FRiends, I appreciate your efforts to moderate these discussions and provide some balancing perspective and information. Please understand that for me and for many others here, judicial appointments are the #1 issue. Everything else (war, economics, abortion, character, etc.) is secondary.
I have communicated already with my own senator (Frist) and with the office of every Republican senator presently on the judiciary committee (except for one whose phone just keeps ringing). I have calmly and respectfully asked them to consider preventing Sen. Specter from serving on the committee or at least to prevent him from becoming chair. I think it is vital that we all do this. He needs to sweat this out.
Nevertheless, at the end of the day, we need Specter in our caucus and we even need his floor votes on judicial nominees, cloture, etc. I don't want to anger or alienate him. I do want to scare him. I want him to know that for millions of voters all over the country, the chairmanship of the judiciary committee is a sacred trust.
I don't care if he wants to be independent-minded or whatever, as long as he truly ends up playing ball and not presenting ANY real obstacles to prompt confirmation of the President's nominees (including ammunition to the other side). I will understand and accept the political realities of the situation if Specter becomes the chairman. But if he even sneezes in the direction of any of the President's nominees, there will be hell to pay, and I do not mean only for Sen. Specter.
I am willing to trust Frist, Hatch, the President, and others if they can be convinced that Specter will truly deliver for us. But I am not willing to be duped and stalled again and again. It is time to get some real judges on the bench and now.
I should have said "the chairmanship of the judiciary committee is a sacred trust, not an entitlement or a procedural certainty."
"I don't want to anger or alienate him. I do want to scare him. "
Tricky thing to do!
Other "moderate" republicans will be looking at this, are they going to feel so scared that they have to leave the party to vote as their liberal constituents will want them to?
The nice thng about removing the filibuster is that that removes any chance for "moderates" to block judges- so they can't be held to task by their electorate for not doing so. They can vote against pro-life judges. That won't block the judges though like their vote to support a filibuster would.
Chafee and Snowe- for example- are up for reelection, they need to be able to vote against pro-life judges.
Unfortunately, I think it is a "done deal" that Arlen Specter the Defecter will be Chairman of the Judiciary. As is the pattern with yellow-backed liberals, he is frightened of the voters only when they have any possibility of thwarting their ambition. Once they are safely placated, it's back to business as usual...screwing the Constitution and giving the voter the finger.