Posted on 03/23/2005 5:45:14 PM PST by freeholland
A grave and as yet unrecognized danger presently looms for Senate Republicans with respect to the upcoming battle over the President’s judicial nominees. Democrat reaction to the possibility of a Senate rules change has been nearly hysterical, which might seem to offer Republican political strategists reason to rejoice. Yet if they are not careful, the situation can be suddenly turned on them.
Despite Democrat caterwauling to the contrary, this situation is not, in their minds, about preserving the Constitution, and it is not about finding some mythical “common ground” between the liberal view of constitutional law and a conservative effort towards the same end.
Rather, it is all about preventing the appointment of individuals who are dedicated to the preservation of the original intent of the document. The present philosophical war being waged here is not intended to decide the nature of our constitutional republic as being liberal or conservative, but will instead determine whether our constitutional republic, as envisioned by the founders, will prevail or fade into oblivion.
In the midst of all of this, a more immediate alarm should be sounding among the Republicans. Along with their efforts to define the judiciary, Democrats are pursuing a political agenda that could potentially inflict extreme collateral damage on GOP Senators, if they are so inept and unprincipled as to be ensnared as they have done in the past. And with each ensuing outrage from the judiciary, the stakes are raised for both sides.
Liberal political operatives have set the stage for a dramatic “win/win” scenario, which will eventuate in the immediate aftermath of a Republican capitulation at this crucial juncture. And such a scenario is not without precedent.
Though Republicans had successfully gained majority status in both the House and Senate during the dramatic 1994 elections, and though they went into the ‘95 budget battle with optimistic expectations of redefining the scope of federal spending policy, a massive public relations offensive by the Clinton Administration completely thwarted their efforts.
Rather than standing fast on the principle of reigning in an obviously out-of-control federal budget, they took their eyes off of their real purpose in Washington and became preoccupied with public opinion as expressed by the major media.
Eventually, as a result of incessant criticism on the nightly news, the entire issue was reframed, not as one of irresponsible spending by a bloated government bureaucracy, but as an endless series of hardships suffered by the “little people” and caused by the “Republican government shutdown.” Ultimately, the Republicans caved.
The Democrat strategy yielded an unprecedented surge in momentum. As a result, they not only resumed their dominant role in shaping the federal budget, but also were also able to blame Republicans for the entire debacle. The feat was truly amazing, especially in consideration of the fact that it was Bill Clinton who, by his veto of the budget, actually caused the shutdown.
Once Republicans retreated from the fight to control spending, and allowed the issue to be framed as a matter of returning the government to full and proper operation, they were unable to escape culpability for the original problem.
Democrat refusal to allow an up or down vote on President Bush’s judicial nominees has amounted to an escalation of recent liberal attacks on the Constitution. Republican efforts to counter this obstructionism and allow for the confirmation of pro-Constitution judges should therefore have been loudly portrayed as a fight over the very integrity of the Constitution.
Unfortunately, Republicans failed to spotlight the controversy in such terms. Liberals, always ready to manipulate any situation to their political advantage, now assert that it is they who are fighting to protect and preserve the Constitution. This preposterous deception is spearheaded by that standard-bearer of shameless liberal hypocrisy, Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia.
Undoubtedly, certain faint-hearted individuals within Senate Republican ranks would like to simply back away from the tumult, in hopes of avoiding criticism. But that option no longer exists, if it ever did.
A Republican retreat at this juncture would henceforth cement the notion of absolute Democrat dominance over the makeup of the judiciary. And doing so in the face of such fraudulent accusations would not soften their effects, but would instead validate them.
Ultimately, it will be up to the Republicans to determine whether this situation eventuates into the last dying gasp of liberal dominance, or if it becomes the greatest rout of conservatives ever achieved by the American left.
Growing up during the turbulent decades of the ‘60's and ‘70's, Christopher Adamo saw, to his dismay, the nation's moral foundations being destroyed before his very eyes. But even then he was a staunch Conservative at heart, and rejected outright the tenets of America's counterculture revolution. After a hitch in the Air Force, where he specialized in airborne electro- optical systems, he pursued a career in the field of aerospace, working for major defense contractors in California, Florida, and Colorado. But his career plans abruptly changed during the industry-wide downsizing that followed the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
Presently he is working in the field of industrial instrumentation in the state of Wyoming. Concurrently, he has become involved in that state's political process, attending state GOP conventions as a delegate, and serving as a member of the Wyoming Republican Central Committee. He has also aided in the candidacies of local legislators and state senators, as well as a U.S. Senator and Congresswoman.
