Miguel Estrada withdraws nomination

FOXNEWS | 9/4/03

[Thane_Banquo]

Per Fox News, Estrada has withdrawn his nomination.

[WOSG]

Correction: The DEMOCRATS should be ashamed they did this deed.

The REPUBLICANS failed in their duty by not making that deserved SHAME more public and not MAKING THE DEMOCRAT PAY A POLITICAL PRICE for obstructionism.

Here in Texas, we played more hardball and we *may* yet win on redistricting... nothing is guaranteed, but for sure if the Gov decided that Dem obstructionism was 'too strong' to overcome, it would have been over already and the Dems would have won a vicory with no political price.

FAILURE TO PLAY HARDBALL COST US HERE. SEN FRIST HAS TO ANSWER FOR WHY THE DEMOCRATS WERENT FORCED INTO A REAL 24x7 FILIBUSTER OVER THIS NOMINATION!!

[WOSG]

The common ground is that we all have the same compliant. It's the lack of solidarity/cohesion (neos, paleos, RINOs, metas, mesos, broken glass, etc.) and lack of resolve and persistence that pulls us apart.

Well said. ... Our common complaint is that we are not delivering on our political objectives.

If you are going to take Vienna, TAKE VIENNA!

The common and only real solution is to force te Democrats to pay a political price for their actions... In a country where 77% of Americans polled think the ten commandments can stay in courthouses, the Democrats are insisting that Judges who might agree with 77% are 'too extreme' to be considered... The Dmes must be called to account for their abominable behavior towards good Judges.

[Dante3]

This is unfortunatel. He would have made a good judge. I wish Bush and the Republicans would have fought harder for him.

[WOSG]

The sad part is the Republicans will never stoop to such tactics themselves. Democrats have kicked them in the nuts again and their response will be "oh, well". Face it, our senators are spineless. Why does Rove want more RINOs in the Senate instead of a few who are willing to actually stand for something?

Actually, the Repubs do occasionally play hardball - how we played the redistricting in Texas, in alling extra sessions, in going around the 2/3rds procedural rule i Texas Senate - the Dems went to New Mexico, our local paper went apoplectic.

In these games of political chicken the side that cracks loses. ... Here, we cracked first. (

The republicans FAILED TO PLAY HARDBALL. THAT IS WHY THEY LOST. It is nothing more complicated than that. The Dems took an ourageous strategy and te GOP never responded in kind.

The real solution is to force a 24x7 filibuster on the Senate floor over these nominations. I am MAD AS HELL the Senate leaders never did that. That is a failure of courage, spine, and decent strategy.

[WOSG]

Its adisgusting analogy , but the folks who are bringing turds into the picture are the Schumers, Hillarys, Leahys, and Daschles.

The turd they brought in was to filibuster any nominee not meeting their litmus test of extreme Liberalism.

How this turd managed to "win" out is the question. The GOP did some things to try to stop it, but it clearly wasnt enough. The solutions are :
1) Do what we can to defeat this on the Senate floor
2) Do what we can to defeat all Democrat Senators at the ballot box

Sen Frist and crew are in charge of #1. They failed so far.
WE are in charge of #2. Will WE succeed?

[exmarine]

The Republicans are wimpy feminized sissies - they should all move to Canada where the other fems live. As for me, I am now an unofficial member of the Constituiton Party. I'm tired of wimpy compromised pathetic little republicans - and that goes for Bush too - and his begging the UN for help in Iraq! Wimp!

[WOSG]

But the buck stops with the President, who chose this "new tone" nonsense over the strong exercise of power by either (1) Forcing 24 hr filibusters or, (2) Making recess appointments.

To his credit, Bush has made a recess appointment where it was critical - Daniel Pipes. It is disgusting how decent and honorable people are trashed by Democrats. Recess appointments for Judges, which are *lifetime* appointments, are a 'throw in the towel' solution. Estrada would be out of a job on Jan 2005.

The real shame and real pity is how we failed to leverage all the pork and other spending to bend these Dimocrats.

[WOSG]

Yup, those are the odds. we hae barely a majority and Dems who are throwing away 200 years of courtesy and propriety in thei zealous Jihad agains the Rule of Law.

