Posted on 12/19/2004 9:43:04 PM PST by guitarist
It's coming down to bottom-line-time: Bush WILL appoint a rather conservative justice. The Demos from Hillary to Obama to Bayh WILL fillibuster. We will--as far as I can tell--lose unless we go nuclear. Can anyone--any of you NR editors lurking here--demonstrate otherwise??
The Pubbies better keep their spines straighteded, they're going to need them.
I'm hoping Frist has the jewels to do it. What he needs to do is push the button and drop the nuke. Does anyone think that the democrats would hesitate at doing something like this? Why no, because THEY'VE ALREADY DONE IT.
I need to send my tagline in an email to Sen. Frist and then hope to God above that he understands it.
It is a great piece of good journalism by Novak.
Now, do we have to go nuclear to win confirmation of Bush's judges? No.
The other alternative (besides recess appointments) is to simply write in their confirmation on the line item for each proposed Justice's federal salary in the federal budget.
The budget can't be filibustered, after all.
Poof! No filibuster and the judges are all approved.
Frist does need to count heads though. If he calls for a vote to go nuclear, he needs 50 plus vice prez Cheney to prevail. If the 3 New Englanders, McCain, Hagel and just one more (Specter, Warner, Lugar, etc.) defect, we lose everything. Let's encourage Bro. Frist to do his homework and win this thing!
That's a lovely gimmick, but I don't think it would fly. If you're gonna do that with only 51 votes, you might as well go nuclear with 51 votes, as everyone knows that is legit.
No, it's legit to write in to the federal budget the Senate's sense of approval along with the money being spent on what they approve.
One would hope that Frist has a clear "understanding" with Specter.
Indeed a great article - thanks for posting it.
I do not understand Republican "fear" in using this tactic.
No amount of playing nice is going to reach the Democrats - or else they wouldn't be filibustering to began with...
Honestly, most of the public doesn't care either way. So let the Dem's cry and whine after the "nuclear" option is used.
And there *will be* a political price to be paid if the Republicans do not get strict constructionists appointed to the SC when the time comes.
The Klan has the bomb?
But there can be no doubt that Robert C. Byrd is named after a bridge in West Virginia.
"would not strip the GOP of protection as a future Senate minority."
Protection? What protection? The kind Robert Bork got?
I don't want the Republicans to play kissy-face, I want them to drive the dims out of public life and lay waste to the demonrat party.
And it's also legit to use the nuclear option!
With the "nuclear" option we win now and risk losing later. Without it we lose now and lose later. I don't see the problem with a nuclear option.
back up top...
Frist's ambitions + opportunity = nuke option = conservative court for years to come.
BTTT
I'm assuming that 50 votes plus a Cheney tiebreaker is good enough. Could be this is a bad assumption. Could be that Cheney doesn't get a vote on this kind of a motion. Anyone know the rules?
Also - It should be clear now that Specter could easily be the swing vote on the nuclear option. I still believe that trading the judicial chair for his vote is a good trade. If we don't break the logjam then you might as well let Schumer head up Judiciary, the results would be the same.
It is a great piece of good journalism by Novak.
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