Posted on 12/19/2005 8:44:54 PM PST by lowbridge
In the face of US Senate opposition, House Republicans have dropped a plan to split the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals.
House Republicans who contend the nation's largest federal appeals court has gotten too big to be effective had sought to attach legislation breaking it in two to a deficit-trimming bill.
Senators led by California Democrat Dianne Feinstein vowed to block the move if it made it to the Senate floor. The measure was left out when the bill passed the House early Monday. A Senate vote could come later in the day.
Nevada Democrat Harry Reid also opposes the measure while Republican Senator John Ensign supports it.
The Ninth Circuit covers nine states with about 54 million people, and has 28 judgeships. The circuit with the next-largest number of judgeships is the New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit, with 17.
Opponents of splitting the 9th Circuit alleged political motives by Republicans annoyed by its rulings, including a 2002 opinion that declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional when recited in public schools.
The House legislation would have created a Ninth Circuit covering California, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, and a new 12th Circuit covering Alaska, Washington state, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Arizona.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
I'm all for splitting the 9th court, especially since it will probably mean adding more conservative judges. However, as long as the Rats can filibuster (something I'd be in favour of getting rid of)it's not going to happen. Why waste time doing something that won't pass? The republicans should be working overtime to fill the dozens of existing vacanies on the federal courts. One seat on the 9th circuit of appeals has been vacant for over six years!
Well they are lazy.
They are receiving taxpayer funds to do their jobs. I do not care that they are friends with the enemy, that they wish to "sway" the enemy and think they can do it by caving.
They are sent there to do the voters' business. They are not as elite as they think they are and the power they gain is corrupting our government.
That is a good point. Many of the most recent party defections have come from "moderate" Democrats, who keep the same lukewarm liberalism in their new GOP allegiance. One of those defectors was unseated some 10 years ago in a Republican primary by Rep. Ron Paul, R-TX. Now Paul may have "moderate" challengers in his upcoming March 7 primary.
California is lucky to have had you both!
The Republicans in DC don't have one damn hair on their collective butts, from GWB down!
Hell, they're even scardee scared of saying 'Merry CHRISTmas'; afraid Schumer might be hear it.
Until recently I shared your thoughts concerning the Republicans inability to advance the conservative agenda that they were put into the majority in the House and Senate, the majority of the Governorships, and the Oval Office. Basically I thought a few "bad apples" had screwed it up and the rest of the "majority" was at their mercy.
Now I think I was wrong. Now I think that crap is an excuse that Republicans in the Senate love to have to avoid the tough votes and having their names on a list of people either Aye or Nay on some of these issues (especially regarding pork projects for the home team...).
McCain, Hagle, and the rest of that ilk are the problem - I agree, but they are being allowed to be the problem by the rest of the Republican Senate. They love it when the conservative base get's stirred up because they honestly think that pandering to the middle gets them elected. It may work here and there and the rebels without a clue might make it back to the Senate after the next elections - hopefully they will be replaced by a true conservative.
But what should be done in the interim? I think there is a need to force the rest of our supposedly conservative Senators to grow a spine. Use the nuclear option - quit worrying about what happens if the dems take the Senate back. Use the majority here and now to advance the agenda. Hold them accountable to get the job done that they were elected to do. If they hold the rouge Senators feet to the fire they will force them to make a choice to define who they really are instead of letting them play the poll then respond game.
One method - and I'm still not sure that I like it, is to hold a drawing to identify one true conservative Senator that will not be supported in the next election. Just one, randomly chosen. Let them all know it could be them and that it is time to grow a backbone. The election in the unfortunate senators state would have a write-in of "True Conservative" from those participating.
Let the chips fall where they may. It would likely result in the loss of a Senate seat to the dims and that is a high price to pay. But honestly, with a majority in the Senate, House, and White House, just what accomplishments do we have to show? Doing something like this sends a message to all of them while hopefully only sacrificing one good man or woman and retaining control of the Senate.
Not sure if that is a good or bad idea. Right now my Senators cancel each other out, I'm a donor to the Repub, and the state pretty evenly divided so it would really suck to not put him in office (though he's not up next election).
I'm interested in others thoughts on this.
Damn! Someone's gotta do something about the 9th circus.
utterly gutless bunch of air bags!
TONY SNOW, TONY SNOW, TONY SNOW
This cowardice seemed to grow worse when Senator Helms retired. At least Jesse gave them moral support knowing he was right by their side when one of those senators decided he would indeed do the right thing. I think Helms was the most outstanding senator of the second half of the twentieth century, maybe even the whole century.
It is impossible for a Republican senator to grow a spine. He either had a spine when he entered the "august" body, or he never had one to amount to much. It is the latter that clearly describes the GOP senators, most scarcely worthy of the appellation "GOP."
My thoughts exactly! SO frustrating.
The McCain Amendment and its 91 "yea" votes are a testament to that.
Of course, if we remove all the RINOs, that would send a clear message to the rest of the bunch. It would also remove their crutch and force them to fight.
All this would have done is make it easier for the dems to pack the 9th...which is where almost all their test cases get heard.
The 9th has more constitutional judges than liberal, but corruption in the assignment of cases make sure each important liberal issue is put before a Carter or Clinton judge.
I forget when she was first proposed, but I don't remember hearing anything about her nomination recently.
Oh, wait. There's a law that says they HAVE to do that.
It certainly did wonders for his presidential campaign.
There's not a single question about immigration reform, border control, guest worker programs, amnesty, social security for illegals or anything of the kind.
The other questions, suggesting we must stand strong with Frist and Co. and donate heavily to protect our Republican Senate majority made me laugh.
The Senate is a royal PAIN.
Elected Republicans are inept at framing messages when it comes to undertaking reforms. We learned a lot about that this year in CA. Nationally just look at how Bush's Social Security reform flopped.
Here's a pow-wow with Chief "Squats-when-peeing" from Louisiana! Mississippi!
No, he was never a serious presidential candidate, but even Democrats don't bother to run a major opponent in the IN Senate race. Republicans take Lugar because they want a winner at any cost.
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