2d ago

Oops: Senate Democrats regret voting for some Trump Cabinet nominees

www.huffpost.com Oops: Senate Democrats Regret Voting For Some Trump Cabinet Nominees

Oops!

Summary

Senate Democrats who initially backed some of Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees now regret their votes, citing broken promises and controversial policies.

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) apologized for supporting Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins after the administration terminated over 1,000 VA employees, including those at the Veterans Crisis Line.

Senator Andy Kim (D-N.J.) regretted confirming Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem due to aggressive immigration policies.

Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) expressed disappointment with Secretary of State Marco Rubio for actions undermining USAID.

48 comments

And this is why people are pissed at Democrats.
Democrats are apparently annoyed that constituents are writing demanding they act like an opposition party, aka FUCKING EXERCISE THE FUCKING POWER YOU WERE VOTED IN TO WIELD. They act like they are powerless to stop Trump and they have press conferences talking about how it's red alert scenario and then they GO ON TO VOTE FOR THE VERY THINGS THEY ARE SOUNDING THE ALARM ABOUT.
If this truly is a red alert situation as another Connecticut Congressperson called it, then stop voting for this shit! Throw a wrench into the works, refuse to confirm anybody, make use of the shitty procedural filibuster and grind things to a halt.
Because if you are voting in favor of any of this you don't get to fucking complain.

Oops, all fascists 🤷‍♂️

Lmao. Is this all a joke? I love seeing super cuts of senators grilling the shit out of these clowns, and getting garbage answers, if any, and then reading later that they were then confirmed. Like, what is this? Is anything real?
- Yeah, I don't get this. Some of the answers these people gave, when they gave answers, we're abhorrent. I don't understand why Republicans were unwilling to push for better nominees.
  
  I mean republicans I get. They don't want to appear disloyal to trump, and elon's threatening to oppose them. Democrats... what the hell is wrong with you guys... you already know trump finds you an enemy... why the hell make it easier
  
  Trump clearly has dirt on them, plus, if they oppose hime in anyway, they will at minimum get primaried. At worst they'll get murdered by some MAGAt 2nd amendment zealot. They're all terrified.
  
  A better nominee for the position might disagree with Trump and that's not good enough for them. They want yes men in positions instead of qualified candidates.
  At least when former CEOs took over the cabinet positions related of the industries they were a part of, it had the mask of "he has experience with this field" instead of "Will rubber stamp anything companies and Trump wants."
- It's so fake it's like watching wrestling! If you went to a job interview and gave any of those BS answers, they would laugh you out.

"Less evil is better than more evil. Please ignore that Less Evil allows all of More Evil's actions."

Traitors

Who could have known??

citing broken promises
The vote to confirm Marco Rubio was unanimous, including even reliably outspoken opponents like Sanders. I can only assume that there was some behind-the-scenes deal where they thought they were getting something worth making that huge compromise. I have no fucking clue what it could possibly be, but it had to be something because even if the majority of Democrats are cowardly neolibs who prioritize the 'absence of tension' over the 'presence of justice," it is not true that all of them are.
If they've now been betrayed on that, it had to have been a big betrayal. One can only hope it's enough to wake them the fuck up.
And if they don't, well, they'll be real surprised when Trump puts them up against a wall at some point not too far in the future.
- Doubt it's that big. These votes aren't meant to be controversial, and Rubio has to be the most normal of the bunch so a unanimous vote is what you'd do. That said, while trying to block even reasonable nominations in the name of obstruction would be patriotic at this moment, its very much a Republican playbook dirty tactic and one I wouldn't waste on fucking Rubio when they're not going to even need your fucking vote anyway.

Do they really think their constituents are that gullible?
- Honestly not trying to be argumentative here, but it does seem like most voters can be that gullible, concerning what's currently going on, as well as what's happened in the past.
  Basically every voter thinks the other 49 senators are trash but theirs is always perfect, for some reason.
  If people truly voted accurately, a lot of the problems we have today wouldn't happen. Right now elected officials know that they can just bullshit their way through any conversation with their voters and stay in office, keep their jobs.
  _This _comment _is _licensed _under _CC _BY-NC-SA _4.0
  
  There are 100 senators and neither side has 50. Republicans have 53 and the caucus of Democrats and Independents have 47 combined.
- Americans elected Trump.
  And then reelected him despite spending a literal year golfing, fucking over the economy, and turning COVID into a pandemic.
  Yeah, apparently we are that gullible.
- Considering Congress has a 94% reelection rate, abso-fucking-litely they do.
- Yes. They all do.

these are DINOs in the senate, not really surprising. its called saving face, they knew who they voted for.
- Aren't they "DINOs" when some have been in office for over a decade, with being re-elected with these expectations?
  
  from what ive gather, Dinos mean they were elected as dems but vote with republicans and sometimes with or against dems alot.

Fuck any Democrat that voted for any one of these assholes but honestly fuck Fetterman.

democrats going-in should have been 100% obstructionists on anything they themselves didn't write or sponsor. filibuster everything in the senate that wouldn't be a 100-0 vote. just like the republicants have been most the time since at least newt, and almost entirely since obama.
- They ooze weakness.

"Vote for Democrats to stop Trump! They're the only ones who will stand up for you and what America stands for!"
[Votes to approve Trump's picks, some unanimously despite questioning them intensely]
So how many times are the voters going to be fooled by Lucy holding the football before we organize a new party?
If I can't trust my fucking senators in a solid blue state to not vote yes on Trump's bootlicking cabinet picks, who can I vote for? I can't vote third party, they don't win. I can't vote progressives, they get ratfucked on local and federal elections.
I vote on local propositions, the side with more money wins than anything good. My state kept prison slavery labor, increase punishments for "stealing" food and small life necessities, and turned down laws to help increase the minimum wage and rent control policies.
Fucking neoliberal NIMBYs and their consequences have been a disaster for anything good in the human condition.
I've been so disillusioned by American politics I have to wonder if the media is just one big brainwashing operation that Orwell wishes he could never dream of as a nightmare to warn us about.
- The only hope, if there's any hope at all, is to get out and promote actual progressives in the primaries and kick out the "center left" assholes that are helping Trump. That,of course, assumes there will ever be anymore elections.

Anybody in congress who doesn't align with Sanders and AOC as the heads of our party, and more importantly, our movement, needs to be voted out.
The Pelosi and Schumer wing of the of the party have got to go. There is no more working with them. They are worse than MAGA and they have stabbed us in the back the last time.

Primary every single one.
- And then every single one of them is called "Unamerican" "pipe dreamer" "commie socialist" or whatever moniker the DNC throws at someone with a conscience and morals.
  
  And we can call them fascist collaborators, class traitors, and neoliberal pigs. 🤷‍♀️
  
  So? They've done that shit to AOC and she still kept her seat.
  Do not comply in advance. You sound like a boxer refusing to fight because the other guy is going to try to hit him.
  Yes, of course the DNC will fucking fight back. What the fuck else would you expect? The hard fought victories are usually the only ones that matter.

Why the fuck would you vote for ANY of them?

When you are the leopard eating your own face?
- Their votes and words in this case are purely symbolic and without any real power. Even if they voted against Rubio, Rubio would sill be confirmed. In fact, Hegseth got 0 Dem votes and also lost 3 R votes and was still confirmed.
  
  Delaying and obstructing is not symbolic. Delaying and obstructing is how the Republicans fucking won.
  
  Those votes approved and legitimised, even though the numbers would not have mattered.

Their votes and their regrets mean fuck all, they couldn't have prevented a single one of these confirmations, but I guess the thought is nice...? At least they're letting their base know it is heard.