Vice President Cheney can order a Senate vote on Miguel Estrada

Back to Basics for the Republican Party ^ | February 27, 2003 | Michael Zak

[Grand Old Partisan]

Another card for the Republicans to play is for Vice President Cheney to assert a long-dormant power as President of the Senate. The last time this was done was by Vice President Nixon, who ordered the 1957 Civil Rights bill directly to the Senate floor, by-passing the Judiciary Committee. How do I know this? I wrote Back to Basics for the Republican Party (http://www.republicanbasics.com/ The book is a history of the GOP from the Republican point of view.

Here's how it goes. Dick Cheney takes the chair to preside over the Senate, his rulings being confirmed by simple majority vote, and orders an immediate floor vote on Miguel Estrada. Shazam!

[Grand Old Partisan]

All you FReepers out there, don't assume that President Bush and Senator Frist have thought of this. Get the word out to your all political contacts on Free Republica, in the media and on Capitol Hill.

Michael Zak Grand_Old_Partisan@hotmail.com

[Partisan Hack]

Fantastic!! I hape this happens.

[Grand Old Partisan]

That's sure what I'd do, at the right time!

[glock rocks]

The last time this was done was by Vice President Nixon, who ordered the 1957 Civil Rights bill directly to the Senate floor,

now there's a sound bite for FOX!

[tomkat]

visibility bump

[PISANO]

Are you saying that ANY Filibuster can be broken this way? How can the VP order a vote while there is a filibuster going on? Please explain further.

[jigsaw]

Certainly Hatch must know this.
(But let's call his office tomorrow to make sure!)
It makes me wonder if the Pubbies are keeping this card up their sleeve to give the RATS more time to embarass themselves.

[TheConservator]

As I posted on another thread a while ago, I don't understand why Frist doesn't simply say something like this:

"The Constitution obligates this Senate to provide advice and to consent with respect to the President's judicial nominees.

The Democrats, by refusing to permit a vote on Miguel Estrada, the President's nominee for the DC Circuit court of appeals, is preventing the Senate from discharging its Constitutional obligation.

In particular, the Democrats are applying a Senate rule, which requires the votes of 60 senator super-majority to permit the scheduling of a substantive vote, to an issue--judicial nominations--to which this rule was not intended to apply, and to which it has historically not been applied.

After serious consideration, I, as well as a majority of the members of this Senate, have determined that the minority's use of this rule in this fashion, because it is preventing this Senate from discharging an obligation specifically imposed on this body by the Constitution, is not constitutional.

Although I greatly respect the rules of this Senate, when the rules are applied in a manner which prevents this body from fulfilling its Constitutional obligations, then those Constitutional obligations must prevail.

Therefore, notwithstanding the Senate's rules, I have directed the Clerk of the Senate to schedule a vote on the nomination of Miguel Estrada to occur at _______________.

Assuming a majority of the members of the Senate vote at that time to confirm the nomination of Mr. Estrada, I will thereupon officially certify that the Senate has consented to the nomination of Miguel Estrada, thereby permitting him to immediately assume his duties at the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.

I, and the majority of the other members of the Senate who support me in this action, have not lightly chosen to take this action. But the minority's misuse of the Senate Rules to achieve the clearly unconstitutional purpose of frustrating this body's duty to provide advise and consent with respect to Mr. Estrada's nomination has left us with no other choice."

If Frist had the balls to do this, what could the Democrats do? There is no way any court would overturn this; the enforcement of the Senate's internal rules being a purely political question for the Senate itself.

The Republicans would risk the historical tradition of collegiality for which the Senate is storied. But the Democrats have already shown that they do not intend to respect that tradition.

I think they should go for it.

[Illbay]

I think it is incredibly naive of you to think that they HAVEN'T thought of this.

There is a political price to be paid for all such maneuvers.

[sinkspur]

Dick Cheney takes the chair to preside over the Senate, his rulings being confirmed by simple majority vote, and orders an immediate floor vote on Miguel Estrada. Shazam!

I think you're dreaming.

This tactic would effectively neuter a filibuster, which has always been available to the minority.

No, a cloture vote would still have to be held.

[Texas_Jarhead]

WOW! Thanks for sharing.

[PhiKapMom]

Take a look at this!

[PhiKapMom]

There is no official filibuster going on right now. Frist takes the Senate into Executive session to debate the nomination which is why you see Senators yield the floor!

[Xthe17th]

Oh, they've thought of it. You can bet Karl Rove's butt on it. The Repubs deliberately want the 'Rats to look like obstructionists and will deliberately drag this out as long as possible. See - the people (the unwashed who don't read or surf this here FReep forum) won't pick up on the obvious strategery that's going on and will think that it's all the 'Rats fault. At least this is what Rove & Co. are hoping for.

Else, if the 'pubs really wanted to make the 'Rats look bad, Frist would call for a REAL OLD FASHIONED FILIBUSTER and make Teddy the swimmer hold his bladder as hard as he tries to hold the floor by blahblahing. The good doctor hasn't pulled this surgical tool out of his medical bag yet.

[Grand Old Partisan]

Notice that there isn't a filibuster going on....

Vice Presidents have not been chairing the Senate since the 1920s, so such a move is virtually unprecedented since then, except for Richard Nixon's unheralded heroics in 1957.

Still, let's not assume Frist has thought of this. Help spread the word.

[jwalsh07]

Thanks but no thanks, the Constitution is already in tatters, no reason to pee on it too.

[Steven W.]

give it time. First allow the DemoncRATs an opportunity to display their racist obstructionist behavior for all the country to behold. If they vote against the cloture vote than debate will continue and W & the Republicans can spread out and bash the RATs for not allowing debate to be ended and a vote to proceed, totally obstructing, while the country is at war and the Republicans are trying to move on to equally important business but a minority of DemoncRATs who are out of the mainstream won't even allow debate to end on the Estrada nomination.

I spoke with my CA Senators' offices today - Boxer's gal said "I don't know" when I asked her why the Senator was blocking a vote on the Estrada nomination. She put me on hold and then came back with the typical garbage about how she needs more information. I said "that's fine, I guess I can see why she'd want to vote against him but I don't understand why she's blocking a vote". The gal had no answer. When I spoke with Feinstein's office the guy immediately responded with the liberal spin about needing more time, etc.. I responded the same and the guy was at a loss for an answer and finally said "it's just a tactic they're doing" and I replied, "ok, good, that's what it seemed, they're just obstructing like everybody said they were. I was getting concerned because I'm seeing all of these racist things being displayed on Democratic Underground and other sites on the internet about 'no wetback judges' and that had us concerned, but it makes sense that they're just doing it to try and screw up the country. thanks."

[Parley Baer]

I agree with the above posts. Go for it. Parley

[Grand Old Partisan]

The Vice President presides over the Senate -- sounds constitutional to me, considering that it is right there in the Constitution!

[Defender2]

Mr. Vice President......DO IT!!!!:-)