Posted on 07/03/2003 12:10:25 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
If I get one more e-mail, letter or fax from a conservative organization about those mean old Democrats who won't allow Bush's judicial nominees to get through the confirmation process, I'm going to scream!
These organizations are nothing more than enablers for a do-nothing Senate led by men who are afflicted with terminal niceness. Majority Leader Bill Frist is a man who seems more concerned with getting along than getting on with the business at hand, namely breaking the filibuster of two highly qualified nominees for the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Miguel Estrada and Priscilla Owen.
The public hasn't got a clue! However, the leaders of the major conservative organizations are intelligent people and a lot of regular folks take their cues from them. These conservative leaders know exactly what is going on in the Senate – a lot of whining and hand-wringing, nothing more.
If Frist doesn't play hardball now, what will he do when a member of the Supreme Court announces his or her retirement?
As long as conservative organizations cover for him and refuse to call him to task, what has he got to lose by doing the old two-step: one step forward, one back? Who is going to be the wiser if nobody tattles on him? It's like cleaning up after a drunk. In this case, the drug of choice for these senators is their individual power and importance.
Filibustering a bill – the art of talking it to death – grew out of the tradition of giving senators the right of unrestricted debate.
The new gentleman's version of the filibuster stems from an unofficial agreement among senators to allow any of their colleagues to place a "hold" on a bill. The senator placing the hold is, in effect, saying to his colleagues, "I would filibuster this bill if you push me to take the floor and hold it, but my time is too valuable and I'm much too important for that and, of course, so are you."
Last week, at the urging of Frist, the Rules and Administration Committee approved a proposal to curb a filibuster by reducing the number of votes required to break one by three, each time a subsequent motion is filed for "cloture" – the process of ending debate and getting down to the question.
There is a big problem with this plan. While it takes 60 votes to break a normal filibuster, it takes 67 votes to break one against a proposed rules change. And this is what Frist calls moving forward?
If Frist wants to end what many believe is an unconstitutional filibuster of judicial appointments, he has a very good option if – and this is a mighty big if – he is willing to lead.
He must force the issue by holding round-the clock sessions, 24-7. Nobody goes home until the Senate agrees to have an up or down vote on these candidates.
First, Frist has to get members of his own party in line. Then, he must control Democrats. This is not as hard as it may seem. A simple majority vote is all that is required to send the sergeant-at-arms to round up absent members.
Once the Senate is in session 24-7, and folks like Orrin Hatch, Teddy Kennedy and Hillary Rodham-Clinton are padding around the Capitol in the middle of the night answering quorum calls in their pajamas and slippers, this issue will be on the front pages of the newspapers and lead every newscast.
Then – and only then – Republicans will have the opportunity to get the attention of the American people.
Republicans simply have not learned to lead. As a result, Democrats have become emboldened. Now they are insisting that a series of political litmus tests be applied to judicial nominees. This is an outrage!
First, it was abortion, then affirmative-action quotas and now "gay" rights. How many more political litmus tests are Republicans willing to swallow?
A nominee's private views have no place in the nomination process because a judge or justice is supposed to leave his or her political views at home when making decisions on the bench.
So the Democrats get mad – so what? What is more important than protecting the system of checks and balances set up by our Founding Fathers?
It is time these Republican Senate leaders cut out the rhetoric and show some sobriety in their actions and it is time that the leaders of the major conservative organizations on Capitol Hill stop enabling these cowards by covering for them.
Bushbots, you've been conned.
And the difference between Bill F. and Ol'Trent is...?
He's a republican, of course; he is spineless and listens to the press and to polls....He wants to be everyone's friend and wants the press to say good things about him. When Clinton was in office he appointed 373 pro-abortion, liberal federal judges to the bench with hardly NO complaints from the Republicans.
Now that we are in control, namely republican frist, we can't get our people appointed.
Bush appointed 6, yes 6, pro-abortion judges to the federal judiciary in NJ. Why? He didn't want a fight. Is he pro-life? I'm not sure. And why Estrada? Didn't he file a brief on behalf of NOW, While he was solicitor General??
When are they going to follow their very own platform, the platform of the Republican party, why arent' they PUSHING for a human life amendment????
http://www.rnc.org/GOPInfo/Platform/2000platform4.htm
The Supreme Court’s recent decision, prohibiting states from banning partial-birth abortions — a procedure denounced by a committee of the American Medical Association and rightly branded as four-fifths infanticide — shocks the conscience of the nation. As a country, we must keep our pledge to the first guarantee of the Declaration of Independence. That is why we say the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and we endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children. (Ha, that will be the day) Our purpose is to have legislative and judicial protection of that right against those who perform abortions. We oppose using public revenues for abortion and will not fund organizations which advocate it. We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life. (Except in NJ)
And as far as Filibustering goes, the Senate can filibuster a bill, a piece of legislation, and not an appointment of a person!
Why is Bill Clinton's AmeriCorps program still being funded?? Are they afraid what the press and Bill Clinton will say about them? Who is really runnig this country and controlling the budget--the largest budget in America's History?
So9
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