From 1993 to 1996, he edited and wrote for “The Wyoming Christian”, the state newsletter for Christian Coalition of Wyoming. During that period, he developed an acute awareness of the harm being done to Conservatism by liberal activists within the Republican Party as well as the Democrats. This remains a favorite theme of his articles, which now appear as a regular feature on GOPUSA.
Comments: cadamo@wyoming.com
Visit his website at http://www.chrisadamo.com
Quit fiddling while Rome burns.
Get the conservative judges approved NOW!
This alone will save our judicial system.
(Otherwise, after the Supremes basing their rulings
on foreign opinions, and the Terri tyranny, the people's
disgust with our judges will have about reached its limit.)
I am beginning to believe that no matter how large of a majority we give Senate Republicans, they will still be afraid of Ted and Hitllery and the rest.
I am beyond disgusted and do not think Congress will step up to the plate and stand up to the Judiciary. What are our options now?
"I am beyond disgusted and do not think Congress will step up to the plate and stand up to the Judiciary. What are our options now?"
It is obvious what our option is.
If the Republicans will not press through the slate and change the composition of the judiciary, they will have welched on a key campaign promise, the whole REASON for the Christians to have supported them en masse for so long in the first place. The Republicans will have gotten every tax cut and drilling in Alaska, but not used their power to get the judicial slate.
Most Christians are not rich. If taxes went back up to Clinton levels, a lot of Republicans would be hurt, but actually, the Christians would be the least hurt of them.
If the Republicans prove faithless, the Christians option is to simply stay home in 2006 and 2008. This will effectively hand the government back over to the Democrats, but guess what? If Republicans don't fulfill their campaign promise on judges when they have the power to do so, they are liars and no better than Democrats. Because it will mean that there is no hope of Roe ever being overturned. If with the power, Republicans won't give the victory to the Christians that they have been fighting for for 20 years, Christians have to do the same thing to Republicans that fiscal conservatives did to George H W Bush when he welched on his "No new taxes pledge."
This will mean handing Congress back to the Democrats by Christians staying home. That will mean higher taxes, which will especially fall on the Republicans who have gotten their agenda almost in its entirety. The Christians will be the least hurt.
And that will make the point to the Republicans that George H W Bush's defeat in 1992 made to them regarding taxes: if you lie, you lose power and your constituency stays home.
All that said, the Republicans AREN'T going to welch. They are going to press the nuclear option button and put in President Bush's strict constructionist judges, and those judges will eventually, once they reach a critical mass, overturn Roe v. Wade.
But if the Republicans don't, Christians need to stop contributing and stay home en masse in 2006, because it will mean that they have been betrayed, and there is no better purpose served by voting for someone who lies to you than there is in voting for someone who is bent on doing bad things. Both things have the same result, and are equally bad.
Fortunately, the Republicans have more principles than that.
They will invoke the nuclear option, soon.
Support them to the hilt when they do.
If they don't, shake the dust off of your sandals and leave them behind.
There is no "middle way", and there should be no pretense that there is.
Good article. Thanks for posting it.
Grow a pair. Do it soon!
Make recalcitrant Republicans pay a political price.
| Term Expires | Name | State |
| 2006 | Snowe | ME |
| 2006 | Chafee | RI |
| 2008 | Collins | ME |
| 2008 | Hagel | NE |
| 2008 | Warner | VA |
| 2010 | McCain | AZ |
Bush needs to get on TV and talk about activist judges, no wonder the Senate is backing down, he is allowing the RATS to take control of the issue just like he is waffling to Pedro Gonzalez Vincente Fox.
I'm with you!!
There are six Republican senators who are either against changing the rules or are not solidly for it. Chafee, Snowe, and Collins are the three that are predictibly solidly on the side of the 'Rats, Warner (VA), McCain, and another are wavering. Without the support of at least two of the six (51 votes required to change the rules), the rule change will fail and the liberals will win. Frist will not bring it up for a vote until he knows what the outcome will be.
The other wavering one is Hagel, I think.
