Guiliani's Speech

[GrayMatterWife]

Is anyone else watching this?? WHOA! OK, I'm pretty sure the gloves are now...OFF. Actually, I think the gloves may have been completely eviscerated.

Only Rudy could get away with this...

[SuzySunshine]

Re: Guiliani's Speech

Yep, the gloves are definitely off! WOW!

[GrayMatterWife]

Re: Guiliani's Speech

"Change is not a destination any more than hope is a strategy."

I think I may frame that and hang it prominently.

[Laker]

Re: Guiliani's Speech

loved how he exposed Obama for merely voting "present" over 140 times in the senate. WFT? Why are we paying him a salary to only take up space?

[SuzySunshine]

Re: Guiliani's Speech

loved how he exposed Obama for merely voting "present" over 140 times in the senate. WFT? Why are we paying him a salary to only take up space?

I don't understand why politicians do that - is there a reason?

Re: Guiliani's Speech

Has he mentioned 9/11?

[SuzySunshine]

Re: Guiliani's Speech

He only mentioned it to mention that the dems didn't mention it last week.

Re: Guiliani's Speech

loved how he exposed Obama for merely voting "present" over 140 times in the senate. WFT? Why are we paying him a salary to only take up space?

I don't understand why politicians do that - is there a reason?

he didn't exactly "expose" Obama on that front. it's been discussed ad nauseam.

not all politicians do that - it's an option in the Illinois senate and can be a strategic move.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/16/opinion/16mikva.html

SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON should probably be forgiven for not remembering the course on the state Constitution that she would have had to take as an eighth grader in Illinois. But had she remembered it, she would have known that Senator Barack Obama was not ducking his responsibility in the Illinois Senate when he voted “present” on many issues.

Unlike Congress and the legislatures of most other states, each chamber of the Illinois Legislature requires a “constitutional majority” to pass a bill. The state Senate has 59 members, so it takes 30 affirmative votes. This makes a “present” vote the same as a no. If a bill receives 29 votes, but the rest of the senators vote “present,” it fails.

In Congress, in contrast, a bill can pass in either the House or the Senate as long as more people vote for it than against it. If 10 people vote in favor and nine against, and the rest either vote “present” or don’t vote at all, the bill passes. It can actually pass with just one vote, as long as no one votes no.

In the Illinois Senate, there can be strategic reasons for voting “present” rather than simply no. A member might approve the intent of legislation, but not its scope or the way it has been drafted. A “present” vote can send a signal to a bill’s sponsors that the legislator might support an amended version. Voting “present” can also be a way to exercise fiscal restraint, without opposing the subject of the bill.

[SuzySunshine]

Re: Guiliani's Speech

Oh no, I understand its been discussed before, I knew that. It just seems like a strange rule to me, of course I always knew IL was a screwy state!

Re: Guiliani's Speech

No - sorry - that part was referring to Laker's "exposed Obama" post. I posted the link about how the IL legislature works to help explain why it's not shirking responsibility.

[SuzySunshine]

Re: Guiliani's Speech

That definitely was not St Paul on the background, I think it was NYC.

[GrayMatterWife]

Re: Guiliani's Speech

Haha, fair enough. At any rate, it made it look like he was standing outside, which I thought was strange.

I noticed at one point they had Mt. Rushmore behind Sarah Palin.

I'm glad others thought the backgrounds were weird, too. Very distracting, I thought.