Posted on 05/24/2005 3:43:14 AM PDT by Racehorse
Some Democrats say they began the filibusters to force Bush to consult with them and to select nominees with more moderate views.
Yet both conservative and liberal senators and activists say that the 10 successful filibusters waged by Democrats have not swayed Bush, and may even have stiffened his resolve, raising the question of whether Democrats overplayed their hand.
[. . .]
Replacing Rehnquist with a conservative would not change the balance of a court that has voted 5-4 on many hot-button issues. But replacing a moderate or liberal would tilt the court to the right.
[. . .]
The fight over rules for voting on judicial nominees drew so much attention because it was seen as a preview for battles over filling Supreme Court vacancies. Four of the current justices are older than 70 and have had health problems, leading to speculation about their tenure.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
72, appointed by Bill Clinton, 1993; moderate among liberals; treated for colon cancer in 2000.
John Paul Stevens
85, appointed by Gerald Ford, 1975; one of the most liberal justices, but also an independent spirit. Treated for prostate cancer in 1992 and has battled heart disease.
Sandra Day O'Connor
75, appointed by Ronald Reagan, 1981; moderate to conservative; often the swing vote. Treated for breast cancer in 1988.
William Rehnquist
80, appointed by Richard Nixon, 1972; appointed chief justice by Ronald Reagan, 1986. Has thyroid cancer and is considered likely to retire soon.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
Not even Neville Chamberlain would have cut this deal with the devil.
And this nut thinks that he can be elected President!!!!!!!!!!
I thought of this possibility this morning.
What if... We get Owen, Rogers-Brown, and Prior, as per the deal.. the "Extremists" as Chuckie Schumer so elequently put them.
AND....
We get a quorom and finally FORCE the Dems to Filibuster the other two,.. have them get up there and squawk to keep Saad and Myers off the bench!!!
Oh man, that would be the *ULTIMATE* power play against the Dems, but I doubt the GOP has the guts to do it.
McCain has broken the cardinal rule and negotiated in good faith with the terrorists - now he could run against Fat Teddy and lose.
I doubt that will happen, unfortunately. McCain is performing pretty much as expected. His constituency seems to solidly behind him. Others, like Snow, come from States were kowtowing to the Democrats might actually improve their chances for reelection.
Unless I'm seriously off the mark, which I could be, or McCain pulls off some spectacular stunt to grab some favor from conservative Republicans, he may well find himself seriously lacking in party support should he make another run for the presidency. I dread the possibility he might actually win the nomination. What a bind that would put me in.
What I hope does not happen is the eruption of a major rift among Republicans. I'm wondering what this excerpt from the Las Vegas Review Journal might foreshadow:
The reaction from Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., was more muted, and conservatives expressed discontent with the deal, which stopped short of guaranteeing up-or-down votes on all of President Bush's nominees.
"I am very concerned that we are setting a precedent here where good people will be denied an up-or-down vote," said Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who supported the nuclear option.
Ensign said he had talked to two Republican colleagues who also were not happy with the compromise. He declined to name them.
In a clear reference to Reid, Ensign said, "If this is a way for people to gracefully back down and still claim victory, then I'm all for it. But I don't know what we have here."
That is just disgusting.
Bill Frist is a coach who has lost total control of his players. Blaming the players for having no discipline is stupid. If there is no discipline on a team, be it the Senate or the Dallas Cowboys, it is always the coach's fault. It has been my experience that once a leader loses control of his team, he never ever gets it back.
We have a weak coach in the Hose.. thank goodness for Tom Delay. In the house Hastert has the title but Delay coaches the team. If we can't dump Frist we need a Delay to take charge and lead.
If we want to win.. we have to have someone in charge. No one can argue that in this mess anyone was in charge of the Republican caucus.
When a player drops the ball or fumbles, it is not the coaches fault. But when the players take over the game and run it, the team has a lousy leader. Frist has done little except stand by while the Rondos took over the control of the Senate. The loss is the Coaches fault and he should be fired.
The biggest mistake of the Bush administration was making Bill Frist Majority leader.
If McPain were running for Senator today, George Bush would be there backing him just like he backed Sphincter of Pennsylvania.
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