Posted on 05/25/2005 6:28:42 AM PDT by GaryL
All you conservatives out there – listen up! Take a deep breath! Climb down from the ledge! Chill out! Things are not as bad as they seem! As a matter of fact, things are downright rosy!
In spite of what all the conservative pundits are saying – including Rush Limbaugh, Bill Bennett, Laura Ingraham, Thomas Sowell – we did not get rolled in Monday’s deal with the Democrats. As a matter of fact, it’s just the opposite. The Democrats have been taken to the cleaners…only they don’t know it yet! As usual, they have followed Teddy Kennedy’s advice and he has led them into another political disaster.
The problem is that no one – including our side - is looking at the big picture. What actually happened as a result of this deal is that, for all practical purposes, the filibuster as a means to obstruct judicial nominees is dead! Isn’t that what we wanted in the first place? And like Reagan winning the Cold War without firing a shot, we achieved this goal without having to initiate the so-called “nuclear option,” and thus avoided taking the huge hit from the mainstream media. The MSM was waiting with bated breath, ready to pounce on the Republicans like a cat on a cornered mouse. Can’t you just hear them repeating the mantra “…and the Republicans actually changed the rules in the middle of the debate!”
In the first place, we now will get confirmed the three nominees deemed by the Democrats to be the most “extreme”: Pricilla Owens, Janice Rodgers Brown, and William Pryor. OK. Follow me on this. If these three are the most “extreme” - by the Democrats own definition - what does that make the others? That’s right…moderates! Does anyone really believe that the Democrats will now resurrect the filibuster to obstruct “moderate judges”? Of course not! Majority Leader Frist has vowed that all of the remaining judges will be put forward for votes promptly, possibly within a week or two. Should the Democrats be foolish enough to filibuster any of these “moderates,” he has also vowed again to ignite the “nuclear option.” All the centrist Republicans who supported the agreement – including Susan Collins and Lindsey Graham – have likewise vowed to support Frist should it become necessary. Let me see…they give up the filibuster while we retain the right to use the “nuclear option” against the filibuster and have become united in our opposition to it. Sounds like a victory to me!
How about the seven Democratic “centrist” senators? I doubt very seriously that any of them would support a filibuster at this stage of any kind, most especially against the remaining “moderate” judges. Guess what. These people have been looking for a way to dissociate themselves from the Teddy Kennedy wing of their party… and now they have found it. Trust me…THE FILIBUSTER IS DEAD! Without these seven senators, the Democrats couldn’t filibuster Attila the Hun!
And don’t you see how silly the Democrats are looking already? What was all the fuss about Pricilla Owens in the first place that they had to block her for four years? This so-called “extremist” will be confirmed today with a sizeable number of their own party voting for her! That’s some “extremist!” In other words, they’ve proven again for all to see that you can’t trust their judgment on who is really “extremist” and who isn’t. Like the little boy who cried wolf, their use of the label “extremist” has a definite “hollow ring” to it.
Let’s recap: the Republicans have effective eliminated the filibuster without taking the huge media hit, while letting it be know that they retain the threat of the “nuclear option,” with their seven senators on record as supporting Frist should the Democrats be foolish to try the filibuster again. In addition, the Republicans appear as the “moderates” in the debate, willing to try compromise to avoid a senate showdown. As an added side benefit, John McClain – by taking the lead on this and being so willing to side with the Democrats – has shown once again that he can’t be trusted and for all practical purposes has committed political suicide. Can anyone imagine him winning a single Republican primary in 2008? As usual the media has got it wrong again, making McCain the winner and Frist the loser.
All in all, not a bad day’s work!
I'll just go and get me another cup of coffee. Apparently I don't have enough caffine in my system. :-)
"Let me see…they give up the filibuster while we retain the right to use the “nuclear option” against the filibuster and have become united in our opposition to it. Sounds like a victory to me!"
I'm trying to follow your logic but having a problem! Why did we "retain the right to use the 'nuclear option' if they (Dems) gave up the filibuster?"
The Dems didn't give up squat! This would all be a mute point by the end of this day (Wednesday) if Republicans would have just carried on as if nothing changed. We had the votes!!! It would have all been academic and we would be seeing the nuclear explosion today, and that would have been the end of this discussion. But no, we have to keep playing tiddly-winks with the Dems for who knows how long and who knows what is going to change in the meantime. Kicking this can down the road has served no useful purpose for anyone paying attention to this.
Now that this gang of seven pubs have, in their words, "saved the Senate" we should not be surprised if they elect to get together to "save the Senate" again...now that they realize they disproportionate power in a divided Senate they can weild as majoritity makers.
The Democrats at the eleventh hour, threw in the towel, declared victory and melted away.
Now Frist is sitting there with the 'fillibuster' card and if need be, it can be applied in real time. To boot we got to flush out and spotlight Senators in the Republican Party that, IMO, are on the dole.
You mean the way Dems have been "bothered" by accusations in commercials that they didn't back Condoleeza Rice, a Black and a Woman?
Oh, wait...that's right, the Dems weren't bothered by those accusations in commercials in the last voting cycle.
Maybe we can guess their future behavior based upon their past behavior, eh? Here's a free clue: Dems don't give a rat's behind about their little factions when the big picture is in play. Any one woman or any one black has been tossed over the side when Dems thought it necessary in the past and they'll do it again and again and again with impunity.
Tony Snow thinks 3 and maybe 4 (Collins) would support the constitutional option when it is needed. Collins is getting alot more phone calls than she anticipated.
He ran unapposed last time (last year). He's not up for re-election now till 2010.
And here's a bit of free information about the reality of national politics these days: this kind of attitude has utterly destroyed the Democrat Party. That's exactly why the party's influence in politics has been in a steep decline for the last 25 years -- and it's gotten so bad that they can't even maintain any relevance at all on one of the key issues of the day without getting seven Republicans to prop up their numbers for them.
I agree. All this 'compromise' does is kick the can down the road until Bush nominates a justice to the Supreme Court. THAT will be a circus. ANYBODY that Bush nominates will be described by the Left as 'out of the mainstream', and a fillibuster is sure to follow.
Hopefully the Rinos will come home on the rule change vote is taken at that time...
"they can't even maintain any relevance at all"
Let me know when William Meyers and Henry Saad take their seats on the appeals courts.
That is exactly correct. This deal is an unmitigated disaster. They had the numbers and they chickened out. Disgraceful.
Common sense will get you every time.
>Maybe we can guess their future behavior based upon their past behavior, eh? Here's a free clue: Dems don't give a rat's behind about their little factions when the big picture is in play. Any one woman or any one black has been tossed over the side when Dems thought it necessary in the past and they'll do it again and again and again with impunity.<
All that matters to this deal is what 5 of the 7 Dems do.If 5 vote with Republicans their is no fillibuster.This deal has seperated Lieberman and others from the Looney Left.They also make it earier for Spaceman Nelson to vote his self-intrest which is to become more moderate before2006.Their are about 35 Looney lefty's in the Senate if 50% of the others vote for cloture the Loonies are impotent.It may turn out that cutting these guys safely out of the heard is the best political move the GOP could make.Keep your powder dry .
Sounds plausible to me, but if Frist backs down on this when it becomes necessary, then he is 100% finished as a Leader of any stripe.
In a word: Yes.
They will simply call them extremists in the future.
It won't be 80-20, it will be something like 52-47. Where does this 80-20 fantasy come from?
He's not saying that. He's saying that the fact that Clinton wasn't removed saved Bush from having to run against Gore as an incumbent President.
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