mc Cain agrees with you.

"and rec'ed . I dont agree w/ you in spirit. but well put and written  w/ humor ."

That's precisely what we need around here.  Both well written diaries and folks willing to rec them for quality without having to agree!

Mojo for both you silly buggers!

-chris

Again, note what electing a Republican does on this issue.

entire voting record of both.  And then you have to weigh it against the platform of both parties...the Republicans are known for voting as a block.  Even if your Democrat is sometimes on the wrong side of things if it gives us the party chairmanships, etc. it gives the Democratic platform the edge.

Did you see/read what JJ jr. and others told incumbents who didn't toe the line and vote for Obama?

Vote the way we want you to or face a challenge.  The quickest way to get your elected representative's attention is to utter those words, and then start a petition/letter writing drive.  Each written formatted letter counts for 10 phone calls (it's how the political offices count opinion-stupid I know but it's how it's done).  1000 letters=10,000 phone calls.  
They will get the hint...and if not start shopping a candidate and get ready to join the campaign to replace that DEM w/ someone who actually values the Constitution.

That's how the system works.  Unless you live in a Congressional district that... well, doesn't really exist, there are two people who stand a realistic chance at being your representative in Congress.  One is a Democrat, who might not vote the way you want all the time, but will more than likely vote the way you want at least some of the time.  The other is a Republican who, unless he/she is of the same mindset as that 1 in the table above, will more than likely not vote the way you want, ever.

Now, in a year or so, you might want to encourage  a primary opponent to your current representative.  But until then, whether you like it or not, it looks like it's either a milquetoast Democrat or an actual Republican.

It depends on what choices you have in November. Is there an independent running who says they oppose this bill? If not, your option is to vote for someone from a party that voted 188-1 in favor.

Of course, you can do all of the normal things that people do when they feel strongly about a political issue, like write letters to your rep and senators, to the editor of your local paper, to the ny times, organize a pac, etc..., etc..., etc...

Here's what I did. I went to www.house.gov and sent a message to my congressman. Given that I live in a Bush 10+ district, I wasn't really surprised that he voted yea on this bill. I sent him the following message.

Congressman Childers,

I promoted your run for the MS01 seat with enthusiasm. I planned on contributing and volunteering for your re-election campaign for the full term. Unfortunately, your Yea vote for telco immunity has caused me to reconsider my support. I will have to think long and hard about whether I can support someone who is not going to support our constitutional rights. A yea vote on this bill was a clear vote of support for the illegal acts perpetrated by this administration. I am sorely disappointed by your vote.

was as easy as yours ;-)

I finally thought of something, corruption or some kind of nasty scandal. However, I can't think of any vote he might make that could lose my vote, for the reasons already stated.