Posted on 05/11/2005 9:44:07 AM PDT by Blood of Tyrants
I generally like the Republicans that Sean Hannity has on his show, but George Will really got on my nerves when he defended keeping the ability to filibuster judges based solely on partisan politics.
His first statement that got me going was to the effect of, "Sean, we don't want to place limits on what requires a supremajority in the Senate. You would have it that anything not allowed by the Constitution is forbidden. Such limits are antithetical to a free society".
HELLO?!!! Mr. Will, please READ the Constitution before you ever dare to utter another idiotic statement like this. The ENTIRE Constitution was written SPECIFICALLY to define the powers of the various branches of government and to LIMIT THOSE POWERS. A great majority of what Congress and the president and the judiciary are completely unconstitutional because there is no provision that gave the government the power to do it.
His second statement was to support the status quo because, in his words, "the Republicans are going to be in the minority within the next decade". This simp is PLANNING on losing instead of pressing the conservative agenda.
And the next statement that got me yelling at the radio was when he said, "Sean, there IS a solution that doesn't involve changing the rules: give us 60 Republicans in the Senate."
Mr. Will, (or should I call you Pinhead) you are PLANNING on losing yet you think that Americans should follow your lack of leadership and elect MORE Republicans? Do you REALLY think that people WANT to support a party whose primary concern is planning on what to do once they are LOSERS?
Hell, they already ARE LOSERS with that attitude!
To quote Admiral David Farragut: "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!"
Rant off.
I believe the filibuster is unconstitutional, therefore I trust the R's will let 'er rip.
Personally, I think he should stick to baseball. I have no interest in it, him, or what he cares to say concerning the game.
Personal pickiness moment:
This quote if often mangled and shortened, and even appears in may texts as seen above.
It is not, however, a proper quote of ADM Farragut at Mobile Bay.
For your enlightenment:
"Damn the Torpedoes, (mines)
Four Bells Capt Drayton,
Go Ahead, Jouette,
Full Speed."
Source: My memory - I could be off on an item or two of spelling - source of the memory - Plebe Summer. Some things just get burned into your skull and stay there and stay there and stay there... (Actual Source - USNA Reef Points and other USNI publication.)
Other than that, your post is spot on.
Heard the same thing on Bill Bennett's radio program this a.m. Some writer or caller noted that the Repubs won't have the majority forever, and that eliminating the filibuster will hurt the Repubs in the long run. If the filibuster isn't in the Constitution, it's gotta be eliminated.
Agreed.
George Will proved to me years ago that he is a spineless, albeit smart, person with no guts to do the right thing. He also proved he is not a man of principle. How you ask? His continued participation on This Weak with Democrat spokesman and strategist George Stephanopoulos is a sell-out.
By staying on that show he is a willing accomplice to the media scam to offer balance when we all know This Weak is a Dem mouthpiece program. If Will had principle he would have left the show and applied for time on FOX News. The panel members with Brit Hume have more time to speak than Will gets on ABC. He could have lobbied for even more time and I'll bet FOX would have been delighted to accomodate him.
Now he shows he has no guts on the fillibuster issue.
Bump.
Can you imagine a Supreme Court in 20 years with only one Justice? Luckily, it will probably Justice Thomas.
George should stick to baseball and forget about politics. He has lost it entirely.
How could somebody who has been around as long as Will has not realize that if the shoes were on the other feet, the party that invented "Borking" and "hi-tech lynching", and has broken 200+ years of precedent by routinely filibustering lower court nominations, would "go nuclear" in a second and then laugh right in George Will's face?
Stick with baseball, George.
Men like Will, Kemp and McCain are rino's who are more interested in appearing to be nince rather than doing what is right.
Will's position is that we don't want to change the rules to forbid filibustering of judges because we might want the filibuster in, say, 10 years. Will's mistake is that the Senate will not be doing away with it's right to change the rules, only the actual rule on filibusters itself. There is nothing to prevent a Senate in 10 years from changing the rule back!
Look at it this way: The ability for the majority to change the rules is the check and balance against a minority that routinely filibusters what was never filibustered in the prior 200 years. If the minority is so passionate about a judge that it is willing to filibuster, then the equal passion from the majority is their willingness to change the rules to overcome the filibuster.
-PJ
How about defending the country against terrorists, taking the fight to them, signing a partial birth abortion ban, nominating conservative judges, reversing Clinton's stupid environmental rules, banning governmental funding of fetal stem cell research, etc, etc. And the reduction of capital gains taxes and taxes on dividends were monumental, not miniscule.
I was suprised to see the 180 turn by Will. I guess he'll say that he has matured in the past two years.
I think he has always been an elitist. My husband and I argue about it. He likes him and I never have. My husband claims I just don't like anybody and that I'm "anti-intellect". I guess we just grew up in different worlds.
"anything not allowed by the Constitution is forbidden"
WHAT IS IT ABOUT FOLLOWING THE CONSTITUTION THAT PEOPLE FIND SO OFFENSIVE ..??
Today .. we not only have the ignorance of George Will, we have the stupidity of Newt Gingrich who is co-ordinating with HILLARY CLINTON - to fix the healthcare system (which torpedoed his own presidential plans) - and then we have STARR - on Monday night on CBS saying that these actions by the republicans and judicial nominees is RADICAL.
And then .. we have the media's darling "McCain" .. in the weekly "SECRET" meeting with repubs (??? if we know about it - then it's not secret) and telling them they SHOULD TRUST WHAT HARRY REID IS SAYING - Reid has said that he will ALLOW 7 judges (EXCEPT FOR ANY WHO APPEAR TO BE RADICAL). WHAT ..?? EVERY NOMINEE FROM BUSH HAS BEEN LABELED AS "RADICAL" by Reid - and McCain wants us to TRUST THAT IDIOT ..??
WHO THE HELL ARE THESE PEOPLE ..?? THEY ARE NOT REPUBLICANS AND IF NEWT THINKS THIS WILL PAD HIS ACCEPTABILITY TO AMERICA BY BEING COZY WITH HILLARY - HE JUST LOST ME.
Rush is livid today - he's calling it PUKE DAY - and I'm beginning to feel the same. What the hell are these people thinking ..??
George Will , the Perrier Conservative.
It's not a Constitutional question. The Senate sets its own rules, including the use of the fillibuster. The Democrats are playing politics by their use of the rules. Now it is up to the GOP to play politics right back and change the rules.
It's a political fight with many facets and possible repercussions. But it's not a Constitutional question one way or the other.
SD
Exception for personal pickiness moment allowed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.