Tauscher wrote back to a constituent who told her that Congress should impeach Alberto Gonzalez and said such a thing was not possible.
The Attorney General serves at the pleasure of the president in a non-impeachable office. Unless convicted of an illegal act, the Attorney General cannot be removed from office without the president asking for or accepting his resignation. However, please be assured that I will keep your thoughts and concerns in mind as I review the circumstances surrounding recent allegations of impropriety within the Justice Department.
She's wrong of course. And for her to not know the Constitution is truly shameful. With Bush and Cheney wiping away the checks and balances in our system of government, it's kind of pivotal that the legislative branch knows what powers the Constitution grants to it, don't you think?
...who just signed on to a letter to the President vowing not to appropriate any more money to the Iraq debacle for anything other than a fully funded withdrawal. Kudos to these 12:
Lynn Woolsey
Barbara Lee
Maxine Waters
Ellen Tauscher
Diane Watson
Bob Filner
Hilda Solis
Grace Napolitano
Linda Sanchez
Mike Honda
Pete Stark
Lois Capps
I kind of like the sound of that one. We may have bungled a primary challenge to Ellen Tauscher, but we accomplished a lot of our goals. She is now generally acting and talking a lot better, especially on the war. The big bonus is that the media is tracking how we interact with her, which increases the pressure on her. Check out this blog post on the new LAT presidential blog Top of The Ticket. It titled "Controversial California congresswoman backs Clinton:
I wrote this for today's Beyond Chron, San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily
As further proof that Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign does not deserve progressive support, the New York Senator announced yesterday that she has received another prominent endorsement – from Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher of Walnut Creek. As chair of the New Democrat Coalition, Tauscher is a so-called “moderate” Democrat who supported the War in Iraq until recently, is a hawk on defense spending, and has routinely deserted progressives for business interests. Last October, merely days before the mid-term elections, she publicly fretted that party activists were driving the Democratic Party “over the left cliff.”
Last night, Keith Olberman went off on the Democratic Party for looking awful for capitulating to Bush on Iraq. Awful.
It is time to stand up and that begins with Ellen Tauscher. In the last major vote, her caucus looked like the idiots club with the following members voting against ending the war:
Yesterday, I received two letters from Congressman McNerney thanking me for two separate contributions. But those will probably be my last. Pombo isn't running and McNerney just voted to stay in Iraq. When you vote worse than Ellen Tauscher on the most important issue of the day, I really don't see how I can have respect for anything else you do. I think Ezra explained this concept well:
But not all issues are created equal. In the opinion of the netroots, if you opposed eliminating dividend taxation and drilling in ANWR but enthusiastically supported the war in Iraq--and appear incapable of really repenting or learning from that error--you are not 66 percent liberal and thus an ally; you were and are wrong on the preeminent issue of our time.
This should have been an easy yea vote, for the life of me I can't understand why McNerney screwed up.
UPDATE: Stoller says, "That's a pretty good number of progressives, and a good showing. And now we have people on the record for or against the war." Indeed.
Atrios has a list of freshmen Dems who voted against this. [...] Most of the new Dems backed the amendment, including every winner on the netroots page except McNerney (who is losing his base).
Stoller might be right about McNerney losing his base.
Talk about saying one thing and doing another...yet again we have Ellen Tauscher to kick around. Really, I'm having a hard time writing this without using the term "totally full of shit" (whoops, there it is).
Earlier today, dday asked people to call Ellen Tauscher and ask if she would support adding Habeas Corpus to the Defense Department authorization bill. Her untrustworthy staff said she supported Habeas Corpus and would be a co-sponsor of Ike Skelton's bill.
Which is great, except for the fact that Skelton's bill will NOT include a restoration of Habeaus Corpus. Sure, Tauscher could introduce an amendment in the Armed Services Committee, but that would involve her actually being good for something (don't hold your breath). Literally, if she can't even stand up for a principle that has been the foundation of law since 1215 A.D. then she really is totally worthless -- at best. What a waste of a safe Democratic seat.