But the difference between mediocre leadership and great leadership is being able to stand up against the odds.
I think of how McConnell managed to bottle up Campaign Finance for 10 years. I think of how Bush masterfully navigated the tax cut this year, or how Newt Gingrich managed to deliver on his Cotract with America in 100 days, and even got welfare reform signed by CLinton by going not once not twice but Three Times to President Clinton to sign it -- Clinton knew vetoing would be too big a political price he finally caved.

If the President said "Job #1 is getting Judges confirmed" and went and talked and acted like he meant it, and got all GOP senators on board a 24x7 strategy, and got Sen Frist to have the cohones to force the Dems hand on these votes come hell or high water, IT WOULD HAPPEN.

The fact is, it fell off the radar screen ... Estrada's withdrawal is a wakeup call for them not to let that happen. IT IS THAT IMPORTANT!

[WOSG]

Everyone stop and think! Estrada pulled his nomination -- what do you want President Bush to do -- lock him in a closet and demand he stay in the nominating process. Give the man a break!

Yes, the President should have asked for 3 more weeks, and Estrada should have granted it, and Frist should have called a vote on it, each and everyday and demanded how much debate time that was needed for cloture and made the Democrats fill the airtime 24x7 until such a vote was taken.

If the Democrats survived 21 days of 24x7 - THEN they win. If they relent (and of course Frist should give no indication of how long his is willing to pla that game) Estrada wins. WHAT WE NEEDED WAS BETTER CLOSURE, ER, CLOTURE.

[WOSG]

They had two options - the nuclear option of destroying the filibuster power, and to actually force the filibuster - Frist didn't have the stones to do either one. I'm sure that both would have worked.

Uh, dont you need a 2/3rds vote to change Senate rules, how could he change the filibuster power here?

I certainly agree he should have forced the filibuster. They began to do it in the spring for about 2 nights, and I was quite proud of Hatch, but it kind of fizzled out, rather than keeping the heat on ... shameful really.

[Natural Law]

Let's face it, we need a different perspective to our elected officials. Whereas we once looked to the GOP for leadership to lead us out of Left-Wing-Hell, we must now look upon them as hired help. Regardless of talk and intention we need to hold them accountable for results. No results = no votes.

[WOSG]

I still wait patiently for the "Bushbots" and the "Republicans can do no wrong, give them more time, blah blah blah" crowd will finally realize that there is no difference which party is in power. Were things all that different when Clintoon was in office?

Both Dems and Repubs are humans and therefore fallible. Neither Dems nor Repubs get their way in DC. But things were VASTLY different when Clinton nominated Breyer and Ginsburg and got Liberal activists on the court.

Your post is bunk, because the difference between a Chuckie Schumer and an Antonin Scalia is night and day. We are in the fight of our life for the soul of the courts. If you dont understand *that*, you have no clue what this fight was about. It is about the Rule of Law and whether the Liberal Judicial activism virus will stay in the Federal bench or will it get overwhelmed by conservative judges adhering to the constitution as written.

Today was a defeat for the Constitution.

[Uncle Miltie]

That's what happens when the Administration leaves you twisting in the wind, and spineless R Senators don't call the D's bluff.

Damned shame, that.

[livius]

Keep us posted on your plans, Trueblackman.

[INSENSITIVE GUY]

Should've made those recess appointments!By the same token the republicans need to be far more aggressive and just downright mean.If it ticks some people off,SO WHAT!

[steveegg]

With Lott gone, I thought all the spinelessness would be too. I was wrong.

One thing I've learned about politics; once "Senator" gets appended to a Pubbie's name, he automatically loses his spine.

[isom35]

The good news is now he's available for the CHIPS reunion movie.

[steveegg]

Instead, the Pubbies let Estrada's nomination swing in limbo for 28 months. How many months has Owens' nomination been in limbo. After seeing this today, how long before she withdraws her name? She sees she probably won't get much support either.

I give that about 6 more weeks.

[steveegg]

Plus, consider the fact that between the three seats that were lost by third party runs over the past three elections and a blown runoff in `02,....

Don't forget the royal screw job delivered by the Wisconsin Pubbie establishment (read, then-governor and now HHS secretary Tommy Thompson) in '98 that proved to be the difference between getting someone of good character (Mark Neumann) and keeping Russ (Slimeroad) Feingold.

[mhking]

By the same token the republicans need to be far more aggressive and just downright mean.If it ticks some people off,SO WHAT!

B-U-M-P!