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Washington.IT is disheartening and disconcerting, at the very least, that here we are today — almost exactly eight years after Senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party — witnessing the departure of my good friend and fellow moderate Republican, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, for the Democratic Party. And the announcement of his switch was all the more painful because I believe it didn’t have to be this way. When Senator Jeffords became an independent in 2001, I said it was a sad day for the Republicans, but it would be even sadder if we failed to confront and learn...

When the Vermont Republican became an independent, Specter lost a committee chairmanship in the Senate's resulting power shift. An angry Specter proposed a ban on such party switches. Reporting from Washington -- When a Senate Republican left his party in 2001, elevating the Democrats to majority status, one member of the GOP was especially vocal about his displeasure: Arlen Specter. Specter said then- Vermont Sen. Jim Jeffords' decision to become an independent was disruptive to the functioning of Congress. He proposed a rule forbidding party switches that had the effect of vaulting the minority to majority status in the middle...

A stinging rebuke from another prominent Republican quickly followed Sen. James Jeffords' departure Thursday from the GOP. In a written statement, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, blamed "short-sighted party operatives" whom he accused of targeting Jeffords. "Perhaps those self-appointed enforcers of party loyalty will learn to respect honorable differences among us, learn to disagree without resorting to personal threats, and recognize that we are a party large enough to accommodate something short of strict unanimity on the issues of the day," said McCain. "Tolerance of dissent is the hallmark of a mature party, and it is well past time for the...

It is being reported on the Rusty Humphries show that John McCain and not Jim Jeffords planned on switching to the Democrat party in 2001.

Who could possibly agree to a title ripped off from one of the most courageous documents in the world, the Declaration of Independence? Only our Jim. Many of the signers of that document suffered pain and loss because of their deed. Not so our junior senator. He reaps rewards. Not so for Simon and Schuster, publishers of "My Declaration of Independence." The book has climbed up the Barnes and Noble charts to 17,644th from 24,607th last week. Simon and Schuster might as well consider it all a campaign contribution. Surely Jeffords will take their call should they need help from ...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was close to leaving the Republican Party in 2001, weeks before then-Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) famously announced his decision to become an Independent, according to former Democratic lawmakers who say they were involved in the discussions. In interviews with The Hill this month, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and ex-Rep. Tom Downey (D-N.Y.) said there were nearly two months of talks with the maverick lawmaker following an approach by John Weaver, McCain?s chief political strategist. Democrats had contacted Jeffords and then-Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) in the early months of 2001 about switching parties, but in McCain?s...

NASHVILLE -- The Republican majority in the Tennessee Senate was short-lived: Sen. Mike Williams of Maynardville declared an independent today and no longer a member of the Republican Caucus. Williams blamed dissatisfaction over the arrival of what he called "Washington-style partisanship and gridlock" -- which he said he wants no part of -- for the switch. His move left the makeup of the state Senate at 16 Republicans, 16 Democrats and one independent. That won't have an immediate impact on the organization of the Senate -- Republican Ron Ramsey was elected to a two-year term as the Senate speaker in...

Seeks to clear way for independent in US Senate bid... Vermont's Democratic Party is maneuvering to keep the Democratic candidates for the state's open US Senate seat off the November ballot, as party leaders seek to clear the way for independent Representative Bernard Sanders in his bid for the Senate. State Democratic leaders are spearheading efforts to gather signatures to put Sanders on the ballot as a Democrat, even though Sanders has repeatedly said he would turn down the party's nomination if he wins the primary. At least three other candidates have announced their intention to run for the Democratic...

The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted to end a filibuster and moved closer to renewal of the USA Patriot Act. Senators voted 96-3 Thursday to stop debate regarding a compromise on the Patriot Act. All three of the senators who voted to keep debate going were Democrats ... Some aspects of the act were to expire at the end of 2005 but the White House sought to make the bill permanent. Congress gave the act short extensions, the most recent of which will end March 10.

ST. ALBANS — Adj. Gen. Martha Rainville made it official at a scripted campaign rally before more than 100 cheering supporters and the media: She’s a candidate for U.S. Congress. At a morning rally kicking off a two-day campaign swing through the state, Rainville told the crowd, “I want to serve in Congress as your advocate, as your voice on issues affecting you and your families, on issues affecting Vermont and America. Too much time and energy in Washington is being spent on finger-pointing and bickering across party lines.” “The focus seems to lie not on resolving issues, but on...

