Any qualifued conservative nominee with no scandals would have been confirmed. No offense meant to you, because you are by no means alone, but this notion that Bush turned yellow and ran scared from some RINO Senators is offensive. I've looked at it and done the math - - there is no way that six (6) RINOs would ALL vote against a qualified nominee simply because the Democrats whine that the nominee is roo conservative.
It is disappointing to see that so many around here are willing, without ever actually doing the math, to use that same, lazy knee-jerk apology for Bush ("only a stealth nominee can get confirmed"). Well, I've done the math, and the excuse doesn't hold water.
Regards,
LH
But a filibuster would mean we'd need all 55 Republicans and 5 Democrats to break it. Unless we went nuclear, and -- while I think Frist probably (not perhaps definitely) had just enough votes for the rules change -- I don't think we have the votes now. I think Frist had probably been able to dragoon a couple back before the gang of 15, but there were numerous Republicans who were not enthusiastic about the prospect.
And the longer this drags on (Dems have been known to filibuster for years), the longer O'Connor remains on the court. And while they might get pressure to fill a truly vacant seat, there wouldn't be any to fill a seat that's already filled with someone they like better.
Agreed and well said.