Ashcroft

1 minute ago, Vesica said:

I assume he won the 2008 Election, so he would technically be up for election in the 2014 cycle?

Yes

Just now, Batman said:

Well this is a first Liberal Ashcroft

Hehe first time for everything

Name: John Lodge Strasser

Seat: Massachusetts II

Date of Birth: July 18, 1956

Place of Birth: Quincy, MA

Gender: Male (0 pts)

Family: (0 pts)

- Wife: Genevieve Wood (m. 1988)

- Children: Hugh (b. 1990), Anne (b. 1992) 

Race: White (0 pts)

Religion: Mainline Protestant (0 pts)

Avatar: Jon Huntsman Jr.

Party Faction: Liberal

Education:

Harvard University (BA, JD)

Lincoln College, Oxford (DPhil)

Family History:

Top 5%

Career History:

U.S. Senator for Massachusetts (2009-present)

U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 4th District (1999-2009)

Lawyer, appellate litigation (1985-1999)

Points:

College degree at top university (10 pts)

Master's degree at top university (20 pts)

Doctoral degree at top university (25 pts)

Top 5% (10 pts)

Congressman x5 terms (15 pts)

Lawyer (10 pts)

Total: 90

Signing out, to return as a Dem. (approved by Jewell)

Aye

Aye

Aye

Nay

Present

Mary Anne Brabander @BrabanderAL

I voted no to a gas tax hike. This is not the time to make everyday essentials more expensive.

My colleague is correct on that point. I retract my statement.

Mr. President,

If I may, suspension of the rules would, by definition, suspend that particular rule about suspending the rules.

Mary Anne Brabander @BrabanderAL

I will be voting to confirm Raul Estrada as Secretary of State. He performed well under my questioning and is clearly qualified for the job.

Thank, Mr. Hamre,

I'd like to turn now towards an area that is quite close to your previous expertise. We all know that the Pentagon is one of the biggest budgetary items for the federal government. Rightly, so, in my view, considering how important our national defense is. But I'd like to ask you if, in your experience, you have found areas where economies might be made or where money might be spent more efficiently. And more specifically, what steps would you take as Secretary to ensure our defense budget is spent as efficiently as possible?

9 minutes ago, Kemal Bora said:

Janet Napolitano

I made it very clear, Senator Brabander. I have no interest in answering your questions until you retract your baseless allegation and offer an apology to Mister Alan Stephens. 

Governor, I asked you a question based on the best of my knowledge, and you answered to the best of yours. That is the reason for this process in the first place. My intention was not to accuse Mr. Stephens of any crime he has not been found guilty of. I consider the record corrected on that issue, which is why I did not pursue further questions on that topic. However, there are very important questions still awaiting your answer.

Now is your opportunity to set the record straight, as you see it. Should you not choose to do so, we will simply have to proceed assuming that my staff's research on this topic is correct. This is not one of Sheriff Joe's camps. I cannot force you to do anything against your will. But the Senate and the country are watching, and they both eagerly await your response.

BRABANDER PRESSES NAPOLITANO ON RELATIONSHIP WITH JOE ARPAIO

Press Release #9 | Q1 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mary Anne Brabander (R-AL), the ranking member of the Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, and Judiciary Committee, questioned FBI Director-designate Janet Napolitano on her relationship with Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona during her tenure as a U.S. Attorney and Governor of Arizona. Arpaio is infamous for his treatment of detainees, many of whom die in custody from preventable diseases. Among the most famous abuses at his "tent cities" are forcing inmates to wear humiliating pink underwear and working them on chain gangs in hot desert weather.

"According to my records, Janet Napolitano had several opportunities to crack down on the human rights abuses occurring at Sheriff Joe's camps. She was the U.S. Attorney charged with leading an investigation into his practices way back in the 1990s. She filed suit and settled with only minor concessions. And later, as Governor, she continued to turn a blind eye to this barbarism which still continues today. Why didn't she act when she had the chance? Why did Sheriff Joe support her bid for Governor in 2002? Can we expect the FBI to turn a blind eye to mistreatment of detainees with her at the helm? These are questions that the American people must have answered if she's going to go anywhere near one of the top law enforcement agencies in the country."