(Washington - AP) — US Senator Jim Jeffords says he will oppose the nomination of Samuel Alito to the US Supreme Court. Jeffords says that while he believes Alito is qualified to serve on the court, he does not believe the country would be served by his judicial philosophy. The independent senator says that he does not believe Alito fully appreciates the limits on the power of the presidency.

WASHINGTON — The lobbyist imbroglio consuming the nation’s capital has ensnared Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, a top Democrat, a Vermont Guardian review of campaign records has found. Two widely circulated lists place Leahy and fellow sen. Jim Jeffords on a list of senators who have received campaign contributions from clients or colleagues associated with super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The Guardian has found that much of these donations came from clients or associates who were either not being represented by Abramoff at the time or working with him. However, several donations have been confirmed and implicate both senators, according to a Guardian...

Tribal Clients And Associates Of Jack Abramoff Have Contributed Over $3.1 Million To Democrat Party Interests Between 1997 And 2004. (Campaign Finance Analysis Project Website, www.campaignfinanceanalysisproject.com, Accessed December 2005; Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed December 2005) National Democrat Party Affiliated Committees Received Over $1.2 Million From Indian Tribe Clients And Lobbying Associates Of Jack Abramoff. (Campaign Finance Analysis Project Website, www.campaignfinanceanalysisproject.com, Accessed December 7, 2005; Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed December 7, 2005; Internal Revenue Service Website, www.irs.gov, Accessed April 21, 2005) The Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Received Over – $430,000 The Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)...

WASHINGTON--DNC Chair Howard Dean, appearing on "Meet the Press" told hold host Tim Russert that a Socialist "is bascially a liberal Democrat."Dean, while discussing the race to replace outgoing Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords, insisted to Russert that potential candidate Bernie Sanders, an admitted socialist, was no different than the liberal wing of his own party:Russert: ...there's a vacancy for the United States Senate about to occur. Bernie Sanders, the congressman from Vermont, wants to run for that seat. He is a self-described avowed socialist. Dean: Well, that's what he says. He's really a populist. Russert: But is there room in...

"Well, you really botched it this time. Too bad your ego is bigger than your brain."

We live in a time of great change, in America and around the globe. Democracy is on the rise in parts of the world few thought possible, the Middle East of all places. But at the same time, nearly half of America is running toward socialism and most of them don’t even know it… The Democratic Party was full of glee when Vermont Senator Jumpin’ Jim Jeffords defected from the Republican Party, re-titling himself an "Independent", but becoming a boot licking lackey for the DNC in the process. He had a long history of voting the other side of the...

The departures of Jim Jeffords (I-VT) and Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) will result in competitive US Senate elections in 2006 in two states where Republicans are not historically strong, though the special circumstances that apply to those seats make them within reach of the GOP. The former will have special meaning for Republicans since its occupant unilaterally handed control of the US Senate to the opposing party from 2001 to 2003. Because the Republicans enjoyed a historic victory in the 2002 midterms, the actions of the Benedict Arnold from the home of Ethan Allen had limited implications, aside from giving the...

But, his stalwart sidekick, Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, quickly stepped up to fill the speculation about who in the GOP will take on U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders

BURLINGTON — Gov. Jim Douglas ended more than a week of increasing political speculation Saturday, announcing he would not run for U.S. Senate in 2006. But, his stalwart sidekick, Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, quickly stepped up to fill the speculation about who in the GOP will take on U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders, who has said he intends to run for the Senate. “I am thinking about it,” Dubie told reporters in a crowded hallway outside Douglas' announcement. Dubie said he would consider a run for U.S. Senate or U.S. House, but not without consulting his family first. “For me, it’s...

Jeffords to Retire A very reliable source tells me that Jim Jeffords will make an announcement at 1pm today that he is retiring from the U.S. Senate.

WASHINGTON -- In case you hadn't noticed it, Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords announced last Wednesday that he won't seek re-election. After 17 years in the Senate, he's packing up and going home. Don't feel bad if you did miss it. Few in the media thought it was a big deal. The Washington Post reported it on page A-7 and the New York Times on page A-15. The Wall Street Journal devoted exactly one sentence to it. The Journal must have needed the space for "Hotel Industry Begins to Wake Up to Bedbug Problem." It was a stark change from four...

