Lando 
Posted on 05/26/2005 9:46:19 PM PDT by Lando Lincoln
Lando
The only real argument I could come up with for not using the nuclear option would be the old principle of not wanting to back a rabid rat into a corner.
I guess by that logic Bush can just swear them in without even going through the senate, after all, THAT's counter-majoritarian, too.
A fillibuster in judicial confirmations is wrong no matter who does it--like it or not, if HRC is president she got there by the legal process of becoming president; ditto a democrat majority. The minority shouldn't have the right to clog up the will of such a majority. And how does screwing ourselves now so we can screw them later help anything?
Those preparing for the day we're no a majority--and those senators who behave as if we aren't a majority--are paving the way for the end of that majority.
Demonrats have never resisted the temptation before.
But hopefully, it will be the end of some political careers.
Cool flag, BTW.
They're rats and probably rabid, but they've been in that corner for some time, particularly over judicial nominees. Time to deliver the knockout poison and kill obstructionism in this arena. The federal judiciary is more important than social security, Iraq, the budget, etc..., because the decisions judges make impact the lives of Americans more substantially than legislation, particularly in recent years. More voters understand this every day. The payoff if they deliver on the nominees will be enormous, and the consequences of failure significant. We've seen progress since Monday, but they must keep their eyes on the prize and push forward. Frist is doing that, so far, I believe.
We will not tire * We will not falter * We will not fail
Reading all the replies so far tells me that people who call themselves "conservatives" are not really politically conservative. They are instead populists that happen to be socially conservative.
LOL. You really don't think there is a difference, do you?
Oh well. I guess I'll have to start using the term "classical conservative" now that the populist/fundamentalists have taken over.
Feel free to share your definition of "classical conservative".
I agree that many conservatives are overreacting to the compromise. But I also belive that the lamestream media is showing their bias when they label it a defeat for Bill Frist.
I just wish that the pubbies had gotten more mileage out of the judges that were being blocked. In my area, some group finally started running some ad that was on the air yesterday. It was a great ad about Janice Rogers Brown. The argument should have been moved away from an discussion about Senate rules and tradition and to the actual consequences of what was being blocked.
bttt
I'm with Bainbridge. Good post.
Bainbridge is a joke. From his own very special website - professorbainbridge.com
Over at NRO's Bench Memos blog, Jonathan Adler and somebody named Mark Levin are debating the filibuster deal. Levin's been banging away at me in several posts (and in the process violated basic blogosphere etiquette by failing to link to those of my posts he's criticizing). In contrast, Adler gets it exactly right:
I don’t think many conservatives maintain that the filibuster is useful as a tool to block judges. Rather, I think many conservatives believe that the filibuster is a useful legislative tool insofar as it allows conservatives to block the growth of government. The connection is that many conservatives rightly feared the proposed rule change for judicial nominations would lead to the complete elimination of the filibuster for all purposes the next time conservatives sought to block a liberal initiative. That is, getting rid of it where it is improper would lead to getting rid of it where it is proper and useful.
Update: I think I hit a sore spot. Levin sent me this email and told me to post it:
"Somebody named Professor Bainbridge is a little thin-skinned. I don't post my comments. NRO does. Take your etiquette complaint up with NRO. Having said that, IMHO your filibuster argument was George Will redo. Maybe you should have linked to his original story, just for comparison purposes. You know, blogger etiquette and all. I didn't think it was particularly harsh criticism, but you didn't handle it very well. Good luck to your students."
Umm. And I'm the one who's thin skinned? What a jerk, IMHO. But compare, contrast, and decide for yourself.
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