Going Nuclear

The American Spectator ^ | March 16, 2005 | The Prowler

[ken5050]

FYI..Im pinging you on a thread from last night..

[evad]

.. someone who speaks like Scalia, with purpose and respect for the constitution.

We did...but he's gone....and he was a democrat.

Senator Zell Miller

[Semper Vigilantis]

In his remarks before reporters, Reid pleaded with Republicans to come back to the negotiating table to discuss ways around the nuclear option.

The way around it is for the Dems to do the right thing & stop blocking anything Republican. They just don't "get it".

[squirt-gun]

[michigander]

Doesn't ANYBODY remember what happened when the House effectively shut down the operations of the US government on a similar impasse in 1995?

The major difference being that the dems (with only 45 senators) can't shut down the senate by themselves.

[mainepatsfan]

Hopefully Frist will call him on it.

[Redleg Duke]

McConnell is onboard with the option.

[Fenris6]

Senate Dems are abusing their responsibility to advise and consent. Without the filibuster, the Senate would aprove of Bush's noms. Bush should have recess appointed Bork, Star, and Ashcroft :)

[Paul Ross]

Make our day, Senator.

My thoughts exactly....or along these lines, "So, are you feeling lucky, punk?"

[Pit1]

It's time for the Republicans to stand up and be "MEN" (even the women). Start protecting the borders and cut the budget of all that waste!!

There has to be a president with the attitude and strong will like Truman.

Bush=wishywashy. One never hears The President rail on congress. That's not the way it used to be.

If this keeps up, Pubs can lose big time. Either they take the lead or roll back to their country clubs and play the poor abused "no count" party - alias "wipping boys" (and girls).

[gakrak]

In his remarks before reporters, Reid pleaded with Republicans to come back to the negotiating table to discuss ways around the nuclear option."

The time for negotiating are over, the only thing left to do is to use that 2x4 your holding Senator Frist. Now go right for the throat. No more Mr. nice guy. Amen.

[pizzalady]

"so-called "nuclear option" in changing parliamentary rules that would cut the necessary confirmation vote for judges from 60 to a mere majority....."

Am I the only one who believes the actual vote for judges IS a mere majority?? Isn't it the democrats who are trying to change the parliamentary rules by filibuster? Thus causing the necessary confirmation vote to change from a mere majority to a super-majority? Since when has the necessary confirmation vote for judges been 60?

If the dems are going to filibuster the judges, I want to see a REAL filibuster. Where they have to stay on the floor and speak continuously. Or let's call it what it is, Hijacking the Senate with their litmus test. One of the reasons they lost seats is for just this type of action.

The voters really do believe that each President has the right to appoint judges as they see fit. Unfortunately the balance has tipped liberal far too long and is overdue for some conservative members.

How arrogant the democrats are to think that their minority should dictate to the majority just who should be confirmed. And how sad it is that the Republicans fail to use their numbers to act like the majority.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Doesn't ANYBODY remember what happened when the House effectively shut down the operations of the US government on a similar impasse in 1995?

Yeah, but we also remember what happened when Reagan shut down the operations of the US government. The point, of course, is that it "takes two to tango" - and if the government gets shut down it will be because Republicans and Democrats did not come to an accomodation. But it will be the Republicans whom the Democrats known as "objective" journalists will blame.

[Big Digger]

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

Go ahead bigshot, shut down the Senate. Nobody else will notice.

[Big Digger]

Hopefully Frist will call him on it.

Frist doesn't have any lead in his pencil.

[TexasCajun]

Why do republicans and conservative always play into the oppositions word games?

Going Nuclear?

Should be corrected and stated as:

"Going Constitutional!"

"Constitutional Option"

[gridlock]

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

I don't got a problem with 'dat. You got a problem with 'dat?

[Jim Noble]

Am I the only one who believes the actual vote for judges IS a mere majority?? Isn't it the democrats who are trying to change the parliamentary rules by filibuster?

No, you're not the only one, but all of you are wrong anyway.

The vote to confirm a judge is 50% plus one. Always has been, always will be.

The vote to call the question is 60 votes-which can be changed by changing the rules.

The vote to change the Senate rules is, by rule, 67%, and can be changed only with great difficulty.

This issue has been debated since the beginning of the Republic and has never been resolved. There is a great review of this subject HERE, scroll down to the article by Gold and Gupta. It's a great, though dense, read.

Every single argument that has been made here has been made by Senators long dead, of both parties. Many Vice Presidents, of both parties, have issued rulings from the chair on this very issue.

The bottom line is that 51 Senators CAN change the rules of the Senate, but that it is almost NEVER the case that there are 51 Senators who are willing to surrender power in that way.

Being a Senator MEANS being able to screw up the majority. A US Senator has more parliamentary power than any other parliamentarian, anywhere on Earth, because of this.

It requires a very, very strong majority to pull this off, because after it is done each one of the one hundred Senators, majority and minority, will have less power than they had before.

I'm sure if Frist had the votes, he would have done this already.

[gridlock]

Doesn't ANYBODY remember what happened when the House effectively shut down the operations of the US government on a similar impasse in 1995?

Harry Reid is not talking about shutting down the government. He is talking about shutting down the Senate. That is another matter altogether.

Shutting down the federal government means padlocking the Washington Monument and closing federal buildings in every major city and sending hundreds of thousands of federal employees home for a paid vacation. That is disruptive and wasteful.

"Shutting down the Senate" means that no legislation will be passed or appointments approved, and we will have to exist under the current law and appointments until such time as the Senate gets opened back up. Frankly, 99.99% of the population would never notice, if this were done quietly.

[gridlock]

Call it the NIKE option...

Well, the Nike Missile was a nuclear weapons platform...