Senators vote away souls + jobs

Senator Collins flip flops on today's vote for cloture on the non-binding (already pitifully cowardly) resolution asking Bush politely and sheepishly to stop with his Iraq policy. Initially, I thought this resolution was utterly pointless and typical of a weak-kneed Democratic party afraid to lead and reveal who they really are. Turns out, this vote will have astronomical repercussions for '08. All the Republicans up for re-election in '08 will own this war and be held to account for it by the voters.

I realize politics is politics and partisans will recognize when something is politically advantageous. Ultimately, this vote is a bad thing because it eliminates debate and procedural efforts to check Bush's authority. It is souless, immoral, and wrong. All of the senators who voted to cut off debate have blood on their hands. By the same token, Republicans have made themselves more vulnerable in '08 and given voters all the more reason to elect Democrats who will do the right thing. I try not to look at these situations from a politically kaniving perspective and try not to divorce myself from doing what's right. I wish the pundits, bloggers, strategists, electected officials, etc. would do the same and just follow their gut, but it must be acknowledged in this case that there are deep political ramifications even though more people will be killed because of this vote.

As for Collins and Snowe, they once again revealed what pitiful, subordinate, and spineless cowards they are. Collins has been Bush's waterboy on this war since day one and only voted with the Democrats to save her hind in '08. She's well aware that Tom Allen poses a credible challenge to her re-election bid. I don't want to speculate on the dynamics of an Allen-Collins race at this point (we'll have plenty of time in the future) but suffice to say, Allen is one of the top 2 Democrats in Maine that could beat Collins (I guess that's not saying much... we're talking about the Maine Democratic party here!) And Snowe... glad I voted for Hay Bright. It's distressing and an injustice that a liberal state like Maine has somebody like Snowe poisoning our reputation. But hey, at least we're a bunch of "independents" and mavericks who have the eagles eye view over all this silly partisan squabbling. We sure are enlightened here in Maine.