amy to lose. Are you going to campaign against Russ Feingold? According to this you should be.

[becxx]

8. Moderate or cruel?

Since when does cruel and callous become "moderate"? Sen. Cruella is one of those most responsible for the death of REAL health care reform. She issued a statement decrying Toyota's brake problem that resulted in a few deaths but compare those few deaths to the thousands that die every month because of Sen. Cruella's dilly dallying and the thousands more who will die because effective, real health care reform seems dead.

I remember clearly hearing Sen. Cruella say, "we do not have rush on health care reform". The thousands that die every month mean nothing to her. She is cruel.

[CatholicEdHead]

10. No, still moderate

She would have voted for the Public Option if it was part of a greater Health Care package.

'Rushing' in her statement means getting a complete bill, not going haphazardly about it.

I still think she has a very good chance to be safely reelected in 2012 and will do well overall in the DFL Primary.

[dflprincess]

11. Did you hear her tap dancing on Ed Schultz's show last week about the public option?

He could not pin her down about supporting it. First it was just whether or not she'd sign the letter and, as their discussion went on, she went from sounding like she would vote for a public option to refusing to say whether or not she would and saying she would not vote for any bill that didn't change Medicare reimbursements.

Amy is cut from the same cloth as Evan Bayh and Liebermann. Even a moderate Democrat should support people having access to health care - Klobuchar does not.

[CatholicEdHead]

12. She is talking moderate for reelection

but when push comes to shove she will most likley vote for the Public Option if it came in front of her.

[dflprincess]

13. "Moderates" like Klobuchar used to called Republicans

I imagine if they hadn't all hopped on board the crazy train she'd have "R" after her name.

She has 2-1/2 years until she faces election if she was worried about being "moderate" she wouldn't be signing up for Medicare and Social Security "reform". That fact that she polls so well is just evdience that people aren't paying attention to the details of what she's doing and just reading her feel good headlines.

[becxx]

14. Problem is that selfish Amy has to be pushed

That is just the problem. Amy spends her time acting self-important and meeting with the rich--she needs to be pushed to do anything for most Minnesotans. Even upper middle class Minnesotans are feeling the effects of politicians like Amy. You might want to talk to some folks spending $20,000 and more per year on health insurance. You might want to ask them how long Amy should take on health care reform since, according to her, there is no rush. You might want to also talk to those who have been priced out of the market and do not have health insurance. Believe me, these folks are not happy with Amy.

The policies Amy supports are devastating for most Minnesotans. Amy, the cruel little condescending harridan, is going to be done for when Minnesotans figure out what she is really all about.

[CatholicEdHead]

15. Anyone in the current GOP would be many times worse

Everything has moved a bit to the right, and the GOP base has moved way to the right. Amy does not play to the Teabagger crowd that makes up much of the current GOP base. She is no farther right than Arne Carlson.

If Amy was defeated in the DFL Primaries by someone further left they would have a very difficult time in greater Minnesota to get votes which a radical Republican could exploit. Amy's moderate style brings in the votes and she also gets many moderate Republicans (they may be independents by 2012 if the Teabaggers drive them out by then) for a safe election margin.

[becxx]

16. The old fear, uncertainty and dread tactic is stale

We have nothing to fear from the Republicans because Amy is about the same as the Republicans. A Republican would have worked against meaningful health care reform and so did Amy. So what the heck, if one is going to get a Republican in either case, why not just vote for a Republican and get Sen. Cruella out of there? At least we wouldn''t have to see her face.

[CatholicEdHead]

18. Amy is far from the current crop of Republicans

Take a look around, Pawlenty and Bachmann are two major local names currently playing to the deep end base. Any Republicans of Arne Carlson's style were forced out a while ago in the state GOP.

Since Health Care never got to a Senate vote due to GOP filibustering, you cannot infer that she would have voted against it. If the House version made it through the Senate I believe Amy would still have voted for it and of course explained her decision afterwords.

[dflprincess]

22. The Senate did pass a health "care" bill

it's the one without a public option that requires us to buy private insurance. It's the one that some senators say the House should vote on before said senators will agree to reconciliation (hopefully, members of the House won't be so dumb as to fall for that).

[CatholicEdHead]

25. Yes the Health Care bill is far from what it should be

That is due to the parliamentary games with the GOP. Reasonable debate does not exist with the party of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.

