Posted on 06/20/2005 8:27:07 PM PDT by nypokerface
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and his aides have denied Rep. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) assertion to home-state conservative leaders that he and Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) acted as emissaries for Frist in negotiations among 14 Republican and Democratic centrists that resulted in a compromise last month on judicial filibusters.
Dr. Oran Smith, president of the Palmetto Family Council based in Columbia, S.C., said, “Graham has been meeting with groups of conservative opinion leaders to explain his actions and to comfort conservative leaders by assuring them he was sent by the Republican leadership to broker a deal.”
As a result of Graham’s assurances, conservatives’ anger over Graham’s role in the controversial deal has slackened, Smith said.
“There’s a mixture of residual anger and ‘let’s wait and see’ because he said he was sent as an envoy and dispatched by the leadership, he and DeWine,” Smith added.
Joe Mack, the director of public policy for the South Carolina Baptist Convention, who met with Graham and discussed his role in the brokering the deal, confirmed that Graham told him “words to that effect that he was assisting the leadership.”
But when asked whether he had dispatched Graham and DeWine as emissaries, Frist replied firmly “No. No.”
Amid a conservative backlash to the deal, particularly against DeWine in Ohio and Graham in South Carolina, Frist aides have told conservative leaders that they did not encourage the two lawmakers to forge a deal to avoid a floor vote on shielding judicial nominees from filibuster.
Jeff Mazzella, executive director of the Center for Individual Freedom, said, “Frist’s staff and other have assured us that they were not behind that deal and we are satisfied that they are committed to moving forward with up-or-down votes on all of the president’s nominees.”
Sean Rushton, executive director of the Committee for Justice, said, “I’ve heard it from one of Frist’s liaison people that it’s not true.”
Graham did not answer yes or no when asked by The Hill if he was an emissary for Frist during the negotiations. Instead, he described a nuanced role.
“Both leadership teams were very well aware of what was going on,” he said, referring to the Republican and Democratic leaders.
He added that “everyone knew what was going on” and that some lawmakers liked it and some didn’t.
Both Graham and DeWine have been the targets of intense conservative anger since they appeared alongside five other Republican senators and seven Democrats last month to announce a deal they struck on judicial nominees who Democrats had blocked.
The deal was announced the evening before Frist had planned to trigger the so-called “nuclear option” to strip senators of the power to filibuster judicial nominees. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the majority whip, had announced a few weeks before that Frist had enough Republican votes to execute the tactic.
“I talked to McConnell and Frist during the negotiations,” Graham said. “I think Senator Frist’s primary goal was to change the rules and, barring that, felt it was better to live and fight another day.”
Conservative leaders in South Carolina responded angrily. Mack, with the Southern Baptist Convention, said “a number of our have been concerned about that role and were looking for a vote to break a filibuster.”
Thomas Ravenel, a wealthy developer who self-financed much of his race against Sen. Jim DeMint (R) in a GOP Senate primary last year, announced shortly afterward that he would consider challenging Graham in 2008.
In Ohio, conservatives responded with similar ire, saying that DeWine’s role in the filibuster negotiations was the latest in a series of actions and positions he has taken at odds with them.
Conservatives said they would retaliate by working against Pat DeWine, the senator’s son, who ran earlier this month for the seat vacated by retiring Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio). Despite having the highest name recognition in the race and having outraised his opponents significantly, the young DeWine finished a distant fourth in the race.
“His showing was extremely poor,” said Dr. John Wilke, head of the Life Issues Institute, an anti-abortion group based in Cincinnati. “A showing that bad after that good a start has reasons. Some people are saying that Mike’s business of being in the ‘Gang of 14’ hurt Pat.”
The ongoing battle between Republicans and Democrats over the makeup of the federal judiciary has been one of the highest concerns of social conservatives.
After the judges deal was struck, Ohio conservatives led by Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values, another Cincinnati-based group, stepped up its efforts to find a candidate to challenge DeWine in the 2006 Republican primary.
As conservatives in Ohio and South Carolina responded angrily to news of the Senate centrists’ deal on judges, Major Garrett, a Fox News correspondent, citing “senior Republican sources,” reported that “Frist and the Bush White House were worried enough about possibly losing the vote to end the judicial filibusters that they dispatched two conservatives, South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham and Ohio’s Mike DeWine, to cut the best possible deal.”
Burress said he suspects that DeWine is the source of that report.
“He will do anything he can to cover his tracks,” Burress said. “I call upon him to prove that, or he will be exposed as a flat out liar. I use that word very carefully. My sources tell me. I have people close to what’s going on up there that that’s not what happened.”
When asked about the Fox report, DeWine said, “If you look at the transcript, I never said that. What I said was that we had — people inside the meeting were talking to leaders — both sides were talking to leaders. But I never said that I was an emissary at all.”
