And weep for sure. That paragraph that makes mincemeat of Aarticle II tells me that the gang of 14 has elevated itself above its rightful status.
This is how legislatures work. Remember the old saying about sausages and laws. Government is not a football game -- you don't win and then go home. You have to play the exact same people the next day.
So the Republicans should take what they get, and then Bush can always renominate anyone who gets turned down. This only becomes a defeat if we act like it is.
I read it but see no reason to weep. It seems that Dear Leader Reid has managed a retreat in the face of certain defeat. The "Moderate Democrats" could have voted for cloture when Senator Frist asked to end debate. If cloture is invoked, the Constitutional Option cannot be exercised as there would be no reason to request a ruling from the chair. A ruling from the chair affirmed by a simple majority clarifies the issue.
The "compromise" is a cave by the Democrats. The "Moderates" will be unlikely to follow Dear Leader Reid into the dead-end abyss of obstruction again. Once the three are confirmed (like quick), the others must be brought forth, especially Mr. Bolton. The public will have little patience for another obstruction stunt.
I've taught US History and Government for a long, long time and so far I've never read anything in the Constitution which says a president has to consult the Senate BEFORE he makes a nomination. Those fourteen senators - particularly the Republican ones - need a good lesson on separation of powers.
The only good commie is a dead commie.
"We firmly believe this agreement is consistent with the traditions of the United States Senate that we as Senators seek to uphold."
Who signed it?
I didn't read all the posts yet but as I said on the C-Span thread, notice how McCain signed on the Dem side.
Nuff' said!!!!
Scalia, for example, can not be Chief! Walk through this memo. W discusses with Senate leaders (Leahy, Fat Teddy, Schmuckie, etc.) and they so "no" to Scalia. W nominates him anyway. Dems invoke extraordinary and threaten a filibuster AND condemn any Republican who doesn't vote with them under the terms of this memo.
IT IS NOT A "DEAL" IT IS A SURRENDER!! EVEN THE FRENCH WILL TAKE NOTES!!
The smart thing to do response is to turn the Senate rules back on the "Republican" turncoats by having at least 41 of the OTHER 48 Republican Senators to vote AGAINST cloture, thus negating the deal and returning everything back to square one.
This will temporarily delay the Owens Brown Pryor votes, but it will also make the "Gang of 14" impotent. Then the Other 48 can start working on bottling up in committee evry bill of the seven turncoats and zeroing out every dollar for their states.
If the 48 non turncoat Republicans don't have the guts to do this, they don't deserve to be in power. It's a sure bet the Dems would have enforced discipline if they were in charge.
I'm weeping.
But let's give this a few days. Maybe it won't seem like such a cave on reflection.
If President Bush can get 2 Supreme Court nominations through without filibusters, then this will be a good agreement.
If Democrats claim every one of his future judicial nominations fall under the "extraordinary circumstances" exception, so they can continue to filibuster, will the McCain, Warner gang of 6 call for the nuclear option themselves? They allowed the democrats such a gaping loophole, it's hard to imagine them doing much when the democrats use it.
LINDSEY GRAHAM JUST TOLD CHRIS MATTHEWS THAT ALL 5 OF BUSH'S CURRENT NOMINEES WILL GET AN UP OR DOWN VOTE, (NOT JUST OWENS, BROWN, AND PRYOR)
Captains and the Kings.
I'll tell you what, those bases in Maine had better be shut down, and Lindsey had better have a primary challanger and the RNC must never give another dime to any of the seven who signed this thing.
Business as usual in Washington. This was all about giving red meat to both bases. Nothing was going to be decided.
The GOP is acting like the losing party again, and I fear that they soon will be.
For you Bush and Republican Bashers, ignore the facts and continue hyperventilating, you useless pukes!
It's not over until it's over.
Sean Hannity said today that we really need to watch Senator John Warner (VA) 202-224-2023, or use toll-free number in my tagline for Senator Warner and all senators.
57% of Americans in Rasmussen poll say that "Senate rules should be changed so that a vote must be taken on every person the President nominates to become a judge." That's unchanged from two weeks ago.
Maybe we ought to tell our U.S. senators about this poll, and also tell those "swing" senators.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2005/Judicial%20Nominations--May%2014.htm
Rush Limbaugh said that senators are wavering back and forth, partly because of pressure from the public. Let's get more phone calls and/or e-mails than the other side does.
Even if none of these WAVERING senators is your own senator,
please call 'em, anyway.
The last I heard the undecided GOP Senators are Collins (ME), DeWine (OH), and Warner (VA). Frist can afford to lose only two, because McCain, Chafee, and Snowe have declined to end the judicial filibusters.
We can call toll-free at 877-762-8762 .
E-mail info can be found here (but phone calls are more effective):
http://www.conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm
Urge each to FULLY SUPPORT THE FILIBUSTERING
RULES CHANGE and NO COMPROMISES.
Yeah, the Dems didn't get anything out of this, and we lose nothing by not initiating the nuclear option AGES ago. Suuuure.
That's because of ONE person. CARL LENIN. Why? Since Spence retaliated against one of Don "Keating 5" Riegle's blue slips on the first president by taking out a blue slip on Carl Lenin's cousin-in-law Helene White.
Don't blame me. I voted for Rocky.
My word to Warner and Frist: you and other Republicans were put into power in order to overturn 40 years of mindless, ineffective, anti-religious democrat rule. You have failed. Don't count on us again.
Qualifications for Republican Senator ... must be good at tent folding.!
Dark Side election getting set up for 2008
The Princess of Darkness, hiLIARry
and
John McEgo (architect of that excellent ... for democrats ... campaign finance reform)
in which McCain will lose ... come general election time the media will turn on him and he will be savaged will Keating Five Ads and Stories.