[dflprincess]

26. Oh bull,

the conservadems are just as much to blame. They were perfectly willing to sell us out to insurance companies to protect their campaign "contributions". They had 60 votes - they could have passed real reform if they wanted to - they could even have changed the filibuster rules with a simple majority vote, but they weren't willing to do anything that might actually change things.

[becxx]

28. Agreed 100%

Sen. Cruella has to pay back her big contributors somehow. Kiss, kiss, kiss. She's despicable.

[Spike from MN]

39. Right on.

The Dems started from a compromised position and have been capitulating ever since. Gotta keep their corporate masters happy, ya know.

They could have just written a simple one-page bill establishing single-payer health care and rammed it down the throats of the Republicans. But they're waaayyy too bought out to actually do something like that.

And what happened to paying for HCR by repealing the tax cuts for the rich? We don't hear much about that anymore, do we? Instead we get mandates and slashes to Medicare. Yeah, I guess that's change for ya.

[ISUGRADIA]

17. Amy's only vunerable as to possibly losing the DFL endorsement

if anything. Arne Carlson as an incumbent lost the Repub endorsement in 1998 because GOP activists are much more conservative than the public at large. The inverse is true for the DFL activists who go to the state convention. Klobuchar's middle of the road stances would lead to a landslide victory in the primary amongst an electorate that is not doctranaire like the posters here.

[becxx]

19. LOL. Good one

Oh, that's a good one. Tell that to the 400,000 Minnesotans without health insurance and those losing their insurance everyday. Amy looks a lot like the Repugs to me. She sure helped stop real health care reform in its tracks. Lately she runs around talking up nuke power. I won't be voting for Sen. Cruella again. So I'm supposed to be more afraid of the Repubs than Sen. Cruella? LOL Good one. What a good joke. Oh my, I am trembling.

[ISUGRADIA]

20. Get your candidate then and run him or her in 2012

You can vote against Klobuchar if you want, that is your choice. Talking about beating her and getting someone who will run and have the money to run statewide primary campaign is different. Health care is an issue but as a salient one to defeat a Senator? When has that ever happened?

[becxx]

27. Oh I'm so afraid

LOL, stop trying to scare me with Republicans. Amy is a Republican. No difference that I can see. And dang it all, Sen. Cruella even looks like a harridan. If anyone scares the wits out of me, it is Sen. Cruella. Maybe Amy can put a nuke plant next door to you. And maybe we can send the 400,000 Minesotans without health insurance to you.

[ISUGRADIA]

30. Do you read what is written or just go on to your talking points?

I was talking about the PRIMARY election. That costs money to win. An opponent will need money and an organization. I don't see that happening.

I said nothing about the Republicans.

[dflprincess]

23. Actually, given how dismal primary turnout usually is

no one really wins in a "landslide" and, unless there is some big wedge issue driving things, the turnout is usually activists - or at least those who are paying some attention. And, with the primary is being moved to August, the turn out will probably get even worse.

[ISUGRADIA]

31. Landslide = percentage not raw numbers

Who votes is all that matters. Hatch won in a landslide, 73%, in 2006 with a dismal turnout. If Klobuchar lost the endorsement she'd still have millions to spend on a primary that I do not see an opponent having. And if the primary was contested that would drive turnout way up.

And a note to everyone here: only about 5% of people follow politics closely as the posters here. Most people vote, read a few articles, etc. but are not keyed into politics. They will be voting in a primary and those people know little of what's being said about Klobuchar here. How do you inform them?

For those that remember it would be kind of like 1992? when Sabo had a tough endorsement race then won in a landslide in the primary.

[dflprincess]

21. "No further right than Arne Carlson"

that's just what I said - Democrats like Klobuchar used to be called Republicans.

I'm not convinced that a truly populist DFLer would have trouble winning. I think anyone who puts the needs of the people ahead of United Health Group and other corporate interests would have wide appeal.

I don't expect Klobuchar to morph into Wellstone but she could at least become a Democrat, even if she doesn't join the Farmer Labor wing of the party. And while her moderate style may appeal to Republicans, she's losing the DFL left - not just on this board but among party activists as well. True, activists tend to lean left, but she won't be able to win if she loses that section of the party and I'm hearing more and more complaints about her at DFL meetings.

[Spike from MN]

37. Wait a minute here.

You mean Amy actually took a stand on something and I missed it? Damn! I knew I shouldn't have blinked.

Oh wait. There was that one other time. She's against bridges falling down too. So that's twice she's taken a stand.