-Mark Clayton, Press Secretary

Governor Napolitano,

While you are pondering your responses to the previous question, I would like to get another question on the record before the hearing time expires. As the nominee for one of the top law enforcement positions in the country, I am sure many are interested to know your attitude towards the protection of personal liberties and fair treatment of criminal suspects and detainees. As Governor of Arizona, you oversaw one of the more controversial approaches toward enforcing our southern border.

One of those involved in this enforcement was the Sheriff of Maricopa County, Joe Arpaio. Sheriff Arpaio is known for his devil-may-care approach to the treatment of detainees – including those who have not been convicted of a crime, but are merely awaiting a hearing. According to the Phoenix New Times, inmates under Arpaio's charge have a tendency to die in custody of very preventable causes, like dehydration, suffocation, insufficient medical care, and even an attack by White Nationalists. One article lists 11 such incidents since 1996. These practices have cost Maricopa County over $100 million in lawsuits. And that's not to even mention the gross violation of human rights.

One of the more infamous practices at Arpaio's "Tent Cities" includes making inmates dress in pink underwear for their own humiliation and being forced to work on chain gangs.

Now, Governor Napolitano, you have had multiple opportunities to take action against these flagrant violations of human rights and basic rule of law, not least when, in 1995, you were put in charge of a Justice Department investigation into Arpaio's "tent cities" while you were a U.S. attorney. According to a Slate article, you are quoted as saying, at the time, "We run a strict jail but a safe jail, and I haven’t heard from anyone who thinks that this is a bad thing.”

You filed suit against Arpaio and settled with some... minimal gains, to say the least. The pepper spray was... reduced, and there was apparently some changes to the inmate grievance process. But, for some reason, Arpaio seemed to think that, in his words, "The chain gangs stay. The tents stay. The pink underwear stays. All my programs stay. … This has nothing to do with my policies and programs."

Sheriff Arpaio later went on to support your gubernatorial campaign in 2002, where you won by less than 12,000 votes.

Now, Governor, my questions for you are as follows:

Why did Sheriff Arpaio support your bid for governor in 2002?

Do you wish you had done more, either as a U.S. Attorney or as Governor, to crack down on these practices?

Why was Sheriff Arpaio allowed to work pink underwear-clad inmates on chain gangs under your tenure as governor?

Is this blind eye to horrific abuses in prison system something that we can expect to see under your tenure as FBI?

And, of course, is there anything in my description that you would like to dispute, for the record?

Mary Anne Brabander @BrabanderAL

Tip @Montbatten, I respect you, but you're dead wrong on this one. Experts warn that the uneconomy will unravel in [1 IRL day] w/o action.

Mary Anne Brabander @BrabanderAL

I'm not willing to cause the second Great Depression for the sake of procedure. Sorry.

Just now, Montbatten said:

Tipton Montbatten  @Montbatten

When you need to use such grandiose defenses of your actions as "history will remember" it is highly probable that your actions were wrong. And if they were wrong, then they will always be wrong. (1)

 

I do not believe that the ends justify the means, and I do not believe that we have a right to spend almost 2 trillion dollars of taxpayer money without so much as a reading of the bill on the Senate floor. 

BRABANDER: "HISTORY WILL REMEMBER WE DID THE RIGHT THING" 

Press Release #8 | Q1 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mary Anne Brabander (R-AL) made the following remarks regarding the passage of the Carney-Judge economic rescue bill.

"Washington has witnessed a rare moment of political courage, when leaders from both parties stepped up to do the right thing, even when it was painful, even when it goes against some of our core beliefs. Both sides made compromises. Both sides sacrificed. But history will remember that, when it mattered most, when our economy was on the brink of collapse, we came together and did the right thing. Bipartisanship is an American phenomenon, and it's one of the reasons we as a country are unstoppable. We've won the battle, but the war on this recession has only just started. I am reminded today of some of the words of one of my personal heroes, Winston Churchill: This is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end. But it is the end of the beginning. We have work to do and a long session ahead of us. Nonetheless, Americans can go to bed tonight knowing that the worst has been avoided – that what could have been will not be. For that, we can thank God."

-Mark Clayton, Press Secretary

Aye

Present

Mary Anne Brabander @BrabanderAL

Funny how the main opposition to #CarneyJudge is all via anonymous sources. Almost like they're too afraid to oppose a bill majority of Americans support.

Nay

Aye