A race between Congressman Bernie Sanders and Governor Jim Douglas would touch off a political domino effect in Vermont.

'Jumpin' Jim Jeffords to jump out of office Senator from Vermont caused upheaval when he left GOP, gave control to Dems Posted: April 20, 2005 1:48 p.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.comU.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords, the Vermont independent whose defection from the Republican Party in 2001 created massive political upheaval in the Senate, will leave office when his term expires next year. "After much thought and consultation with my family and staff, I have decided to close this chapter of my service to Vermont, and not seek re-election in 2006," Jeffords said today. Despite recent statements the 70-year-old would be...

WASHINGTON, April 20 - Senator James M. Jeffords of Vermont, the Republican-turned-independent whose party switch in 2001 delivered control of the Senate to Democrats for 19 months, announced on Wednesday that he would not seek re-election next year, citing concerns about his health and that of his wife. "It is time to begin a new chapter, both for me personally and for the people of Vermont," Mr. Jeffords, 70, told reporters at a news conference at hotel outside Burlington, Vt. He did not answer questions. The announcement set off an immediate scramble to succeed him, with Representative Bernard Sanders, the...

Sen. James Jeffords (I-Vt.), whose abrupt defection from the Republican Party in May 2001 handed control of the Senate to the Democrats for the next 19 months, announced yesterday that he would not seek a fourth term in 2006 due to his and his wife's health problems.

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Vermont Sen. Jim Jeffords, an independent who triggered one of the most dramatic upheavals in Senate history when he quit the GOP four years ago, intends to retire at the end of his term next year, The Associated Press learned Wednesday.Jeffords will make the announcement Wednesday afternoon in Burlington, multiple sources in Vermont and Washington told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity.No calls to Jeffords' press secretary or staff were returned Wednesday morning.Jeffords, 70, has been adamant in saying he will seek re-election, but there have been increasing concerns voiced about his health...

MONTPELIER, Vt. Howard Dean isn't interested. A spokeswoman says Dean won't be running for the Senate seat that is opening up from Vermont -- now that independent Jim Jeffords won't be running for re-election next year. Jeffords is the one who briefly gave control of the Senate to Democrats when he left the G-O-P and became an independent four years ago. Sources told the A-P this morning that Jeffords was preparing to make the announcement that he's retiring at the end of his term. Dean had long been rumored as a possible candidate. But the former governor and presidential candidate...

Three Guys Who Could Easily Get The Turncoat's Seat Back

Does anyone out there remember Piels beer? Bob McAllister’s Wonderama or Quisp cereal? How about Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom” nature show and K-Tel records? Surely, a few of you remember some, if not all, of these once-popular and everyday elements that were once considered by most as indisputable props of Americana. But do you remember the senator from Vermont, Jim Jeffords? Though there are a few who will never forget Jeffords moment atop the media mountain, the vast majority of Americans would scratch their heads, furrow their brows, and say “who”?

Does anyone out there remember Piels beer?  Bob McAllister’s Wonderama or Quisp cereal?  How about Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom” nature show and K-Tel records?  Surely, a few of you remember some, if not all, of these once-popular and everyday elements that were once considered by most as indisputable props of Americana. But do you remember the senator from Vermont, Jim Jeffords?

U.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords, the Vermont Independent, may face a clear field right now in a 2006 re-election bid, but his March 22 performance on Vermont Public Radio's Switchboard program raised a few eyebrows. For starters, Jeffords, who opposes the war in Iraq, predicted the Bush administration would start a war in Iran to help elect a third member of the Bush clan to the White House. “I think it was all done to get oil,” Jeffords said of invading Iraq. “And the loss of life that we had, and the cost of it, was to me just a re-election...

March 28 -- Three Democrats and the only independent in the Senate have asked for the EPA´s independent Inspector General´s Office to investigate allegations that the EPA withheld information during the mercury rulemaking process that disagreed with some administration assumptions. However, the Environmental Protection Agency said the information was omitted in part because it appears flawed. Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., James Jeffords, I-Vt., John Kerry, D-Mass., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., requested the investigation in a March 24 letter to Stephen L. Johnson, the acting EPA administrator. The senators also asked Johnson to stay the implementation of the mercury rule until...

