Posted on 11/17/2006 4:17:47 PM PST by SmithL
The Senate's next Republican leader issued a veiled threat to block action on legislation if Democrats refuse to allow confirmation votes on President Bush's troubled judicial nominations.
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who will become minority leader Jan. 4, told the conservative Federalist Society Friday not to feel bad about the Senate election results because Republicans will hold 49 seats in a body that requires 60 votes to end a filibuster and bring legislation or presidential nominees to a final vote.
If the "Democrats want our cooperation, they'll give the president's judicial nominees an up-or-down vote," McConnell said.
Vice President Dick Cheney told the same group Friday that Republicans' loss of Congress in last week's election won't dissuade Bush from continuing to nominate strict-constructionist judges to the federal bench.
Democrats have used filibusters and the threat of them to block several of Bush's more conservative federal appeals court nominees who had the support of a majority of senators but lacked the 60 pledges needed to force a vote.
Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., became so irked that he brought the Senate to the brink of shutting down by threatening to get a parliamentary ruling forbidding filibusters on judicial nominations.
Only a bipartisan "Gang of 14" senators — seven Republicans and seven Democrats — averted the showdown with an agreement to allow some of Bush's nominees to be confirmed. Democrats subsequently rejected the idea of using filibusters to block Bush's two Supreme Court nominees — Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito.
"Senator McConnell wants bipartisan cooperation but that's a two-way street," his spokesman, Don Stewart, said Friday. "You can't expect easy cooperation on issues of importance to them unless they respect issues of importance to us, including the principle that judges deserve an up-or-down vote."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Did he ask Mr. McCain and Miss Graham about this?
What? A hint of cojones.
Go nads!
It's a good threat. The GOP has two blocks over any Rat legislation. The Senate and the veto.
Whether they'll use either remains to be seen.
Now, we can play their game back on them for a change. McCain's actions will be watched very closely. His Liberal tendencies won't come across all that admirable with his current aspirations.
I don't think the 'RATS would have much trouble finding nine "Republicans" to help them bust a filibuster and block any nominations.
That's the thing about Republicans, they only grow them when in the minority.
PING
Better be prepared for a fight if the Democrats call his bluff. The Dems can and might take a chance since they have the MSM on their side: "Saintly Dems stand up to Evil Republican bullying over Judge nominations"
And if that happens, he'd better not fold. Otherwise all is lost.
This guy is a Republican, remember?
They talk the talk but can't figure out how to walk the walk.
Evidence first, thank you.
An instructive, and perhaps motivational, cartoon for Republican senators might show a line of elephants at the vet's office waiting to be neutered.
Or perhaps the problem is merely opportunism, as in saying whatever it takes to get elected but functioning as a RINO because they really don't care.
Either way, I sure would love to see some aggressiveness from these pansies.
They want our money and nothing else. It's for the children, you see.
(Dead children, that is.)
More like talk tough and do nothing but cave in to the RATS I'd say.
Feh! The Stupid Party ain't got no Nads!
Yee Hah (Is that how it's spelled?)
Uh, the nominations being blocked would still be President Bush's.
Miss Lindsay?
I think McConnell has the backbone that Frist lacked. We'll see.
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