[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

To paraphrase President Reagan:

We won. The Democrats Lose.

LET'S ROLL, FRIST!

[Darkwolf377]

Maybe this will show Republicans that there is nothing to fear from those crybaby ninnies under Grandpa Reid and Crazy Aunt Nan.

[JohnLongIsland]

we just have to make sure that the republicans follow through on their threat this time other wise us voters come election time will use the real nuclear option and they will be blasted out of the senate
now more than ever we can not lose site of the end result of having jurists not legislators serve on the judiciary

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

Reid essentially threatened to shut down the Senate if the parliamentary tactic were used.

A threat roughly akin to that of telling a man who's just crawled from one end of the Gobi Desert to the other, on blistered hands and knees: "No, you certainly may NOT have a peanut butter sandwich -- !" :)

[Run Silent Run Deep]

Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women!

[USNBandit]

changing parliamentary rules that would cut the necessary confirmation vote for judges from 60 to a mere majority.

Is this statement accurate? My understanding was that the Dems were threatening to filibuster if the Republicans brought up the judges for a vote. I thought the filibuster required 60 votes to break and then the judges required a simple majority for confirmation.

If I recall correctly the filibuster rules have been altered quite a bit over the years to make it easier to block votes.

[dawn53]

I got an email from Howard "the Scream" Dean yesterday. It's pathetic!!!!!

It reads:

Dear -----,

Sometimes partisan politics gets overheated -- I know that as well as anyone. But when one party controls all three branches of government, and then seeks to change the fundamental principles and rules of our democracy, we need to talk about it soberly and seriously.

The Republican Senate leaders have decided to fundamentally alter the role of Congress -- they want to give George Bush unprecedented power to manipulate the legislative branch and the courts.

Today Harry Reid and the Democratic Senators asked us, the American people, to help them preserve the right of our elected representatives to speak their mind on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

We have to act. Sign this petition, which we will deliver to every U.S. Senator, asking them to protect the right to free speech in the Senate. If they don't, it is not only their voice that will be silenced -- it will be ours:

http://www.democrats.org/freespeech

Here are the facts: George Bush has appointed judges to lifetime positions at a better rate than any president in nearly three decades. More than 95% of his nominees have been approved. Only ten nominees have been refused -- all because they are unqualified and out of the mainstream.

But that's not enough. And on this issue, as on Social Security, it is becoming more and more obvious to everyone that the Republican leadership is out of touch with reality.

More Americans voted against George Bush than any sitting president in history. And that same day, across the country, the Democratic candidates for Senate received over 4 million more votes than Republicans.

Americans did not endorse the fringe agenda to dismantle Social Security. And they did not endorse dismantling the system of checks and balances that have served our country for over 200 years.

Please tell your Senator to stand up for free speech:

http://www.democrats.org/freespeech

This is not a partisan issue -- it is an American issue. And we all must act together in order to protect our democracy.

Thank you.


Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

[Between the Lines]

Reid essentially threatened to shut down the Senate if the parliamentary tactic were used.

Translation: If Republicans carry out their nuclear option we are going to use our doomsday option.

[zbigreddogz]

Sure Harry, there's a way around it:

Judge Janice Rogers Brown
Judge Miquel Estrada (renominated)
Judge Mark Pryor
etc.

Other then that? Nope.

[Petronski]

Judging by the squawking and bitching today, the lefties known the Republicans are going to turn the keys and initiate launch.


Onward!

[Ruth A.]

Are they going to try a play fro the Texas playbook? Have them take a majority of the dem senators and hole up in hotel rooms in Keagle Byrd WV.

[goldstategop]

If Dingy Harry wants to avert a showdown, all he has to do is allow an up or down vote on the nominees. Its that's simple. Otherwise there's nothing to discuss. The Democrats can either allow the Senate the opportunity to exercise its constitutional role or they can find themselves overruled if they obstruct it. No judicial nominee ought to need 60 votes to get confirmed.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[Prophet in the wilderness]

There is to be NO negotiating with terrorist, or enemies of America, foreign or domestic.

[AmericaUnited]

Mark this day folks! After many years of being with brass ones, the GOP might finally be getting a pair.

[TheSarce]

From your title... "Terrified Democrats worry".

I like this part best of all!

[tkathy]

The question remains, are the democrats trying to goad the republicans into "going nuclear", thus creating political hay for the dims to feed to their sheeple?

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

I'll say it again. Senator Bill Frist could make history. He could step up and shut down the minority-gets-its-way nonsense that now plagues the Senate and make winning elections actually translate into political power.

Frist has nothing to lose because he isn't running for reelection.

With one action, the Democrats are neutered and judicial appointments are the prerogative of the majority again as they DAMN WELL SHOULD BE.

[kittymyrib]

Remember how well caving in to Arafat always worked when we had that rat cornered? Apply the lesson learned to the Dems, unless the Republicans are too timid to lead, that is. In that case, they need to be replaced by those who will seize the moment to move ahead.

[piperpilot]

Frist's finger is poised on the button. Let the Dims quake with fear that their last stranglehold on the American public is slip, slip, slipping away. It's a beautiful thing to witness.

[sweetliberty]

They know that this could very well be the rudder that could turn America back to the right path against the tide of "progress" that their ideologies have imposed on the rest of us through their corrupt hedonistic, nanny state judges .