Although it is probably a total waste of time, call Tauscher's unproven staff at 202-225-1880 and ask if she will prove she isn't entirely worthless by introducing a Habeas Corpus amendment in committee to the bill she is co-sponsoring.
Ellen Tauscher sits on the House Armed Services Committee. Today they may attempt to put a rider in the defense authorization bill that would restore the great writ of habeas corpus, which allows detainees to petition the courts to understand why they are being held. This time-honored tradition of civilization, dating back to 1215 and the Magna Carta, was shamefully stripped out by the Military Commissions Act of 2006.
Matt Stoller is urging everyone to contact members of the panel to ask them to support the restoration of habeas corpus. If you have a free moment today, call Ellen Tauscher at 202-225-1880 and ask her to defend the Constitution by making it whole again. We cannot be credibly considered any kind of moral leader in the world if we detain people indefinitely without telling them why they are charged.
The full list of members of Congress to call is here. But I would pay particular attention to Congresswoman Tauscher, who claims to be in line with the concerns of her district, who claims to be a progressive. The progressive position is not to torture and not to store people away in secret prisons without end.
UPDATE: Tauscher "vows to support habeas corpus" and "will be an original co-sponsor of Skelton's bill, which is expected to be introduced next week." This is good news.
I know, I know, but we do need to reward good behavior.
A consortium led by the University of California and Bechtel has won the bid to oversee the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Kevin Lawlor, the press secretary for Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif, confirmed the bid and said that the congresswoman would be making a statement later today.
Back in the day, my great uncle worked at Lawrence Livermore Labs on nuclear research. After the war he refused to do any more governmental research and instead lectured. If this research is going to be done, it might as well be in CA.
Lest anybody think that we have forgotten about Ellen Tauscher, how about this little tidbit. In 2005, Congress passed the "Class Action Fairness Act of 2005", or as I like to call it "Thank you Big Business for our Awesome 04 Elections, Love the Republicans" Act. Or perhaps Edward Markey (D-MA) put it better:
Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) called the bill "the final payback to the tobacco industry, to the asbestos industry, to the oil industry, to the chemical industry at the expense of ordinary families who need to be able go to court to protect their loved ones when their health has been compromised." (WaPo 1/17/05)
So, the best part of this story? Well, of course, you guessed it, Ms. Tauscher (D-Wall StreetCA) voted for this horrendous GOP giveaway to Big Business that hurts the consumer. But, wait, I'm not kidding, it gets better. John Doolittle voted against the bill. Yes, the very same John Doolittle that had his house raided by the FBI voted for legislation that was described by then Minority Leader Pelosi as:
"When Americans are injured or even killed by Vioxx or Celebrex or discriminated against by Wal-Mart, they may never get their day in court," Pelosi said. (WaPo 1/17/05)
So, does Ellen Tauscher care less about the American consumer than John Doolittle does? Ouch! But, Thank you very much Ellen Tauscher. Corporations over People, how very Not New Democrat of you. Oh, and for more on tort reform, check out tortdeform.com from the Drum Major Institute.
Seems like it's about time for Ellen Tauscher to check herself into Interfering Politician Rehab. You might have thought that after last year's Steve Filson debacle in the CA-11 primary, she'd have gotten the message that Democratic voters are perfectly capable of choosing their own candidates. But nooooo, the woman is out of control.
With Guy Houston being termed out of his AD-15 seat, there are presently five Democrats vying to replace him:
retired airline pilot Steve Filson
electrician Steve Thomas
retired entrepreneur Fred Klaske
small businessman Davies Ononiwu and
high school principal Chris Van Schaack
So you might look at this group and ask yourself, "Exactly what's missing from the mix; what more do we need?" And the answer would be — why, it's the Ellen Tauscher Seal of Approval™. Apparently, Filson has fallen out of favor; I'm guessing that Tauscher feels like he let her down in CA-11, rather than the more obvious alternative: that, just maybe, Democratic voters resent Tauscher's interference in their elections.
So meet the new, sixth candidate in AD-15, Joan Buchanan. A 17-year member of the school board in San Ramon and generous contributor to Tauscher's past campaigns, Buchanan appears poised to catapult to front-runner status based on her powerful political connections to Friends of Ellen and her prodigious fundraising potential. Sound eerily familiar?
