Posted on 05/24/2005 6:10:15 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
The "memorandum of understanding" signed by 14 Senators Monday evening says they have agreed to invoke cloture (cut off debate) on three of President Bush's stalled judicial nominees ( Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen and William Pryor), but the "[s]ignatories make no commitment to vote for or against cloture" on William Myers or Henry Saad.
The latter two nominees will still be blocked, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid later said.
As for future judicial nominations -- those involving the U.S. Supreme Court, for example -- it's a judgment call:
"Signatories will exercise their responsibilities under the advice and consent clause of the United States Constitution in good faith. Nominees should only be filibustered under extraordinary circumstances, and each signatory must use his or her own discretion and judgment in determining whether such circumstances exist."
In the second half of the memo, the 14 senators agreed to oppose a rules change (an end to judicial filibusters) in the 109th Congress.
Exactly what I intend to do. The GOP can go hang its head in shame.
And they will, in language I think will be strikingly similar to yours.
No president could possibly buy into this crap- it represents a diminution of the office that no President would countenance.
The response should be "no and HELL NO", and none of the miserable sell-outs that stood in the way of humbling those Democrat SOBs should be permitted to set foot in the White House ever again.
This is usurping of presidential prerogative enumerated in the Constitution. The Dems want to give the president a menu of their pre-approved judges. BS!
The rats agreement is simply the terms of a retreat. They only get what they would have gotten had they voted for cloture. They would have retained the right to filibuster another day.
Why did 7 GOP join them in giving them cover? I suppose the answers are many. Some probably want to look moderate, some may have common interests on other issues, some may not have strong conservative bases as voters.
Looks like we have seven senators who think they have powers copmparable to a president...
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
Come on! This wasn't an agreement of the entire Senate. This was a few fringe members who can't distinguish between their mess-kits and the latrine. They have no power to bind the Senate, and even less to tell the White House what to do. I happen to think that what was done was a huge mistake, but not for the reasons that everyone seems to think.
We will get virtually everything we wanted. We WILL get our judges. We will eventually consitutionalize the process when the Democrats renige, and renige they will.
I think it was a mistake because we should have b*tch-slapped them Democrats into craven submission. Turned them into the kind of whipped dogs the Republicans have been (and seem to continue to be). We let them live to fight again, and we should never have done so. When will we learn?
Bush always did that in the past. Ever hear of "advise and consent". That is in the consitition.
Because they agree with Harry Reid the nominees Bush sent them are 'right wing extremists'.
This is what being a 'Big Tent' party gets you.
Byrd et al need to read his little Constitution book about the separation of the 3 branches of government.
I was going to post on this thread, but why bother? I couldn't possibly say what I had to say any better; I especially liked the b*&%h slapped reference.
The thing is Frist doesn't have effective control of the Senate. It's not a Republican majority, it is a Republican+RINO coalition. Still the list is not what you'd expect:
McCain: sure, showboat John couldn't resist casting himself in this role as darling of the media and savior of Sentate tradition
Lindsey Graham: that's a bit of a surprise. Wasn't he one of the main supporters of the Clinton impeachment,or am I confusing him.
John Warner of Virginia: set up for a Presidential run in the center?
Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine:
Would we be better off with two Dems in these seats? Because isn't Maine a pretty reliable blue state at this point.
Mike DeWine of Ohio: don't know the man. The only Senator who is not on the East Coast who joined the Gang of Seven.
Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island; consistent RINO. Again, would we be better off without him?
MIA: Arlen Spector, Lisa Murkowski, few others probably.
Bottom line: it's probably the best that could be done.
Club for Growth strategy is good of running more conservative people in states when the conservative R if nominated has a shot at winning. The places like Maine where a D would likely replace Snow can just be ignored. The goal should be to fill in the Red States with Republicans so the majority goes over 60.
Too funny that's exactly the addresses I wrote to this morning. I told them to take me off of all lists, email, phone and postal. I said that I would consider any solicitation from them as an invasion of my privacy. I also told them that I will be contributing to any primary challengers of the seven mentioned and I also said I'm throwing in that P.O.S. Spector too!
This is usurping of presidential prerogative enumerated in the Constitution. The Dems want to give the president a menu of their pre-approved judges. BS!
The President needs call an emergency session of the Senate, and lock their butts in until they vote.
They can have their senate filibuster rules, but no one should be allowed to leave until they fullfil their duty and vote up or down on the nominees.
Lock them in, and cut off their nice catered meals. They can sit filibuster, or sit there in silence, but don't let them leave until they do their job.
"Who are the 7 a**holes? I am going to call and yell at them!"
Forget the traitors, yell here:
ecampaign@gop.com Chairman@gop.com Info@gop.com RNCommunications@gop.com Political@gop.com Membershipservices@gop.com MemberRelations@gop.com
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