You didn't, I inserted that. IIRC, your phrase was "just a rule change" or similar.
I believe that whether the Dems like it or not, a simple majority vote can legally drop filibusters on judicial nominees.
I agree.
Preventing legislative filibusters is an entirely different matter. I believe this is where the debate on the required supermajority comes into play, and the existing rules of the Senate would apply.
The rules apply both, to legislation and nominations - and to treaties too. But the treaties rule is set up in a way that renders the cloture rule moot. The nominations rule could be similarly adjusted, leaving the cloture rule as it is, for legislative matters.
I that that once one looks at and understands the principles behind those three rules, the adjustment that I advocate makes the most sense. Just the same, it's a tough leap in practice because it forever kills the use of cloture to stifle voting on a nominee. I think it's a better fix that a Parliamentary Ruling from the Chair on a Point of Order.
Thanks for your insight.
Just popped back on for a few minutes - I think the Dims will hold off voting as long as they can tomorrow so they can blow their hot air, spew their lies, and bloviate some more (got to get some $s from their base and Soros). Couple of interesting threads recently posted -- doesn't look like a filibuster will work (but we could have told them that a few days ago)
A Principled Stand On Alito (The DLC opposes a filibuster)
Democrat Leadership Counsel ^
Posted on 01/29/2006 2:27:33 PM PST by Pukin Dog
I’ve spent no time on Free Republic today, because I’ve been monitoring my favorite nut-job sites to see whether or not they were actually going to go ahead with their incredibly stupid plans to attempt a filibuster against the Senate Confirmation of Judge Alito.
I’m telling you folks, if you ever wanted to see Liberal madness in action, just pop on over to one of these Democrat web sites. But I warn you, please do so before eating if you don’t want to risk tossing your cookies.
What you will join me in witnessing, is the inward implosion of the Left, brought to you by the Flipper-in-Chief, John Kerry. Never has one man’s ego done so much for his enemies, as what John Kerry does for us this week. Thanks to Kerry, every one if his potential fellow contenders for the Presidential nomination in 2008 are being forced to follow him over the same cliff and support this doomed effort, just to maintain their standing with the wacko-left.
What this tells me, is that Congressional Democrats are so bereft of ideas, while at the same time so hard-up for campaign dollars, that they can be led around by the nose by the likes of those who fill the pages at Daily Kos and other wacko-left hangouts. This weekend, the wacko left said “JUMP”, and Senate Democrats said “How High, baby?”
The calls (threats) have gone out wide and far, first it was Di-Fi, who claimed she would not support a filibuster. But when the wacko’s got her fax number and reminded her that her special brand of “well formed arguments” would no longer be funded if she did not flip. She flipped so hard, I hear she is still dizzy from the G forces.
>snip
Here is a snipped of their article:
But we stress this last point: in the Senate debate on this confirmation, Democrats should focus on Alito's judicial philosophy, and discard the personal attacks that figure so prominently in some of the interest-group campaigning against his confirmation. Such attacks at best distract from the principled case against Alito; at worst, they undermine it.
For the same reason and others, we do not think Senate Democrats should try to filibuster this confirmation. A filibuster is certain to fail; indeed, the Senate is certain to respond to a filibuster by outlawing them permanently in judicial confirmations. Using this weapon now would stake Democrats to the implausible argument that Alito's inevitable confirmation is the most egregious act of the Bush administration and the Republican Senate, going into a critical midterm election.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1567554/posts