Posted on 06/14/2005 9:53:51 AM PDT by My2Cents
It is beginning to dawn on Democrats that the compromise in the Senate that averted the "nuclear option" over judges was not the victory they thought it was. Republicans, meanwhile, are beginning to come to terms with what it means to get not half a loaf, but I'd say three-quarters to seven-eighths, rather than the whole.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
Regular Americans (who do not follow politics particularly) have to be asking themselves, "What in the Hell was the 'filibuster' about and why were the DIMs blocking these nominees which are being accepted by a majority anyway?"
Now they're trying to repair their obstructionist image and the bases they attacked....black, Hispanic, Christian Dems...Yes, they have Christians, too and in fact Bubba carried his bible for us and Hillary will likely be attending church in the days ahead.
That's probably true. I hate to play quota politics, but if Bush were to nominate a conservative female hispanic judge to the SC, the Dems could be toast.
I was in the kneejerk camp for about 24 hours, and then began to realize that perhaps McCain, Frist, Bush, et al, had pulled the proverbial wool over the obstructionists' eyes.
Harry Reid saying "The nuclear option is dead for our lifetimes. ..." was total BS and all of the DEMS know whenever they invoke a filibuster, even for nonjudicial nominees, Frist is going to launch the Constitutional Option. The DEMS can't do anything but roll over until they regain the Senate majority. Oh, they will make a lot of noise but they will roll or watch the Senate rules change before their eyes.
I believe that Frist had, at best, 49 votes for the nuclear option. At least two of those who were disinclined to vote for the nuclear option (Collins and Warner) have said that they would be inclined now to vote for that option if the Dems violate their "deal." Hence, it's likely that while the nuclear option didn't have the votes last month, it is likely it will have the votes next time around.
I believe Frist had the votes. If Frist didn't have the votes Reid and the DEMS would never have embraced the agreement. Why would Reid allow judges the DEMS opposed and blocked for years have a vote, knowing they would be approved, if he could have continued to prevent a vote from occurring?
Frist didn't mind winning without changing the rules and Reid didn't mind losing if the rules weren't changed. Win Win for us.
The ongoing problem for Reid is he will continue to lose unless he filibusters Bush nominees and if he filibusters he loses even bigger. Lose Lose for them.
"I like to be the 1st to say it dawned immediately on a lot of the members of this forum we were the big winners when the agreement was made. And we took a lot of criticism for being ahead of the curve."
What forum are you discussing ? It sure can't be FreeRepublic. Every thread was bursting with "Mccain and Graham sold us out and we're screwed forever" posts.
I was one of just a handful who posted this was a good deal for the republican side and I can tell you we had very few nodding in agreement.
I'm not talking about a cast of 1000's but there were many who saw it as a win and realized the agreement despite what Reid had to say didn't change the fact that Frist could and will seek to change the rules if the DEMS continue to obstruct.
Did you see Frist and McCain yesterday discussing the Constitutional Option? I'm paraphrasing but Frist said he would continue to discuss nominees with the DEMS but the Constitutional Option would be used if necessary, McCain said, "Let's do it now."
It's definite McCain isn't backing the DEMS on filibustering anymore.
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