Oops. I forgot about the Haiti photo-op. Yeah, she was against that whole earthquake thingy too. Credit where credit is due.

Call me when she takes a stand for REAL health care for everyone. And no, I don't consider mandates to purchase insurance to fall into that category. That's like fixing the problem of homelessness by requiring everyone to buy houses.

[wellstone dem]

4. If she's more liberal than Russ, then she's

liberal enough for me.

[dflprincess]

6. I see that Kos does say the methodology for these rankings is suspect

and I would say so as there's no way Klobuchar is more liberal that Feingold.

It isn't just Klobuchar's positions (or lack thereof) that turn me off - though those are bad enough - it's the whole atttitude of entitlement that both she and her staff have. And that goes back to her campaign. Her staff was just rude then and they continue to be. When I've spoken to members of her staff, either in person or (mostly) on the phone, they really project the attitude that you're bothering them and really don't have any business questioning Amykins (and yes, I'm polite when I call).

[glinda]

7. Yes. Her staff is rude. They seem uninformed or non-caring. Can't tell which.

She is more conservative than Feingold.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. Yes, in what alternative universe is Amy more liberal than Feingold?

The people who put that ranking together must have been ON something.

[Spike from MN]

44. Yeah, the rankings are definitely suspect.

Here's the list of the 10 most liberal Senate Dems. Apparently I define "liberal" a bit differently than the National Journal does.


The 10 Most Liberal Senate Dems
1. Roland Burris (D-IL)
1. Ben Cardin (D-MD)
1. Jack Reed (D-RI)
1. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
6. John Kerry (D-MA)
6. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
8. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
9. Chris Dodd (D-CT)
9. Dick Durbin (D-IL)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

33. My experience with her staff

I attended a health care town hall organized by my state rep, Frank Horenstein (one of the good guys, very approachable).

Various pols sent staffers to the meeting. They were introduced before the speakers started, and there was definitely a Klobuchar staffer in the mix.

After the town hall was over, I decided I wanted to do a little lobbying with the Klobuchar staffer, but she was nowhere to be found. Someone else told me that she had left immediately after the end of the speeches.

Everyone else's staffers stuck around to talk to people, whether the people were friendly or hostile.

[CatholicEdHead]

24. I just noticed your title, "Democrat"

You do realize that it is Democratic don't you when referring to the Democratic Party? Or the DFL is Democratic-Farm-Labor party?

Do you have any constructive posts about other DFLers, or are you going to endlessly bash and tear down Senator Klobuchar?

[becxx]

29. LOL. Looks like you're going to be busy since the usage is common

LOL. Looks like you're going to be busy. The usage that you are busy correcting is quite common.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/print/56055

If you google, you will get a lot of hits for "Democrat senator". Perhaps you could write to everyone and correct them. This would keep you busy for a long, long time. LOL LOL Oh my goodness, you could make that your life's work.

[CatholicEdHead]

32. Yes, very common among right wing media listeners

Are you not aware that usage in that form is used as a slanderous insult? Of course it is common, Rush, Hannity, Beck, et al use it day in and day out. It is still not the correct usage.

Also your link to CNSNews goes to a pretty right wing website.

[becxx]

35. LOLLOL

Don't have time to argue with you about your right wing Sen. Donothing Klobuchar. You must be pretty desperate that you are now attacking me personally. I've been a Dem all of my life and I've seen types like you before. Believe me, folks get tired of arguing with you quite quickly. LOLLOL Oh that is soooooooooooo funny. I appreciate your compliment. LOL You made my day!

[Spike from MN]

40. Common tactic.

If anyone to the left of a Dem criticizes a Dem, they are automatically accused of being right-wingers.

But in your case, I think they just might be right. I swear I saw a pic of you at that tea party awhile back wearing a Bachmann T-shirt. :evilgrin:

[becxx]

42. Stop making things up!

Lying is going to get you no where. We're not afraid of you Sen. Donothing Klobuchar supporters. She's lost the support of the health care folks, some of labor and some environmental folks. She's on here way out!

You're desperate. LOLLOL

[Spike from MN]

45. LOL, I hope you know I was joking!

I thought the evil grin would make that obvious.

I'm most definitely NOT a Klobuchar supporter. Trust me on that. I pegged her as a sell-out from day one. I believe the term I used for her was "pre-emptive sell-out" when she said in a 2006 debate that she would have voted to confirm Michael Hayden as CIA director. She didn't even wait to get elected before selling out. (Of course, her defenders would just say she was being proactive. ;) )

Needless to say, I never even remotely entertained the thought of voting for her.

