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Brown lambasted for opposing global-warming vote Friday, June 6, 2008 11:24 PM By Jack Torry THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH WASHINGTON — Sens. Sherrod Brown and George V. Voinovich today helped block a sweeping bill aimed at curbing global warming, ending congressional efforts on climate change until next year. By a 48-36 vote, supporters of the bill failed to muster the necessary 60 votes to end a Republican filibuster and clear the way for final passage. Brown was one of four Democrats and Voinovich was one of 32 Republicans to support the filibuster. While Voinovich's decision to oppose the bill had been...

Reid compares GOP filibusters to aggravated assault Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is known for his clumsy rhetoric _ calling President Bush a "loser," saying the Iraq war is "lost," and describing former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan a "hack." So it should come as no surprise to Senate watchers that Reid on Thursday afternoon seemed to compare Republican filibusters to aggravated assault by stabbing. But let's provide the right context here. Democrats clearly believe they're getting a good ride out of blaming Republicans for filibusters in the Senate, and Reid joined Democratic leaders on Thursday afternoon at a press conference...

I haven't heard this mentioned by anyone, but just sitting around thinking this week...let's assume McLame wins the presidency. He has to resign the Senate. His governor, Napilitano or whatever her name is, is a Democrat operative. She will most assuredly put a liberal in his stead. And unless McLame has HUGE coattails (ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha) he is going to be dealing with a HEAVILY Democrat Senate. Maybe even filibuster proof. He for SURE will have two former SENATE colleagues (Hitlery and Hussein) whom he will have beaten to get the...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Senate Republicans blocked a move by Democrats on Wednesday to add more than $40 billion in checks for the elderly, disabled veterans and the unemployed to a bill to stimulate the economy. The 48-41 vote fell just short of the 60 required to break a GOP filibuster and bring the Senate version of the stimulus bill closer to a final vote.

“MR. PRESIDENT, I rise today to address the record number of filibusters in the Senate,...” So might begin the transcript in the Congressional Record if a senator were to discuss what may well be the most pivotal issue in American public policy these days — the filibuster and its only antidote: a cloture vote that ends debate. --snip-- “This is a sharp increase in the use of a filibuster as a routine mechanism,” said Norman J. Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, a nonpartisan research group. “The Senate is set up culturally not to act on anything quickly. That’s a...

Senate Democrats might force Republicans to wage a filibuster if the GOP wants to block the latest Iraq withdrawal bill, aides and senators said Tuesday. That could set the stage for a dramatic end-of-the-year partisan showdown, which Democrats hope will help them turn voter frustration with Congress and the stalemate over Iraq into anger with the Republican Party. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.), the number two Democrat in the chamber, said a forced filibuster is “possible” and would “generate attention.” “We want to go to the bill, and [Republicans] have to decide initially whether they want us to go...

A half-century ago today, Strom Thurmond ended what remains the longest filibuster in the long-winded history of the U.S. Senate. Thurmond, nine years removed from a campaign for president undertaken to protect segregation, spoke against the Civil Rights Act of 1957 for 24 hours and 18 minutes. His filibuster irked even his fellow segregationists in the Senate, who had succeeded in watering down the act's most important protections for black voting rights. But Thurmond went on his one-man stand against the bill anyway, condemning it as an attack on the Constitution and in the process he re-established himself as one...

WASHINGTON — This year Senate Republicans are threatening filibusters to block more legislation than ever before, a pattern that's rooted in — and could increase — the pettiness and dysfunction in Congress. The trend has been evolving for 30 years. The reasons behind it are too complex to pin on one party. But it has been especially pronounced since the Democrats' razor-thin win in last year's election, giving them effectively a 51-49 Senate majority, and the Republicans' exile to the minority. Seven months into the current two-year term, the Senate has held 42 "cloture" votes aimed at shutting off extended...

The nation’s anguish over the Iraq war was kept on hold in the Senate yesterday as the Republican minority maintained serial threats of filibuster to buy time for President Bush’s aimless policies. Last week, the House debated and voted along party lines for a timetable for an American troop withdrawal by next spring. But a similar measure was allowed no such decisive expression in the Senate. Instead, the G.O.P. insisted on the approval of a “supermajority” of 60 of 100 senators before putting to a vote a measure that would apply real pressure on the president to shift his disastrous...

Leaders are instructing Democratic lawmakers to blitz their states with anti-Bush messages as the Senate gears up for an all-night debate on Iraq withdrawal, according to an internal memo provided to The Politico by a Democratic official. “We need every Senator’s help throughout the next two days to amplify our message and highlight Republican obstructionism,” says the memo from the Senate Democratic Communications Center, part of the office of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.). “This is a caucus-wide effort and your help is needed.” A companion memo for Senate Republicans accuses Democrats of pulling a “stunt” – a word...

The New York Times last week declared itself against the filibuster, a procedure by which the minority party in the U.S. Senate may block the tyranny of the majority. Last week, the Times called filibuster an "arcane rule" after Republicans threatened to use it to thwart the new Democratic majority, which the Times enthusiastically supports. That's odd. A year ago when Republicans were running the Senate, the Times called out the Democrats for not using the filibuster to block Samuel Alito Jr.'s Supreme Court nomination. In March 2005, in objecting to another batch of GOP judicial nominees, the Times called...

Oh No!

As national Democrats hang bunting and prepare for what they hope will be a joyous victory celebration in Washington tonight, John F. Kerry will be back in Massachusetts, quietly standing behind his state's gubernatorial nominee. Kerry's treks around the country were supposed to help erase bad memories of 2004 -- convincing Democrats that Kerry was a dogged worker and belonged among the party's top contenders for 2008. Instead, the campaign ended with the senator on the sidelines, grounded like a high-schooler caught misbehaving in class during the week before the prom. His "botched joke" ...gave the Republicans ammunition at a...

August 7, 2006 issue - Fran DeWine just wanted to talk about apple pie. Campaigning last month for her husband, Ohio Republican Sen. Mike DeWine, she handed constituents a family cookbook, complete with Mike's favorite pie recipe and her own "Fran's Best Bread." But one voter was interested in a less appetizing topic: why had her husband defied his party leadership on judicial nominees and joined the Senate's so-called Gang of 14? Taken aback, Fran rambled on like a schoolteacher, explaining the nature of filibusters and the history of Republican appointees on Capitol Hill. Later, when pressed by a reporter,...

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and other senators yesterday announced an agreement on legislation to open more federal waters to oil and natural-gas exploration. With lawmakers under pressure to help ease fuel prices, the agreement was presented as a breakthrough on stalled energy legislation. It would allow drilling in an area of the eastern Gulf of Mexico that is rich in natural gas, and open the way for coastal states to share in royalty revenue that otherwise would go to the federal government. Addressing Florida lawmakers' concerns, the agreement includes a ban on energy development within 125 miles...

In coming weeks, Republicans on Capitol Hill plan for the first major push on judges since Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. were confirmed to the Supreme Court. In the nearly six months since Justice Alito was confirmed, only 14 federal judges have been seated. That's the slowest six-month period since early 2004, according to documents kept by the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Policy. The plans for renewed emphasis on judges comes after a consortium of conservative leaders expressed deep displeasure with both the White House and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill...

Republicans in the Senate are circulating a document that tallies the numbers in regards to judicial nominations. Below are some of the numbers from that document: • 46 — The number of current vacancies on Article III courts — 17 in the courts of appeals, and 29 in the district courts. • 22 — The number of judicial nominations pending in the Senate, including 10 court of appeals nominees and 12 district court nominees. (Three of these nominations are to fill “future vacancies” anticipated in the future, but the judgeships are not currently vacant.) • 27 — The number of...

The Senate is back in session, and we'll soon see if Republicans are serious about confirming President Bush's nominees for the appeals courts. Majority Leader Bill Frist kept his promise to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the D.C. Circuit before Memorial Day, after he'd waited three years for a vote. So who's next? Mr. Frist wanted to move Fourth Circuit nominee Terrence Boyle by Memorial Day too, but no go. A federal judge in North Carolina, Mr. Boyle has the honor of waiting longer than any appeals-court nominee in history for a floor vote. He was in Mr. Bush's first group...

Since President Bush took office in 2001 he has nominated 62 individuals to the U.S. Court of Appeals. 14 individuals have been nominated twice while 6 individuals have been nominated three times. 88 Total Nominations (50% Confirmed – 44 Confirmations; 88 Nominations) 62 Different Nominees (71% Confirmed – 44 Confirmed; 6 Withdrawn; 1 Retired; 11 Pending) 42 Nominated One Time (74% Confirmed – 31 Confirmed; 3 Withdrawn; 8 Pending) 14 Nominated Two Times (64% Confirmed – 9 Confirmed; 2 Withdrawn; 1 Retired; 2 Pending) 6 Nominated Three Times (67% Confirmed – 4 Confirmed; 1 Withdrawn; 1 Pending) 107th Congress...

It's merely taken three years, but Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to come for a vote before the Senate Judiciary Committee today. Democrats are likely to oppose him in lock-step, and some on the left are urging them to use the F-word. Anything is possible, but it's hard to believe Democrats are nuts enough to launch a judicial filibuster in the middle of an election year with a GOP President so low in the polls. Talk about a get-out-the-vote gift for Republicans. Then again, no one ever got rich overestimating the intelligence of...

After the high-profile confirmations of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sam Alito, judicial nominations went into limbo. Today, we'll see the opening gambits on when and whether that will end.The reason the confirmation process came to a standstill is simple: Senate Democrats don't want additional conservatives on the bench and hope to stall votes long enough to keep them off until Democrats can reach the Holy Grail of a Senate majority. That could be a very long time coming, though Democrats always are hopeful that their day is at hand.It's less clear why Republicans let the nominations wallow in...

WASHINGTON - The Senate's top Democrat on Tuesday said he is considering a filibuster of two of President Bush's judicial nominees, saying one may have been involved in the administration's policy on torture and the other ruled in a case in which he had a clear conflict of interest. "The answer is yes, a possible filibuster, of course," Reid told reporters in answer to a question about the nomination of White House aide Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The other nominee is federal judge Terrence Boyle, who Bush wants to send...

Anyone know how long he as been at this? I first tuned in this morning and he was on this rant... now he is STILL at it.. Anyone guess how long he can hold it..Basicly he asking for a vote on HIS amendment without playing by the rules..

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R.-Tenn.) has settled on D.C. Circuit Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as the first judicial nominee to get a floor vote this year, Frist aides announced today. Kavanaugh, the current White House staff secretary, will be ushered through the Judiciary Committee within the next few weeks and then proceed to a vote on the Senate floor. A final confirmation vote will come before the Memorial Day recess, Frist aides said. Frist formulated the strategy after meetings with several Republican senators, his aides said. Talks with Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R.-Pa.) and Majority Whip Mitch McConnell took...

U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109th Congress - 2nd Session as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate Vote Summary Question: On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on Peter Cyril Wyche Flory, to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense ) Vote Number: 92 Vote Date: April 7, 2006, 12:10 PM Required For Majority: 3/5 Vote Result: Cloture Motion Rejected Nomination Number: PN70 Nomination Description: Peter Cyril Wyche Flory, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense Vote Counts: YEAs 52 NAYs 41 Not Voting 7 Vote...

Senate Republicans will filibuster their own immigration bill today in the face of steadfast refusal by Democrats to allow amendments to the bill that many conservatives view as granting amnesty to illegal aliens. As an alternative, Majority Leader Bill Frist reached an agreement last night with fellow Republicans on a new comprehensive immigration plan that includes increasing border security and a guest-worker plan, but still does not resolve concerns about amnesty. The new plan would allow illegal aliens who have been in the United States for more than five years to remain in the country working while applying for U.S....

The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted to end a filibuster and moved closer to renewal of the USA Patriot Act. Senators voted 96-3 Thursday to stop debate regarding a compromise on the Patriot Act. All three of the senators who voted to keep debate going were Democrats ... Some aspects of the act were to expire at the end of 2005 but the White House sought to make the bill permanent. Congress gave the act short extensions, the most recent of which will end March 10.

LIVE on Senate Floor.. Sen. Reid calling for Filibuster of Asbestos bill !! This is Reid vs Leheay ! this should be interesting

Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006 12:22 p.m. EST Alec Baldwin Blasts 'Chicken-Bleep' Dems Print Friendly Version Forward this Page E-mail NewsMax RSS Feed Reprint Information Hollywood Democrat Alec Baldwin is blasting his party's Senators for failing to block Samuel Alito confirmation to the Supreme Court, saying he's appalled that Sen. Ted Kennedy and other liberals could muster only 25 of the 41 votes needed mount a successful filibuster. The problem is there are too many "chicken-bleep Democrats in the Senate," the agitated actor told the New York Daily News. "We have a bunch of budding Zell Millers down there," he complained,...

The 58-42 vote for Judge Samuel Alito to be the 110th Supreme Court Justice could very well culminate in a detrimental change in the role and operation of the Supreme Court. Progressives think that this is because Justice Alito will replace the so-called swing vote of moderate Justice Sandra Day 0’Connor. No, the risk is that the bitter partisanship associated with his confirmation could undermine the Court’s independence and authority.

Thank you, John Kerry. Or make that, merci beaucoup. Almost single-handedly, the Massachusetts senator turned a Democratic defeat into an instructive, five-star disaster. Everyone knew Democrats didn't have the votes to defeat Judge Samuel Alito in an up-or-down vote. Everyone knew they didn't have the 41 votes to sustain a filibuster of President Bush's Supreme Court nominee. But that didn't stop Kerry. Yes, as he might say, who among us doesn't want to launch a futile filibuster of an indisputably qualified nominee to placate the left-wing blogocracy and anti-Alito hysterics on The New York Times' editorial board? And Monsieur Kerry...

Congratulations on your Confirmation Justice Alito. Vote was 58-42. Also Congradulations to all the Freepers, and other Conservatives like Radio Talk Show Host Laura Ingraham and the columnists at NRO, who told us we could get to this day IF we were willing to fight hard for it. Today is your day of victory.

A Democratic attempt to filibuster the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. ended in failure Monday, with almost half of the Senate's Democrats voting against it — an outcome that cleared the way for Alito's confirmation to a seat on the high court today. Massachusetts Sens. John F. Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy launched the filibuster drive last week in what they described as a last-ditch effort to halt the confirmation of Alito, a federal appeals court judge that liberals have charged is a conservative ideologue who will shift the Supreme Court to the right. The Senate...

THE joke in Republican circles now is that if John Kerry didn't exist, Karl Rove would have to invent him. Republicans loved 2004 loser Kerry's flop of a filibuster against Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito because it had Democrats tearing each other's eyes out — over a fight they couldn't win. Not only did Kerry lose, he lost big time — just 25 Democrats were willing to join him as the party split apart over Alito, just as it has ripped apart over the Iraq war. The vote was 72-25 against filibuster, so Team Kerry lost 3-1. Worse yet, plenty...

Washington -- Senate Democrats led by the party's former presidential nominee John Kerry failed as expected Monday to block Judge Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court, exposing deep divisions within their party and prompting warnings from Republicans that the maneuver would come back to haunt a Democratic president. Democrats secured just 25 votes for the filibuster, far short of the 41 they needed to block the nomination as demanded by liberal interest groups who warn that Alito threatens abortion and civil rights.... -snip- Kerry announced last week from the Swiss alpine ski resort of Davos -- where he was...

HILLARY'S EXPOSED LEFT FLANK 'SCARES THE HORSES' (VIDEO) (MISSUS CLINTON SUPPORTS ALITO FILIBUSTER) by Mia T, 01.31.06 ccording to conventional wisdom, missus clinton, owing to exceptional popularity with the Democratic base, (that is to say, with her radical leftist comrades), has the luxury to pose during the primary season as a centrist, as a conservative even, and, at times even as a right-winger more right-wing than your run-of-the-mill redneck right-winger, defying the First Presidential Law of Motion: Lean toward one's extreme during the primary, swing toward the mean during the general election. But as we see, clinton lust for...

There he was on the phone from Switzerland... taking time out from his busy schedule at the World Economic Conference in Davos to provide his much-needed long distance leadership. In his absence, and without his firm hand on the tiller, his fellow Democratic Senators had stumbled into a confirmation fight over a Supreme Court Justice. One they could not win. They were about to concede the vote to the Republicans. Rushing back to Washington aboard the Heinz Foundation's swiftest private jet, the Clipper Gherkin, Senator John Kerry (D-La Mancha) laid plans for a surprise ending to the Republicans' long-planned 'victory'...

Senators Kerry and Kennedy (D-Massive) vow to filibuster the vote on Samuel Alito’s nomination to the Supreme Court. “Mr. Alito did not serve in Vietnam,” said Kerry. “He’s never been shot at, never killed anyone. I can’t respect a man of my generation who’s done neither. Since there apparently will be enough votes in the Senate to confirm Alito, we have no choice but to work to prevent a vote.” “During his entire judicial career, Judge Alito has never shown that he understands the plight of the drunk and disorderly,” said Kennedy. “These unfortunate souls need sympathy. All Alito has...

Final confirmation of Supreme Court nominee expected Tuesday WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Judge Samuel Alito stands just one step away from a lifetime appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court after a spirited ninth-inning campaign by some Democratic senators to block his nomination fizzled Monday evening.The final vote on Alito's nomination is now scheduled for Tuesday morning, and, with at least 57 senators on board, approval is virtually assured.Alito's supporters in the Senate, as expected, cleared the final roadblock Monday when senators, by a vote of 72-25, decided to cut off debate and proceed to a final vote, rebuffing an attempt by...

There were a lot of weird DUmmie postings on the heels of the FAILURE of the Alito filibuster attempt. However, the STRANGEST of the postings has to go to benburch who posted on this DUmmie THREAD, "Why we won today." Yeah, great win there, benburch. Oh, and did you know that John Kerry really won in 2004? And I suppose you are sitting in the backyard still waiting for the arrival of the Great Pumpkin and Fitzmas. Yes, all DUmmieland is in a deep funk but leave it to DUmmie benburch to find some silver lining in their septic...

Biden Joins Kerry's Filibuster By: California Yankee · Section: SCOTUS Delaware's Senator Joe joined Senators Feinstein and Reid in flip flopping to say he will now support the filibuster attempt against Alito's confirmation, even though he knows it will fail. "I think a filibuster make sense when you have a prospect of actually succeeding," Biden said on CNN's Late Edition. There are still six Democratic Senators who have said they will not support a filibuster against Alito's confirmation: Akaka, Conrad, Dorgan, Landrieu, Pryor and Salazar. Read the rest. Jan 30th, 2006: 08:55:13 Then there are the three Democrats who...

The Dems have the floor for another 15 minutes. Lautenberger was just on, looking and sounding like an alzheimer's patient as he tried to read notes clearly written by his staff in which Alito is described as a cross between Bull Connor and Rasputten. There are now 57 votes to confirm Alito, 36 against, with seven still undecided and 1 (Ensign) hospitalized. Barkingmoonbat.com is openly threatening any Dem that does not vote to filibuster with a complete cutoff of money for the next campaign. The Adventure Continues...

I'll keep this short and bitter. Every god damned blue state senator who failed to sign on to the Alito filibuster MUST be fought in the primaries and replaced. The Democratic party has failed the rank and file members. It is time to take back the Democratic party from the right wing, loser hacks who have been fumblingly, failingly controlling it and the candidates put forward. I can't believe how many people tell me that they believe the DLC and right wing democrats are really Republican operators. IN the OpEdNews.com/Zogby people's poll I just ran in Pennsylvania, about 29% of...

WASHINGTON Jan 30, 2006 — Liberal Democrats waged an eleventh-hour attempt Monday to block Samuel Alito's Supreme Court confirmation, arguing that he would tilt the high court further to the right. GOP Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island also announced that he would vote against Alito's confirmation. Chafee, a self-described "pro-choice, pro-environment, pro-Bill of Rights Republican," is the only member of the Republican Party so far to announce that he will vote against the conservative judge. Chafee refused to support the Democrats' filibuster attempt, however. "How are we going to get anything done if we can't work together?" Chafee asked....

Senator Clinton has elicited, from time to time in the past year or so, a good bit admiration in this space for her stand on the war in Iraq. It has been admirable not only on the merits but also, in our view, politically, giving her a chance, with Senator Lieberman, to secure the right flank of her party, whence her husband rode to the White House. It's a trajectory Vice President Gore might have ridden to victory had he not veered off to the left at the Los Angeles Convention. And it's a trajectory we, for one, would very...

THE LEFT TO DEMS: WE HATE YOU [Byron York] Now that the Alito filibuster has collapsed, the anger -- anger at Democrats, that is -- is boiling over at the DailyKos. One diatribe from one of the site's "recommended diaries": What I want is a complete list of every scumsucking f--kstick Democratic a--hole senator who voted for cloture. That's what I want. I don't know what to DO with that list, not yet -- but I know for G--DAMNED sure I won't be VOTING for any of them, let alone sending them any g--damned MONEY. Frankly, right now I'd like...

    Make Our DayBy Jed Babbin Published 1/30/2006 12:08:05 AM John Kerry's military training finally paid off. Within hours of receiving his latest orders from the Democrats' High Command -- the New York Times -- to filibuster Judge Alito's Supreme Court nomination last Thursday, Vichy John proclaimed he would lead the fight. Soon after he jumped into the first available first class seat to fly back from Davos, Switzerland, to take arms, or at least wave them. Newsday reported that the Times sent Lil' Billy in to pinch-hit to the glitterati. Okay, okay. That's not what Newsday wrote. What it...

Good Monday morning, fellow Freeper political junkies. One of the more ridiculous episodes of political theater is about to play itself out on the Senate floor, as the John Kerry-led democrats mount an exercise in political futility which will further expose their total irrelevance..So join us today, or drop in on occasion, for the festivities...

VIDEO FREE FOX News Video:•Last-Ditch Filibuster Effort•Filibuster OptionSTORIES •Obama: Dems Rely Too Much on Filibusters•Bush Urges Up-or-Down Vote on Alito•Alito Filibuster Squabble Causes Dem Dissent•Senate GOP Moves Toward Alito Confirmation•Kerry, Other Democrats Threaten Alito Filibuster•Alito Picks Up More Dem Supporters•Fixes Considered for 'Broken' Supreme Court Confirmation Process WASHINGTON — More than a dozen Senate Democrats supported ending debate on Sam Alito Monday, setting up a final confirmation vote for the Supreme Court nominee on Tuesday morning. On a 72-25 vote, senators succeeded in passing the 60-vote threshold to prevent a filibuster and allow a simple majority vote Tuesday. At least...

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