LIVE SENATE THREAD: "Nuclear Wednesday" for judicial nominations: C-span 2 - 9:30 am EST

C-span 2 ^ | May 18, 2005

[ken5050]

Welcome, all you Freepers, to the continuing C-span soap operas about judicial nominations. "The Guiding SEARCHLIGHT, " "As the SENATE Turns, "One NOMINATION to Live" "GERIATRIC Hospital" (for all you Byrd and Lautenberg fans out there). Follow along with us, as the Dems raise the level of histrionics, bloviation, pontification, and all around bad acting to new highs, er, lows...

[davidosborne]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1406147/posts

new thread started for DAY-2 ... I expect this series will be one referenced for YEARS to come....

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

He is very sick, he has lost all his hair.

He is taking chemotherapy....that normally happens!

[Timeout]

Here's the Washington Post's list -- with one notable name I haven't seen on other lists:

Democrats Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.), Ben Nelson (Neb.), Mark Pryor (Ark.), Robert C. Byrd (W.Va.), Mary Landrieu (La.) and Ken Salazar (Colo.).

Republican negotiators included Olympia J. Snowe (Maine), John McCain (Ariz.), Mike DeWine (Ohio), John W. Warner (Va.), Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska).

Eeek. Byrd dreams of nothing more than another headline about how he snookered the opposition with his superior knowledge of arcane senate rules.

[EQAndyBuzz]

"Right and if the Dems can peel off 6 Pubbies to vote against a nominee, they fail."

You know what I find hysterical? How come nobody in the MSM is saying anyting about Pubbies pealing off 6 RATS for a fillibuster proof majority?

[Cboldt]

Finally, as of now, Republicans plan to hold a cloture vote on the nomination of Priscilla Owen next Tuesday night.

I just thought of another reason to avoid using cloture on a nominee.

It would completely preserve cloture for legislative matters.

[Timeout]

I'm not following you.

[Truth Table]

Starting day 2.

First: I do not think that the repubs will cave. I heard that FNC is going to be covering the event (kind of like CSPAN2) live this morning. If they do, that will be very good for our cause, because the donks made utter fools out of themselves yesterday. The more people who see this for what it is the better.

Second: After listening to >>3 years of "bush lied" "repubs are eeeeevil", "hailburton runs our country", "We got involved in afganistan because of a oil pipeline", etc, I think that Americans are tone deaf to the donks and their over the top rhetoric. The more they appeal to their base the less they appeal to middle America. They could not be in a worse position.

Third: Any deals behind closed doors is a political bullet in the head of any repub who signs on to the deal. Not just presidential aspirations, but I'd say that the base would be mad enough to recall any senators who vote against the party in this matter. I wonder if AZ has a recall for it's senators...

[EQAndyBuzz]

2307-1?

Anyone? Bueller?

[EQAndyBuzz]

"Coburn rightly referring to it as the "Byrd option"."

This should be the Republicans talking point.

[Cboldt]

A pack of 51 fools can decide to vote DOWN some of the judges in the UP OR DOWN vote. That's what this pack of 12 fools is deciding now. How many will they vote down.

The six RINO's can still say that they gave the president his UP OR DOWN vote. The six RINO's will jointly decide how many of the judges they can vote against...and get away with it.

I agree that this is the only form of "compromise" that is viable. Backroom deals to vote one way or another on a nominee. I don't like it, but I would "accept" it. I can't accept letting a minority of Senators cause inaction on a nominee before the entire Senate. Debate, then vote.

[defconw]

So are we keeping this thread going or are we starting a new one? Anyone know?

[defconw]

Now that is funny! LOL What was he talking about, I was trying to listen to Hannity and C-Span at the same time!

[OXENinFLA]

No, there's a new thread, look in BREAKING NEWS.

[EQAndyBuzz]

"Wow! When Hissy Matthews makes sense it means he doesn't have his DNC talking points. He also confronts his own party about their lies, innuendos and lack of policy."

Chrissy is trying to up his ratings. He may finally have caught on that saying these little tidbits might just get others watching.

[Cboldt]

I'm not following you.

I don't blame you. I had beans for breakfast, and it is likely to be a windy morning, if you get my drift.

;-)

As you know, my recent post to you was merely commenting on whether or not cloture would be invoked. I have been speculating that cloture (Rule XXII) won't be invoked, and just stumbled into the "preservation of Rule XXII for legislatibve matters" reason. Caveat, I have been know to be all wet, completely wrong in my speculation.

I did however start a list of concepts, reasons, signals, etc. that support my speculation. Provided here, FWIW.

• One of the purposes of cloture, in fact the reason it exists, is to limit debate. Frist indicates no intention to limit debate on a nominee.
• Trade 60 vote supermajority to take a vote (of cloture) for unanimous consent (the underlying Senate tradition). This forces individual Senators to individually object to voting, and defend their individual "right" to deny rendering their judgement on a nominee. That is, a single Senator withholding consent to the vote will CLEARLY be seen as an abuse of Senatorial discretion, where cloture is NOT clearly seen as extreme.
• Avoids the rules change pitfall, where 2/3rd supermajority is required to change a rule.
• Retains cloture for legislative issues.
• Filibuster is designed to facilitate compromise. But in a nominee, no adjustment can be made. Compromise is an inapplicable notion when the matter under consideration is a nominee.
  http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1404953/posts?page=13#13
• Moving ahead without invoking cloture can be spun to the gullible public as a "compromise," saving face for the DEMs and RINO's (who won't know what hit them).

[ZOTnot]

Thank you so much!

[Truth Table]

I've been saying this for quite a long time. If the filibuster was normal, than the word "borked" would not be in the political Lexicon, and Thomas would not be a sitting judge now.

I do not know why the repubs are not picking up on this issue.

[yoe]

Trent wasn't called "Vacant Lott" for nothing...............

[Truth Table]

I just called Frist's office, gave them my voice of support and made a suggestion that perhaps Frist (or another repub on CSPAN) should make the point about the "tradition" of filibusters RE: Thomas, {And bork as well}.

I hope they do.

[Fledermaus]

Excellent point. Of course, we all know the MSM and the Dems are joined at the hip.