"If Republicans don't fulfill their campaign promise on judges when they have the power to do so, they are liars and no better than Democrats. Because it will mean that there is no hope of Roe ever being overturned. If with the power, Republicans won't give the victory to the Christians that they have been fighting for for 20 years, Christians have to do the same thing to Republicans that fiscal conservatives did to George H W Bush when he welched on his 'No new taxes pledge.'"
I agree with your analysis. If they don't deliver to the Christian base what it wants, then why should we continue to vote for them? Are acts of omission by a Republican controled congress any worse than the acts of commission by the Democrats. I won't vote for Democrats, ever. However, I may not vote at all if Republicans don't deliver.
**This will mean handing Congress back to the Democrats by Christians staying home. That will mean higher taxes, which will especially fall on the Republicans who have gotten their agenda almost in its entirety. The Christians will be the least hurt.**
Now even with the Democratic obstruction that most of Bush's judges is appointed (something like 90% of his nominees).
I would think the Christians would be hurt much worse if instead of not getting 10% of the top judges we want in office we don't get 100% of all judges by making the Republicans the minority party.
Rehnquist will retire.
That will change the balance of the Supreme court from the current 3 conseratives, 4 liberals, 2 moderates, to a new balance of 2 conservatives, 2 moderates and 4 liberals.
And that effectively makes it a liberal court, given that it takes 4 votes to grant cert, and no conservative majority is EVER possible.
All the Democrats have to do is filibuster ANY Bush Supreme Court nominee, and by leaving the court at 8, they gain control of the court.
The point is that the Republicans have the power to act and end this. If they will not act, it is a willful choice on their part to NOT give the Christians the ONE thing on the Christians' agenda for which the Christians have been one of the main pistons of the Republican party for 30 years.
Some folks might think that the Christians can be "finessed" on this, but they are wrong. Christian anguish began when Arlen Specter announced his position the day after the election. But the Christians said "Wait and see." Specter was confirmed. Now the Christians are mobilized in the Schiavo case, the courts are playing the ghouls, and once again the Republican leaders - whom Christians know have the power to intervene - are dithering.
If that woman dies, the disillusionment among Christians is going to be profound, and the discouragement deep.
Because Christians know that this IS preventable, IF the Republicans act.
And finally, even as this plays out, the nuclear option on judges looks to be dying because of REPUBLICAN obstruction.
Put all of those things together, and there will be no point trying to reason with a few million Christians: they are not political calculators but moralists. They are not going to do the cynical balancing act you suggest. What they will do is get discouraged and stay home, by the millions.
And that guarantees a Democratic America, which morally will be indistinguishable from the present America, which already has a Democratic moral and judicial code which Republicans are proving unwilling to REALLY dismantle, even though they have the power.
Perhaps the Republicans can go out there and find a whole new voter bloc to replace those millions of heartbroken and disaffected Christians. I have no idea where.
The easier thing to do by far would be to keep faith, intervene to save Terri Schiavo, and pass the nuclear option. That's all the Christians want, and if they are given it, the Republicans cannot lose.
The Republicans seem to have a very perverse desire to "game" this constituency, while giving the economic Republicans everything on their agenda.
I am here to tell you that it ain't gonna fly.
At any rate, I still have hope that Jeb Bush is ultimately going to do the right thing here, and that will embolden the Republicans in Congress to pass the nuclear option, sewing up the Christian vote for the next 30 years.
But if the Republicans fail in the crunch, which is NOW and can no longer be deferred, they are going to profoundly demoralize the Christians. Probably irretrievably.
Oh, you mean like they did in 92? That was successful, wasn't it? Clinton got in, fired all the federal prosecutors and replaced them with his own, allowed Al Qaeda to gain enough strength to take us down on 9-11, taught our kids what a BJ is. That worked out really well.
Years ago I read a book about the fall of Constananople to the Moslems.
The book claimed that most able bodied men was in the Churches praying and believing God would save the city rather than on the walls fighting the Turks.
Way I see it is the Turks are outside our walls. Are you going to going to leave the fight because you don't think it makes much difference?
History is filled with persons who said "The Nazis or Communists can't be much different or worse than things are now"
I guess if the Christians act the way you say that years from now I might come visiting my former homeland with a grandchild on a tourist visa and she might ask "Why isn't there any Churches, Grandpa?"