What is Tauscher thinking? Isn't there anybody who can stop her before she hurts someone? K-Fed? Anyone?
Ellen Tauscher is a lovely and charming Congresswoman. Now if she'd just choose to show how lovely she is to the common man as much as she loves to show off for Corporations.
I have 100 percent pro-choice record. I have 100 percent record in the environment. I have 100 percent record with labor, for example. I've always had the AFL-CIO endorsement. So, I think that, for folks to criticize my record, I think they'd have to go very far to find another Democrat in the Bay Area that's beaten a Republican in a district that still does not have a majority of Democrats who has a record as good as mine.
Really? Very far, huh? Um...how about one district over. CA-11, where Jerry McNerney defeated Richard Pombo in a district that has a Republican advantage. And oh yeah, he's way, way better on the issues than Tauscher. So...first question answered.
How about those 100% marks she is claiming. Well, let's go look at the AFL-CIO's report card. 100%, huh Ms. Tauscher? Well, since when did 79%=100%? Becuase, Rep. Tauscher has a 79%. For those keeping score at home, that's lower than Blue Dogs Jim Costa, Dennis Cardoza, and bleeping Joe Baca!
Next, on the Iraq War, she slanders Rep. Woolsey and the Progressive Caucus who have introduced bills that would fully fund the withdrawal of our troops:
They want to cut off funding to stop the war. The net effect of it is that it would cut off funding for the troops, and I think that's where many people, including the Speaker and myself and many, many others, I think a majority of the caucus, understand that that is not where the American people are. That is a very drastic step. It is a step that has all kinds of problems attached to it.
You know it's funny, a few weeks ago, Rep Woolsey was on local public radio, and mentioned that she supported Tauscher. Now, I think part of this is the incumbency/primary challenge thing. Rep. Woolsey is still bitter about being challenged by Joe Nation. I can understand that. But, apparently this is how Ms. Tauscher pays Woolsey back for her support: accusations of harming the troops.
As we approach the fourth anniversary of the Iraq War, we progressive Democrats are becoming increasingly impatient with our elected officials and their reluctance to actively push for troop withdrawal. Nowhere is this restlessness more apparent than in CA-10, the district represented by Ellen Tauscher. Even though Democrats have a 12% registration advantage over Republicans and Barbara Boxer received 60% of the vote in 2004 (Kerry got 59%), Tauscher insists that she must pursue a "centrist" course of action to be in sync with her constituents. So you might wonder what's going on with those constituents in Tauscher Territory, as she so modestly refers to it.
Well, today there was a march and rally to protest the Iraq occupation in the heart of Ellen Tauscher's district, Walnut Creek. Representatives were present from a local group called Resolution Peace, which bills itself as "A coalition of Democratic Clubs and progressive political organizations with common goals," one of which is to "Promptly withdraw from Iraq." Now, mind you, these folks are the members of the local Democratic clubs and the party activists who form the Democratic base in CA-10. And they were busily handing out flyers and circulating petitions calling on Tauscher to back up her criticism of the Iraq war with action. Apparently, her constituents have been paying attention to the fact that what Tauscher says and what she does are two very different things.
UPDATE: The 2006 GOP nominee was different than the 2004 nominee, who ran this ad. Darcy Linn spent $6716 in 2006, far less than Ketelson did in 2004. Thanks to Josh Richman in the comments. -Brian
But I have a district that's not a majority Democratic district, and I think that if you look at the last election results, which were just a few months ago, where I got 68 percent of the vote - that's 110,000 votes - I think that I have a lot of support in my district, and those are the people that I work for, those are the people with whom I think I have a lot of common ground and a lot of support.
She is bragging about winning a race where she spent $830,579 and her opponent spent $6,716? She claims this proves she has a lot of support???
Well for your Friday Night Video, let's look at the ad from the person who was the 2004 GOP nominee and ran again against her in 2006.
She is actually bragging that she did well against this?