“Lindsey and I got involved at the same time,” he added. “We looked at a early proposal and had the same reaction, that we couldn’t have an agreement where we would agree that under any circumstances we would not use the constitutional option,” the Republicans’ term for the nuclear option.
I think that Graham and DeWine walked into this scheme to trick the rats knowing full well that they were going to take a hit from conservatives who were slow to figure it all out. And they did take a beating. (Curiously, there are still some people who apparently don't get it yet, even after Owens, Brown, Pryor and others have been confirmed, and even after it has been explained that Frist STILL has his finger hovering over "the button" and he can push it any time he wants. But NOW, thanks to the "extraordinary circumstances" language of "the deal", the rats are utterly boxed in and the nervous "blue state" GOP Senators have the cover they need to vote nuclear if and when the time comes. It still boggles my mind that the Democrats walked right into the trap. I can hardly stop smiling!)
The Republicans needed a couple of ringers in the "gang of seven" in order for the scheme to work. (The scheme was needed in the first place either because Frist was not certain that he had the fifty votes OR he figured that doing the "deal" was simply a superior strategy, especially from a PR point of view (with "the deal", the liberal press couldn't accuse the Republicans of "running roughshod", being "bullies", doing "incalculable damage to Constitution", "destroying Senate tradition", etc., etc. This is the kind of stuff the "blue state" Republican Senators were nervous about. But not anymore - - they got some COVER now! See, if the rats filibuster virtually ANYBODY, then the Republicans can throw up their hands and claim that the Democrats went back on their word. "We are left no choice, in the face of broken promises by the Democrats, but to change the filibuster rules at this time.")
I happen to believe that "the deal" was a masterpiece of political ingenuity that could only have been dreamed up by the ghost of Lee Atwater over breakfast with Karl Rove. And it could not have happened without the willing participation of Graham and DeWine. (It IS baffling that Graham is blabbing before the work is done, though. At least DeWine knows enough to stay cool.)
Ummm .. one could say that :0)
Tony, ask Graham about this on the show today.
It seems like most have pretty well made up their minds about Graham on this thread. Still, Frist said after the compromise that he likely did not have the votes for repeal of the filibuster. Given that, it would seem that the Republicans were the big winners in this go around. We have had six straight confirmations since then, and are no worse off that before. Anytime Frist wants to try and get a vote on the constitutional option he can call for one, but this time the 7 Republicans are in a much tougher position to not vote with the majority if the Democrats renege on the agreement (which so far they have not).
Well, there are not enough that share your opinion in the district Mike's son lost.
Graham always has a pained and whiney look on his face....to boot....
Carolina..time to flush....him!
Welp, as a SC voter I can assure you, Graham will not get my vote in 2010. I wish we could recall him.
Ping
Looks like we backed a liar:(
Obviously Graham has been spending too much time with his nose up Kerry's butt!
"Both leadership teams were very well aware of what was going on," he said, referring to the Republican and Democratic leaders.
He added that "everyone knew what was going on" and that some lawmakers liked it and some didn't.
I bet Frist was one who was well aware, and didn't like what was going on.
But I am disappointed in Frist's "response" to the final failure of Bolton's first cloture vote. This is it, in totality:
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate return to legislative session.Frist could have at least prefaced the strictly business comment with, "I am as disapponted in the reconsideration as I was when the cloture motion failed to pass on May 26th."109th Congress Page S6802 - June 20, 2005
To be fair, Frist did, before the reconsideration of the vote on the cloture motion, urge that cloture be passed, and gave specific reasons as to why the DEM obstructionsists were in the wrong.
Morning..just read the thread..amazingly not ONE mention of McCain..
Lott was the one originally floating the compromise, and everyone knows it. He was an ineffective Maj Leader the first time, and he still has his racial baggage. I guess I'm for McConnell, but I wouldn't mind someone like Kyl in there as well.
While this whole thing was going on a few weeks back, I had thought that this "deal" could be a trick. Your post just put my thoughts into words. However, I still cannot believe it, because I don't think the Reps are that smart. I know the DemRats are that dumb, but cannot get myself to believing that some brilliant Repub thought this up. However, the ghost of Lee Atwater with Rove could explain it.
I am still watching Graham, I still don't trust the weasel, because of his association with McCain. If Ravenel challenges him in the primary, I will support and work for Ravenel. However, Graham is working with our other SC Senator, DeMint on a new SS lock box private account scheme that looks promising...we'll have to see.
We should keep an eye on the Fox people. They gave thousands more in campaign funds to Kerry rather than Bush in the '04 race. In the immortal words of Ronald Reagan: Trust but verify.
Graham is THROUGH. I guarantee that Ravenel will beat him in the primary.
"Historical Post" BUMP!
Thanks for this most important ping.
My hope is that I'm utterly, totally wrong and that the 'deal' apologists here are 100% right.
Given the history of the GOP Senators, I sincerely doubt it.
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