The GOP's Post-Pickering Strategy

National Review Online ^ | March 1, 2002 | Byron York

[Dog Gone]

Which is why Jim Jeffords is the scum of the earth.

[Psalm 73]

When is the next Senate recess?
Maybe W is storing up ammo (like this Pickering debacle) for a series of later recess appointments.

[gaspar]

The best strategy would be for Bush to withdraw all names for Judicial appointments and refuse to fill any posts until his nominees receive the full vote of the United States Senate.

There is already a shortage of judges on the Bench, and this move would allow him to attack both directly and indirectly such rancid politicians as Leahy, Kennedy, and Feinstein. It would also lead to such a howl that the American public might finally catch up to what was occuring in Washington.

[wny]

It's mind boggling that the pubby senators are actually this stupid. They sit around scratching their heads trying to figure out why the dems crush them every time without even breaking a sweat. I swear, the dems wouldn't have it an any easier if every pubby senator was Forrest Gump.

[hchutch]

Bush was going to give Daschle a shot to be fair with Pickering. Now, the recess appointments will be coming. The nomination of Pickering was not a big deal to Bush, per se, but it did two things:

1. It did Lott a favor, which isn't a bad thing.
2. It also served as a test case to see how fair the Dems would be. Pickering had a good track record, and was somewhat marginal in terms of deserving a shot for the 5th Circuit on merit alone. But, with no serious flaws, he should have been confirmed. Instead, he got Borked. There's going to be payback for this, and this could cause serious problems for the Dems. The trial lawyers will dish out some payback, and that's going to be a problem for John Edwards. Bush also has a good pretext to make a few recess appointments, particularly in the Sixth Circuit, which is only at half-capacity.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Yet the Democratic attack came, and some Republicans were not ready for it.

Is there any question why the Republicans are called the stupid party? Conservative had been warning them that this was coming for months.

[linn37]

Dashle out and out lied about the context of the conversation and is not being called out on it.

[bandleader]

You won't get any argument from me when it comes to assigning the title"Scum of The Earth"to"Jumpin' Jim!!!I guess the the"Borking"of Pickering is to serve as yet another example of"A New Spirit of BiPartisanship"as expressed by Sen.DasHole!!!!!!!!!!!

[hchutch]

While it would satisfy us to see Bush call Daschle and out-and-out liar, it might not be the BEST move, tactically or in the strategic sense.

Bush needs to looks like the guy in the white hat. And the best way to do that is to give Daschle enough rope to hang himself with. Already Daschle's approval numbers ate below 45%. That's dangerous territory for a politician. Remember Tom Foley, the sitting House speaker knocked off by George Nethercutt? The same thing's gonna happen to Daschle if he ain't careful.

[OldFriend]

Jeffords may be scum but he is followed closely by Lott! The jackass hasn't figured out yet that this isn't a game. It's the constitution, it's the Presidency, it's the country, it's the honor and integrity of those nominated............

[Wphile]

It is absolutely incredible to me that the GOP didn't foresee this. Just how blind are they? It wasn't just conservatives who were warning the GOP about judicial nominees. The Dems have been doing it from the gitgo. Did the GOP think the Dems were going to wait for SCOTUS nominee? Sheesh...the Dems have been horrible to cabinet nominees, executive branch nominees and other judicial nominees.

I have a suggestion for a new GOP strategy. GET TRENT LOTT OUT OF THE LEADERSHIP POSITION! Trent didn't see this coming, he didn't see Jeffords coming, he doesn't see anything coming. The guy has got to go.

[Wphile]

I believe you are right about Daschle. I just wish he were up for reelection this year. The Foley phenomenon is happening to Daschle as it does to most Dems who reach national status. Instead of adhering to their constituency they have to adhere to the Dem base. The base is the ultra liberals from the NE and the Left Coast. Once they have to play the national party line, they are in trouble if they come from a moderate to conservative state. Let's hope Thune creams Johnson and let that be a very strong message to Dasshole from his former constituents in South Dakota.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Lott's main diplomatic strategy has been to cave in at the first sign of a confrontation. Is he French?

[Wphile]

Is he French?

LOL! I don't know what he is but I did read another thread that the received the Wallace (Scottish) award two years ago. That surprised the heck out of me.

[The South Texan]

Memo to the GOP Senate and the White House: If you want to get anything done, dump Trent Lott. He has over and over demonstrated he is worthless as a leader. A leader leads and is not a yes man.

[Zack Nguyen]

As improbable as it might seem to veterans of confirmation wars, some in the GOP were surprised by the ferocity of Democratic attacks on Pickering."

The GOP is like a mouse that keeps running down the same path in a maze, over and over again, getting shocked ad infinitum. They are just tone-deaf politically. The Democrats will fight ferociously, using every weapon in their arsenal, dirty and clean, legal and illegal, to work their will on Bush's nominees. Why has it taken over a year for them to figure this out? Were they sleeping during the Ashcroft nomination?

[Corporate Law]

When will the GOP learn and unleash on the Rats? There is so much dirt on that freak show to drive them out of office until the next century. It is time to be PARTISAN, Pubbies.

[Alas]

"We need to be tougher, we need to have White House involvement, we need ...

To get some guts!

Watching the R's as they play monica to every democrat in the country, has got me wondering why they have urinals in the Republican cloak room. The traitorous pair of Snowe and Collins have more male equitoment between then than do lott and his playmates.

The Republicans in the Senate are a waste!

Mark

[Sci Fi Guy]

When is the next Senate recess? Maybe W is storing up ammo (like this Pickering debacle) for a series of later recess appointments

Recess appointments are not a good thing, not a victory. Bush needs to start fighting for his judges.