(Josh Richman -- who was the first reporter to get Tauscher on record about the netroots hatred of her -- gets Tauscher Flack Kevin Lawlor to say that she is only taking a "leave" because she "wouldn’t be a valuable member." -- blogswarm
---------
Now cross-posted to dKos and MyDD. - promoted by blogswarm)
I was reading a MyDD post by Chris Bowers on the Blue DOgs, and found myself at their current membership page. And guess who is not on there? Why, Ms. Ellen Tauscher does not appear on the membership page at all. Funny thing about that...it's really not very hard to find evidence that she was a Blue Dog in the past. Examples? Well, try a Google search for "Tauscher Blue Dog, and you'll find plenty of links, including some to her own site. And, of course, there's the Internet Archive of the old member list.
Has Ms. Tauscher unceremoniously dumped the Blue Dogs? As far as I can see, she didn't issue a press release noting the exit from the hawkish group. She tried to do it all quiet like, but as she knows from the "The Caress", the internet has a long memory. It never forgets.
So why would Ellen Tauscher leave the Blue Dogs? Could it be because they enable the President's disastrous occupation of Iraq. Why just today, they were trumpeting their success in enabling this disaster of a president:
With Democrats in charge again, the Blue Dogs have played a key role in halting an emerging plan to place strict conditions on war funding. Their revolt helped beat back that proposal, by Pelosi ally John Murtha, D-Pa. Leaders are now considering a watered-down version. (AP 3/7/07)
Wow, that's some great work. And as Chris pointed out, 58% of the nation supports such a plan. Wow! It's a great thing the Blue Dogs were able to moderate us! Phew, otherwise we would have gone and done something that the people supported. Heaven forbid!
So, Ms. Tauscher, how do you feel about the Blue Dogs victory? How are you working to get the troops out of Iraq within 120 days (of 6 months ago)? How are you working to answer the questions that this Iraq War mother asked you in December?
Atrios makes my point for me. If you want to tell me how you're going to guarantee a left-wing challenger won't weaken Tauscher, or perhaps see her replaced by a moderate Republican, I'm all ears.
As for Ezra, I disagree with Tauscher on the estate tax and bankruptcy, but once again--you think a Republican would vote differently? And I very much liked Jane Harman, before she was mau-maued, and wish she were the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee now. Unlike the current Pelosi-selected chairman, she knows the difference between a sunni and shi'ite.
Umm Joe, listen close:
There is virtually NO chance CA-10 is going to elect a Republican. Will. Not. Happen.
Today's Washington Post has a 2,700 word, above the fold, front-page story examining what is one of the most important debates concerning the future of the Democratic Party. Ground zero is the Bay Area, but you wouldn't know that from reading the San Francisco Chronicle. In contrast, on the front page of today's Chron was a story on how daylight savings time is coming in a few weeks.
(Oh, sweet, Ms. Tauscher has also narrated a slideshow. Apparently, the bankruptcy bill was A-OK with her conscience. There's also going to be a chat tomorrow at 8AM California time on politics, and I'm sure this topic will come up. - promoted by Brian Leubitz)
In what can only be described as a delightful day in the life of Ellen Tauscher, the Washington Post took a front-page look at the contest in CA-10.
Tauscher was reelected with 68 percent of the vote, but she said she takes this threat seriously; she has already used it in fundraising appeals. And though she has always highlighted her independence -- shortly before the election, she warned Democrats not to "go off the left cliff" -- she's now emphasizing her party loyalty.
She was once the only California Democrat to oppose Pelosi's campaign for leadership, but she now marvels that the speaker's performance has been "absolutely perfect -- and she looks so beautiful doing it!" Tauscher's Web site no longer features photos of her with Bush or Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), who lost a Democratic primary of his own last year.
Talk about saying one thing and doing another...yet again we have Ellen Tauscher to kick around. Really, I'm having a hard time writing this without using the term "totally full of shit" (whoops, there it is).
Seems like it's about time for Ellen Tauscher to check herself into Interfering Politician Rehab. You might have thought that after last year's Steve Filson debacle in the CA-11 primary, she'd have gotten the message that Democratic voters are perfectly capable of choosing their own candidates. But nooooo, the woman is out of control. 