There's no doubt about it: The 2006 U.S. Senate campaign has begun and it's already getting ugly, Sen. Jim Jeffords said Friday. The Vermont independent also said he expects to be the Republican Party's "No. 1 target." He said he expects to be treated like former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., who was pounded by the GOP during the last election cycle and, as a result, lost his re-election bid. "The nasty part of (the election) has already started, too, which I hate to see," Jeffords told the Reformer during a visit to downtown Brattleboro. The three-term senator is entering...

MONTPELIER, Vt. The woman who managed U-S Senator Patrick Leahy's re-election campaign last year has been hired to organize the re-election campaign of independent U-S Senator Jim Jeffords. Carolyn Dwyer has been hired as a consultant to the Jeffords campaign with the task of getting things prepared for next year's bid. Dwyer served as Leahy's campaign manager last year and helped run his 1998 campaign. She also worked on Howard Dean's presidential bid as well as the Clinton-Gore campaign in 1996. The hiring of Dwyer comes on the heels of recent endorsements of Jeffords by Leahy and Democratic National Committee...

AFTER SENATOR JIM JEFFORDS deserted the Republican Party in 2001, Chuck Hagel was furious. Not at his Senate colleague but at Republicans for not accommodating Jeffords' liberalism. Hagel had plead with Jeffords to remain a Republican, promising to help him advance his liberal "dreams" for the GOP. "Jim, do you really believe you can further your dreams and aspirations by doing this?" Time quoted Hagel as saying to Jeffords. "We can fix this. Give us a chance." Unpersuaded, Jeffords switched parties, and Hagel proceeded to blast the GOP to reporters in terms they like to hear. "We need to take...

Reader Allen O'Donnell from Wayne, Nebraska has comiled an analyzed the list of Senators voting against the confirmation of Dr. Condoleeza Rice as Secretary of State. It is well worth reading: Senators who voted against confirmation of Dr. Rice for Secretary of State Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. John Kerry, D-Mass. Carl Levin, D-Mich. James Jeffords, I-Vt. Jack Reed, D-R.I Mark Dayton, D-Minn. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii Evan Bayh, D-Ind. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa Richard Durbin, D-Ill For me, the only surprise is Evan Bayh of Indiana. I figured he had his eye on the...

If Chief Justice William Rehnquist retires next year, President Bush likely won't face a tough battle over his successor. So reports the New York Times, citing consultant Howard Wolfson and "other Democrats." The Times attributes this to the Democrats' desire to soften their image as pro-abortion zealots. The court has a 6-3 majority in favor of Roe v. Wade, and Chief Justice Rehnquist is among the dissenters. Why should the Democrats spend political capital merely to run up the score? Anyway, this is a battle the Democrats would almost certainly lose. With only 45 senators..., they would need the support...

MONTPELIER — A small delegation of Vermonters is calling on Sen. James Jeffords to refuse to certify the Electoral College vote until all ballots cast on Nov. 2 are verified. In a letter presented Dec. 13 to Jeffords staff members in Montpelier, Vermonters for Voting Integrity called for “a thorough investigation of all voting machine malfunctions, disclosure and investigation into all electronic voting machine software, and a full audit to disclose discrepancies between exit polls and the final vote.” The Electoral College vote occurred that same day. President Bush declared himself the winner of the Nov. 2 poll, with 51...

Election 2006 Of the 15 senators up for reelection this fall who voted to acquit Clinton in 1999, only one was defeated, but it was a big one - prince of obstruction Tom Daschle of South Dakota. Now we turn our attention to 2006. The following 14 senators who will then be up for reelection also voted to acquit Clinton and therefore disqualified themselves for public office. Moreover, all of them voted for the Harkin amendment to the bill banning partial-birth abortion. All but two of them (Byrd and Conrad) also voted on 21 Oct. 2003 against the bill to...

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) The only independent in the U.S. Senate has written to independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader asking him to drop his campaign in the final days of the race. Sen. James Jeffords said in a letter that the race is so close in several states that Nader's continued campaigning could tip the outcome.

One day after the Supreme Court sealed the 2000 election for George W. Bush, his running mate, Dick Cheney, went to the Capitol for a private lunch with five moderate Republican senators. The agenda he laid out that day in December 2000 stunned Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, sending Mr. Chafee on a painful journey of political conscience that, he said in an interview last week, has culminated with his decision not to vote for Mr. Bush in November. "I literally was close to falling off my chair," Mr. Chafee said, recounting the vice president's proposals for steep tax...

U.S. Senator James J. (for Janus) Jeffords appeared on a live call in show on VT Public TV tonight. He spent most of his opening remarks trashing President Bush and his policies. I lucked out and got to pose a couple of questions to him.

Democrats began their seventh filibuster of a Bush judicial nominee yesterday. No Senate has ever filibustered a President's appellate-court nominee before, but never mind. Watch for the number of filibusters to hit double digits by September. The latest victim is William Myers, a nominee from Idaho for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Myers had the misfortune to work in the Bush Interior Department, a job that comes with the liberal label of "extremist." Democrats are using his nomination as an opportunity to bash the Bush Administration on the environment. The Constitution requires a majority of Senators to confirm a President's judicial...

NEVER VOTE FOR THESE REPUBLICANS: THE UPDATED STORY When I first started lurking on FreeRepublic in late ‘98/early ’99 during the Clinton impeachment, one of the big threads was a piece from Freeper “Dead” entitled “NEVER VOTE FOR THESE REPUBLICANS”. It listed the names and titles of the Republicans in Congress who had given Clinton a free pass on every charge during impeachment. I was inspired to join FR because I too felt the rage over those Republicans who were more concerned about tearing down their own party than doing their duty to hold Clinton accountable. And I also...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Four of President Bush's nominations for top jobs at the Environmental Protection Agency were put on hold Wednesday by Sen. Jim Jeffords, I-Vt., who said he was protesting the agency's refusal to provide him documents over the past three years. Jeffords said he had been "stonewalled in getting information from the EPA" and pointed to 12 unmet requests for documents between May 2001, when he left the Republican Party and became an independent, and January 2004. "I have bent over backwards to try to accommodate the EPA, but my patience is now worn out," Jeffords said. "I...

DEAN LEAGACY MARCHES ON He wants to do to America what he did to Vermont. Not likely once American learns what he did here, creating the nearly highest electricity rates, health insurance costs, and workman?s compensation costs in America with a nightmare permit process to boot. This wonderful business climate caused Vermont to post net job losses for the first time in a decade in 2002. Of course worse than that was Vermont?s falling per capita income ranking compared to the other states, which fell from the mid twenties to the mid thirties. So not only are there fewer jobs,...

Al Gore and Sen. Jim Jeffords are largely to blame for the slow start of the Bush administration’s security team before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Moreover, the president has good cause to be wary of the Clinton holdover who runs the CIA. Richard Miniter, author of the book “Losing bin Laden,” does not make this case in those exact words, but that is the essence of his message on where the fault lies in lack of preparedness for the aircraft-turned-bombs that brought down the World Trade Center towers, rammed into the Pentagon and went down in Pennsylvania. Gore’s refusal...

Senators Hesitant to Back Frist on Marriage Amendment by David Freddoso Posted Jul 11, 2003 Appearing on ABC’s "This Week With George Stephanopoulos" three days after the Supreme Court declared a constitutional right to homosexual sodomy, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R.-Tenn.) said he supported a constitutional amendment banning homosexual marriage. Many members of Congress, Stephanopoulos said to Frist, "are now drafting a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as being between a man and a woman. . . . It says that marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman....

Senator Jeffords speaks to reporters to commemorate the second anniversary of his decision to leave the Republican Party and become the Senate's only Independent. Statement of Senator Jeffords, Second Anniversary of Decision to Leave the GOP- National Press Club - Two years ago, I was big news. I got to know many of you for the first time. I was followed in airports and recognized on the street. Network news people, who until then couldn't identify me as a Senator in a police line-up, were now calling my home number. Subsequent events put me back in my place: September...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two years and another Senate power change later, Sen. James Jeffords thinks his historic party switch has encouraged other moderate Republicans to challenge President Bush and their party's line on some issues. "I think we have seen some courageous actions by the moderates," Jeffords said Thursday, citing their lead in reducing by half President Bush's original tax cut proposal. "If I did nothing else, I allowed them to know that you could speak out and ... get a public response -- positive rather than negative -- and that will justify taking that risk." The longtime moderate Republican...