I will just say "This land used to have Christians dear until they got mad and refused to support the only effective opposition to the liberals there was"
The way I see it, the Republicans are handing the walls over to the enemy and not fighting at all.
President Bush has the power. He CHOOSES to say "everything has been done", but that is not true. Everything has been done THAT HE WANTS TO DO. Inaction is his choice.
Governor Bush has the power. If he does not act, he CHOOSES not to act. Everything will have been done THAT HE WANTS TO DO. After talking a good game, inaction will have been his choice.
The Republicans have the power in the Senate to pass the nuclear option and put the conservative slate of judges on the Bench. Right now, they are wavering. Which means, if they do not, that they have CHOSEN, as a party, inaction.
In all three cases, the conscious choices of Republicans will have maintained the status quo for death. The Democrats erected it. They are the Turks. But the Republicans now have the guard over the walls, and they are simply surrendering portions of the walls because they don't want to get bloody in the fight.
If they do it, you are not opposing "the Turks" by continuing to support treacherous Republicans who hand over portions of the wall. You are, rather, tacitly abetting them.
I don't suggest that Christians MERELY stay home. They need to form a Christian Life Party whose central platform focus is the sacredness of life and marriage, and who put those things in the middle of their platform. They can caucus with the Republicans in Congress, and this would allow, for example, a Republican Senate leader and Speaker, but the instant the Republicans abandoned the pro-life position and handed over a portion of the walls because the economic Republicans don't want to fight those issues to the bitter end, the Christian Life Party would break the caucus with them and end Republican control. Having the pro-Life Christians as a separate political entity would keep the Republicans much more honest. As it is, the Republicans have passed their ENTIRE economic agenda, and have wavered on the ONLY part of their agenda that is truly pro-life: the nuclear option.
Right now, the Bush boys are both failing to intervene to save this woman as well.
If the consequences of doing this would be a loss of control of the Senate THIS WEEK (not at some indeterminate point in the future), Republican heads would be clearer and they would understand that failing to protect life is, to the Christians, the same thing as George H W Bush's "Read my lips, no new taxes."
Was it WISE for the anti-tax Republicans to stay home in 1992 and ensure Bush's defeat? Yes. If he was going to welch on promises and raise taxes anyway, it is absolutely necessary to punish him and his party by stripping their power away and focusing their minds for the future. No Republican is going to do that again in a generation.
The Republican leadership still has time to do the right thing here. Jeb Bush can still intervene to save Terri Schiavo, and the Republicans can find their spines (or their self-interest) and pass the nuclear option in the Senate. And that will shore up the Christian base through 2008.
But if they don't do these things, they will have handed over the walls to the Turks. The Turks could not take the walls and win the fights without Republican complicity, because the inescapable fact, given the 2004 election, is that now the Republicans have the power to do the right thing. If they DON'T, it is because they DON'T WANT TO.
And if that's the case, they are no better than Turks. Continuing to remain allied with them will be the same thing as anti-tax Republicans rewarding George H W Bush with a second term in office after he lied to them about taxes.
In any case, the Republicans are NOT going to be able to hold their coalition together if they welch on the nuclear option, and everyone can forget about Jeb Bush every becoming President if Terri Schiavo dies. The Christians are not the Republicans' "Black Bloc". They are not going to vote for Republicans no matter what. Some will, but millions won't.
This is crunch time for the GOP. The Turks are at the gate, and the Christians want to fight. If the Republican leaders cower in the executive mansions, and the Republican Senate hands over a portion of the wall to the enemy, the Christians are going to feel betrayed, and no spin is going to save them in 2006.
I still hold out hope that the Republicans will do the right thing, but its fading as fast as Terri Schiavo's life, and I am exploring new options. So are many other Christians who have been voting Republican for 30 years.
It does not require EVERY Christian to walk out the door for the party to end, only a few million.
And it doesn't have to happen at all. The Republican leadership is playing like these Florida judges, as though they have absolute discretion to do whatever they want, and everyone who votes for them just has to accept it. That is not the way democracy works.
It would be better for the GOP to figure that out this week, save a life, save the conservative judicial agenda, and save their lock on power all at once.
But I have to say: I think the leaders are thinking like you. I think they think that by admonishing the Christians they are going to get out from the consequences of their abdication of leadership. For some that will work. For millions it will be not.
This is crunch time.
Now is the time for the Republicans to act decisively, or lose the right to lead.
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