Note to Tom Daschle: are you getting any of this? If Daschle had been speaking like this, perhaps someone might have thought that he actually had a backbone, not just a go-along get-along attitude and a lobbyist wife to protect.
Republicans claim that Democrats have abused the filibuster by blocking 10 of the president's 229 judicial nominees in his first term -- although confirmation of Bush nominees exceeds in most cases the first-term experience of presidents dating to Ronald Reagan. Describing the filibusters as intolerable, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has hinted he may resort to an unusual parliamentary maneuver, dubbed the "nuclear option," to thwart such filibusters.
"One way or another, the filibuster of judicial nominees must end," he said in a speech to the Federalist Society last month, labeling the use of filibusters against judicial nominees a "formula for tyranny by the minority."
...
"If they, for whatever reason, decide to do this, it's not only wrong, they will rue the day they did it, because we will do whatever we can do to strike back," Senate Democratic leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) said last week. "I know procedures around here. And I know that there will still be Senate business conducted. But I will, for lack of a better word, screw things up."
You go Harry. The use of a filibuster is an option to protect the views and rights of a minority. If the senatorial AWCB's decide to phuck with the filibuster, they do so at their own peril. One day, and who knows when that will be (2006?), they'll no longer hold their majority, and woe be unto them. All the crying and whining that they do will avail them naught. As they have reaped, so shall they sow and all that other AWCB fairy-tale shit. I'm guessing that Reid might even bring up the number of Clinton-nominees trashed by the AWCB's, w hich will bring up the manufactured outrage brigade to cry "foul". It's become pro-forma...we tell the truth, they whine. Gotta love it.
Harry Reid, a man to watch?
posted by Jo Fish on 12.12.04 at 09:49 PM
Comments:
I'm starting to like this guy.
posted by: merl on 12.13.04 at 12:47 AM [permalink]
Two words: "unanimous consent". Moving the business of the Senate along requires dozens of "votes" per daily session. Much of this is done with three Senators in the room, one in the chair, and one on each side on the floor. After asking the ritual question into an empty room and stating "Hearing no objection" they move the agenda along the agreed upon path. But exactly nothing prevents the minority from calling for a roll call vote on everything and you have to be there to vote. Republicans may feel strongly enough about judicial nominations to either hose all Senatorial rules or suffer slow-walking on everything, but I doubt they want to be rushing to the floor of the Senate every five minutes to vote on some procedural item.
posted by: Bruce Webb on 12.13.04 at 05:01 AM [permalink]