[becxx]

47. Thanks for the info.

Since I have not read that many of your posts, I did not realize you were joking. Thanks for telling me!!

I'm glad you pegged Sen. Cruella sooner than I did. I did not like her and did not trust her because she just did not seem to care about others but I had no idea she would be Joe Lieberman's twin.

Yikes! She is the type of person about whom our mothers warned us.

[Spike from MN]

52. Hey, no problem.

Actually, on re-reading your earlier post, I see where the confusion came in. You used the term "right wing" to refer to Klobuchar (and rightly so, I might add) and thus you thought my line about people accusing lefties of being right-wingers was directed at you. Since you're obviously to the left of the Dems, the line "If anyone to the left of a Dem criticizes a Dem, they are automatically accused of being right-wingers." was in reference to those that were accusing YOU of being a right-winger, not the other way around. Sorry for the confusion. If you re-read my post in that context, I think it will make a lot more sense. Especially the snark about the Bachmann T-shirt. ;)

BTW, that's the "common tactic" I was referring to and I see it a lot, especially in GD. Anyone critical of the Dems is subject to being bashed down as a right-wing Fox-News-watching Falafel-guy-supporting Rush-loving troll, even though it's very obvious that that person is criticizing the Dems from the LEFT, not from the right. I guess for some, there are only Dems and right-wingers. They forget about that whole group of people out there that is to the left of both of those.

I don't post here much anymore. Since I'm waaayyyy to the left of the Dems (which these days, isn't saying much), I tend to spend my time on forums that lean that direction. The MN forum is cool to keep up on local happenings but if I posted in GD, I'd just get called a right-winger and a h8ter. ;)

"Joe Lieberman's twin." LOL! Yeah, you have her pegged.

[CubFan7125]

48. You Were Never Attacked

But you do launch personal attacks against a United States senator all the time. All that person dis was ask you if you were just going to bitch about Sen. Klobuchar. Your subsequent posts answered the question, you have nothing constructive to add. I'm personally glad to be among the nearly 2/3 of Minnesotans who think she is doing a good job.

[becxx]

50. Really now? 2/3? I don't think so

A poll has not been done in a long, long time and folks are not at all happy with Sen. Cruella's callousness on the health care issue. Nor are the environmental voters going to be happy with Senator Nuke Klobuchar. I am sure when a poll is done, you will see that Sen. Cruella's ratings have taken a big dip. Then again, even if Cruella is popular, I will not be impressed. All types of nefarious characters including George Wallace, Jim Jones and even Hitler have been popular in some circles.

As to being a US Senator, I am not impressed. Sen. Cruella is just another Republican whose day will come soon enough. I recall that Rudy Boschwitz was a US senator who has finally reaped his just rewards. Ditto for Rod Grams. I must confess that I will feel considerable glee when Amy finds her just rewards too.

When 400,000 Minnesotans were without health insurance and seniors were falling into the donut hole and despair, Sen. Cruella said "we do not have to rush on health reform". When Minnesotans were losing jobs and homes, Sen Cruella lifted not one finger to help but, of course, she did vote for a $700 billion package for fat cat bankers and financiers.

[CatholicEdHead]

51. Ok, name your ideal repacement for Sen Klobuchar

Who are you going to(or would want to) vote for in the DFL Primary?

[Morning Dew]

34. between "democrat senator"

and that Klobuchar looks like a harridan....


Pfffftttttt.

Busted.

[becxx]

36. LOLLOL

Yep, when I go to my Senate district convention on 3/13, I'll be saying that and more about Sen. Donothing Klobuchar. I'll be talking to seniors about what she did on health care and the impact it will have on them. I'll be talking to the environmentalists about Donothings love of "clean coal" and nukes. I'll be talking to the uenemployed about Donothings heartless and cruel ignoring of the jobs, jobs, jobs issue.

I'm going to have a lot of fun over the next couple of years. I've been a Dem for many years and I've seen the fall of the high and mighty before. It's fun to watch.

LOLLOL

[Morning Dew]

38. Well, I'd join you in working for a better Democrat for that Senate seat.

I'm not a fan.

[becxx]

41. Thanks!

[a kennedy]

43. Holy crap is Russ Feingold a bottom feeder???

Yikes...... :wow:

[Odin2005]

49. What the hell is RUSS doing there?

:wtf: