The Backbone Is Growing…
Sen. Frist seemed to discover his backbone today, or at least part of it, when he told Se. Reid there would be no compromises on judicial nominees. Good for him. It is high time that the leadership of the GOP in the Senate started to force this issue. This issue should be forced forward. It is of the utmost importance to do so. And the more the Democrats squirm to avoid this issue, the worse they look.
I am happy to see this turn of events, but for me, personally, it isn’t enough. Frist needs to bring this to the floor as expediently as possible. Tom Petty once sang that "the waiting is the hardest part.". He has no idea. The GOP base is sick of constantly hearing about this. Let’s move this forward. Force it. Ram it right down their throats! The Democrats can carp and wail about this issue all they want; all the while avoiding their own sordid history on the issue of filibusters.
Oh yes. The Democrats have their own history regarding the issue of filibusters. In 1995, 19 Democrats in the Senate attempted to abolish filibusters completely. Every filibuster, no matter what it was executed on. Legislation, nominees, or otherwise, to the Democrats the filibuster was an unjust thing to have in the Congress. Yet now, they are screaming that the GOP is doing what they attempted to do in 1995.
That isn’t what this issue is about. I will not rehash the explanation of this over again. I have repeated myself more times than I can count. So has Marcie. Everyone knows where we stand on the issue of the Constitutional Option. It needs to be done. We WANT to keep the filibuster in place for legislation, otherwise there is no way to stop legislation that is detrimental to the nation. And that we want to keep in place. What we want abolished is the illegal filibuster over nominees in the Senate.
The Senate has the duty to grill and approve of nominees appointed by the president. This is inherent under the Constitution, and it is precisely explained in the Federalist Papers by the Framers. The president has the right and obligation to appoint people to certain posts, and the Senate has likewise to confirm those people. We are not asking for the Democrats to cut off a limb. We are asking them to give these people their appropriate votes. Up-or-down, pass-or-fail it does not matter. Give them what they rightly deserve.
They don’t deserve the treatment they’ve received. They have been impugned over the smallest slights, in the eyes of the Democrats. "God forbid we appoint a Catholic to the bench. No, not an Evangelical on the bench, they’ll single-handedly revoke Roe v. Wade!" This is pathetic, and further, it shows the Constitutional-illiteracy of those that we’ve elected. Things don’t work like that. To change the ruling on Roe v. Wade it must be appealed to the Supreme Court. I doubt we’ll ever see that abomination revoked in my lifetime.
But the Democrats—especially the leadership—do not see this. They see a catastrophe on the horizon. What they do not realize is that the catastrophe will strike their party should they retaliate the way they have promised. Shutting down the Senate is a death knell for them; political suicide just as the new election cycle is gearing up. I doubt the Democrats have the guts to pull off a shut down of the Senate because they realize how devastating it would be to the party as a whole.
And I will admit that I am one that has called for the GOP to shut down the Senate. (This comes more our of frustration than anything else.) However, more reasonable heads have prevailed in convincing me that this isn’t a place the GOP wants to go. Not just for how bad they would look, but also for the sheer fact that it doesn’t help the cause at all. It would make us look as bad as the Democrats. Nice theory, but like all others, just a theory that sees no fruition.
But there is still one level of recourse we have. The Senate goes into a one-week recess the first week of May. If Bush really wants to push this issue forward for his party, he can recess appoint each and every nominee that has passed through the committee. That includes every one of the nominees being savaged by the Left right now. They would hold their posts until the next session of Congress convenes; that would be the 109th Congress, as opposed to the current 108th Congress. And should the Democrats decide to shut down the Senate, the president, under the Constitution, has the ability to appoint through Executive Order.
Which means that if the president wants to show how much support he has in these candidates, the first week of May should serve as the starting point for seven D-Days in a row. Appoint them under the provisions listed in the Constitution. He did so with Judge Pickering when the Congress recessed last year; do it now, too. And he can do it with John Bolton, as well. Both of these need to be pushed forward, and if the GOP leadership in the Senate won’t do it, then it should fall to the president to do so. The base—that’s us, folks—will have their list of names to get rid of in 2006, 2008, and 2010. We’ll do that for the party if they’ll push the measures and the nominees forward. That’s all we’re asking. Is that really so hard?
Publius II & The Bunny ;)
Sen. Frist seemed to discover his backbone today, or at least part of it, when he told Se. Reid there would be no compromises on judicial nominees. Good for him. It is high time that the leadership of the GOP in the Senate started to force this issue. This issue should be forced forward. It is of the utmost importance to do so. And the more the Democrats squirm to avoid this issue, the worse they look.
I am happy to see this turn of events, but for me, personally, it isn’t enough. Frist needs to bring this to the floor as expediently as possible. Tom Petty once sang that "the waiting is the hardest part.". He has no idea. The GOP base is sick of constantly hearing about this. Let’s move this forward. Force it. Ram it right down their throats! The Democrats can carp and wail about this issue all they want; all the while avoiding their own sordid history on the issue of filibusters.
Oh yes. The Democrats have their own history regarding the issue of filibusters. In 1995, 19 Democrats in the Senate attempted to abolish filibusters completely. Every filibuster, no matter what it was executed on. Legislation, nominees, or otherwise, to the Democrats the filibuster was an unjust thing to have in the Congress. Yet now, they are screaming that the GOP is doing what they attempted to do in 1995.
That isn’t what this issue is about. I will not rehash the explanation of this over again. I have repeated myself more times than I can count. So has Marcie. Everyone knows where we stand on the issue of the Constitutional Option. It needs to be done. We WANT to keep the filibuster in place for legislation, otherwise there is no way to stop legislation that is detrimental to the nation. And that we want to keep in place. What we want abolished is the illegal filibuster over nominees in the Senate.
The Senate has the duty to grill and approve of nominees appointed by the president. This is inherent under the Constitution, and it is precisely explained in the Federalist Papers by the Framers. The president has the right and obligation to appoint people to certain posts, and the Senate has likewise to confirm those people. We are not asking for the Democrats to cut off a limb. We are asking them to give these people their appropriate votes. Up-or-down, pass-or-fail it does not matter. Give them what they rightly deserve.
They don’t deserve the treatment they’ve received. They have been impugned over the smallest slights, in the eyes of the Democrats. "God forbid we appoint a Catholic to the bench. No, not an Evangelical on the bench, they’ll single-handedly revoke Roe v. Wade!" This is pathetic, and further, it shows the Constitutional-illiteracy of those that we’ve elected. Things don’t work like that. To change the ruling on Roe v. Wade it must be appealed to the Supreme Court. I doubt we’ll ever see that abomination revoked in my lifetime.
But the Democrats—especially the leadership—do not see this. They see a catastrophe on the horizon. What they do not realize is that the catastrophe will strike their party should they retaliate the way they have promised. Shutting down the Senate is a death knell for them; political suicide just as the new election cycle is gearing up. I doubt the Democrats have the guts to pull off a shut down of the Senate because they realize how devastating it would be to the party as a whole.
And I will admit that I am one that has called for the GOP to shut down the Senate. (This comes more our of frustration than anything else.) However, more reasonable heads have prevailed in convincing me that this isn’t a place the GOP wants to go. Not just for how bad they would look, but also for the sheer fact that it doesn’t help the cause at all. It would make us look as bad as the Democrats. Nice theory, but like all others, just a theory that sees no fruition.
But there is still one level of recourse we have. The Senate goes into a one-week recess the first week of May. If Bush really wants to push this issue forward for his party, he can recess appoint each and every nominee that has passed through the committee. That includes every one of the nominees being savaged by the Left right now. They would hold their posts until the next session of Congress convenes; that would be the 109th Congress, as opposed to the current 108th Congress. And should the Democrats decide to shut down the Senate, the president, under the Constitution, has the ability to appoint through Executive Order.
Which means that if the president wants to show how much support he has in these candidates, the first week of May should serve as the starting point for seven D-Days in a row. Appoint them under the provisions listed in the Constitution. He did so with Judge Pickering when the Congress recessed last year; do it now, too. And he can do it with John Bolton, as well. Both of these need to be pushed forward, and if the GOP leadership in the Senate won’t do it, then it should fall to the president to do so. The base—that’s us, folks—will have their list of names to get rid of in 2006, 2008, and 2010. We’ll do that for the party if they’ll push the measures and the nominees forward. That’s all we’re asking. Is that really so hard?
Publius II & The Bunny ;)
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 6:16 PM
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