Posted on 04/19/2005 7:52:45 AM PDT by SmithL
IN WASHINGTON parlance, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's attempt to change the Senate's rules so that Democrats cannot block up-or-down votes on judicial nominees is called "the nuclear option." If the Republicans use their ability to stop judicial filibusters, the thinking goes, then that would nuke any chance of bipartisan cooperation. Next follows threats from the Dems' side of the aisle to retaliate with "nuclear winter" -- in other words, obstructionism so that nothing gets done.
Too bad Senate rancor didn't get this ugly before the wrongheaded bankruptcy bill made it through both houses of Congress.
Anyway, if the Republicans had been more savvy, they would have named their anti-filibuster move: "Let every vote count."
That name would remind the citizenry of the patent unfairness of the current way Washington operates. That is, when the Democratic leadership doesn't like a particular judge, but it realizes that its complaints aren't sufficient to get enough Democrats to vote against the judge, it uses the Senate rules to prevent taking a vote. The rules allow a minority to stop a vote unless 60 senators vote to bring a matter to the floor. So 41 senators can prevent a vote from ever happening. Thus, 10 of President Bush's 52 nominees for federal appellate courts lost a shot at the post without a vote ever being taken.
Filibuster aficionados say they are part of a long and noble tradition -- citing a fictional character, Mr. Smith, played by Jimmy Stewart in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," who bravely stuck out his neck for a good cause. Nice image, but today's maneuvers are anything but courageous. Rather than stick out their necks, obstructionists have pulled into the their shell and rely on arcane rules to shut down the process --
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Hmmmmm. Nuclear winter.
Shut down the law creating bureaucracy.
I'm having real trouble seeing a downside here...
-- in other words, obstructionism so that nothing gets done.
What's so bad about that?
...then that would nuke any chance of bipartisan cooperation. Next follows threats from the Dems' side of the aisle to retaliate with "nuclear winter" -- in other words, obstructionism so that nothing gets done....
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Well since when was there EVER anything bipartisan about the left?? Their definition of bipartisan, IS YOU DO WHAT WE WANT. And obstructionism is their only "contribution" to America (along with radical socialism) so what else is new? The right, using this as an excuse, is pure politcal excrement...the right knows better but they just don't want to deal with the issue. The right continues to show how weak it is -- they have all the tools they need to crush the left in the Congress -- yet WHAT ARE THEY DOING? Still their little "I want to be liked" weak politics that is doing nothing but selling us, the people who put them there, DOWN THE RIVER!!
For a humorous but still accurate account of Harry Reid's nuclear winter, click below.
Congressman Billybob
Latest column, "A Triple Black Dog Double Dare to Infinity."
Yeah. I just e-mailed Frist and urged him to go for it!
Obvious ignorance on the part of the writer right from the get go. It's tough to soar like an eagle when you have to deal with turkeys all day......Changing the senate rules my rear-end.........But that's what the dems want the general Joe Q public to think and their constant rhetoric makes it virtually impossible for the average American to see otherwise through their spewing lies...
Debra is the Comicle's token sorta' conservative. I frequently disagree with her, but almost always enjoy her writings.
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