The Dirty 30

30 Democratic Senators officially have blood on their hands. That's right, 30 of our own have voted "yay" to confirm Dr. Condaliezza-lies-a-lot. Hooray for the 13 Senators who "bravely" voted against her:

Independent Jim Jeffords of Vermont and Democratic Senators Mark Dayton of Minnesota, Barbara Boxer of California, Edward M. Kennedy and John Kerry of Massachusetts, Carl Levin of Michigan, Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Richard Durbin of Illinois, Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, Evan Bayh of Indiana, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Tom Harkin of Iowa.

My two Senators, Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer, have officially lost my New York vote the next time they're up for reelection. Extra props go out to Mark Dayton who told the Senate on Tuesday:

"My vote against this nomination is my statement that this administration's lying must stop now..."

Dayton, a Minnesota Democrat, referred to an exchange at last week's confirmation hearing, when Rice pointedly asked Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., to question her "without impugning my credibility or my integrity."

Dayton didn't take Rice's words to heart.

"I don't like to impugn anyone's integrity, but I really don't like being lied to repeatedly, flagrantly, intentionally," he said. "It's wrong. It's undemocratic, it's un-American, and it's dangerous.

And the award for the worst excuse for a Democratic Senator goes to:



Oops, my bad. I meant this guy:



(click on Joe to hear the striking resemblance between him and Mr. Fudd)

Lieberman distinguished himself on the Senate floor by declaring:

"Dr. Rice, born in 1954 in the then racially segregated South, knew the sting of bigotry. No one on the day of her birth could have rationally predicted she would grow up to be the Secretary of State of the United States of America. But she was blessed with great natural abilities, with a strong family, with an abiding faith in God. She worked hard, as others worked in her time, to break the barriers of segregation to establish the rule of law to create opportunities. She has earned the nomination the President has given her."

Yes, without a doubt, her strong family, faith in God, hard work, ability to overcome bigotry, etc. definitely qualifies her to be Secretary of State. Whatever...

Update: Click here for the complete roll call of today's confirmation vote.