"Freakin' Phenomenal!"
Posted on 07/03/2005 10:52:40 AM PDT by Carl/NewsMax
Sen. Joe Biden said Sunday that if President Bush nominates recently confirmed Circuit Court Judge Janice Rogers Brown to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court, Senate Democrats will launch a filibuster.
"If [Bush] sent up Edith Jones, I could assure you that would be a very, very, very difficult fight - and she would probably be filibustered," Biden told CBS's "Face the Nation."
In the next breath Biden corrected himself, saying, "I misspoke, I misspoke. Janice Rogers Brown is what I meant to say."
Asked whether that would break the Senate's much heralded compromise last month not to filibuster judicial appointments except under "extraordinary circumstances," Biden explained:
"[The Supreme Court] is a totally different ball game . . . A circuit court judge is bound by stare decisis. They don't get to make new law. They have to abide by [legal precedent]."
Asked if O'Connor's retirement was more likely to provoke a filibuster than would have been the case had the more conservative Chief Justice William Rehnquist retired, Biden responded: "Probably."
Filibuster on the Table in Court Fight
By PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer 18 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Democratic senators said Sunday a filibuster is one of the weapons in their arsenal when the time comes to vote on a nominee to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
The comments came amid a lobbying campaign by conservative groups opposed to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as a potential successor to the influential O'Connor, a key swing vote in many 5-4 rulings.
These groups contend Gonzales, who made a surprise visit to Iraq on Sunday, as too moderate and are urging President Bush not to nominate his longtime friend from Texas.
A filibuster is appropriate in certain circumstances, Sen. Joseph Biden (news, bio, voting record), D-Del., said on CBS's "Face the Nation" when asked about the possibility the president would nominate a candidate who is a hardline Republican.
"I have no intention of filibustering, but it depends on who the president sends," Biden said.
"I would hope that we don't reach that point," Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), D-Vt., said when asked whether he would support a filibuster.
Leahy, appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," urged Bush to put forward somebody who will "unite the country, not divide the country."
"If you had somebody on the extreme right, just as if you had somebody on the extreme left, that's not going to unite the country and that's going to bring about a fight in the Congress," Leahy said.
With Republicans holding power the White House and Congress, conservatives see the Supreme Court as the final obstacle to control of all branches of the federal government.
Liberals say that given O'Connor's swing position on the court, Bush must choose a moderate conservative — a move that would risk alienating his far-right base but would avoid a nasty confirmation battle with Democrats.
How ANYONE could have POSSIBLY trusted Democrats to keep their worhtless word is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY beyond me! My tagline says it all!
Fool me once, shame on you, fool me 10,000 times, you must be John McCain!
. . . so you can forget any recess appointment. And SDO can forget retirement, too - neither the Democrats nor the Republicans need to settle for less than SDO as long as she waits for her replacement's confirmation. Therefore this "retirement" will amount to a head fake; SDO will still be on the bench this time next year.
Most THINKING individuals already knew this.
Thanks to Plugs, the communist/anti-American/demonRATS position on the SCOTUS is now recorded history. The question now becomes - What, if anything, will be done about it? Will it be exposed from the rooftops and beyond?
From what I have seen thus far, my guess is that by Tuesday no one will remember, or even know he said it.
This prevailing opinion has been dominant, and was the first thing I noticed! I hope our actual lawmakers notice also, and point it out on the floor!
Excellent point (I doubt if he's preparing his resume though)!
You left out Chuckie Scummer. How the people of New York elected him to anything above dog catcher is beyond me....
Thanks for the funny diversion - lol
I would not be the one trashing Brown. Biden and the Dems will be the ones doing that. if they would rather approve her, that's fine with me. my comments only pertain to how we have to play this politically. would it be better to put Brown up there, watch the Dems trash her, lose the cloture vote, then run away with our tail between our legs and appoint Souter II instead?
its hardball politics - either we play, or we walk off the field.
backing the nominee up is fine - but it isn't going to affect what the Dems want to do. they have their strategy, we need to have our own.
"Freakin' Phenomenal!"
Correction!!!!
"Will Filibuster anyone who isn't a FLAMING LIBERAL!"
*bump*
My thought exactly. If Biden had his way, SCOTUS would make ALL but the administrative laws, so Congress would not have the burden or accountability of being involved in messy social decision making.
He'll just copy somebody else's, that's his modus operandi. Just like speeches.
"Bring it." That what I say too. We need to FILIBUSTER Biden and all his cronies!
I would not be the one trashing Brown.
Naw, he's right. They have the power to say that previous precedent was wrong... they don't have to rely on previous precedent, or stare decisis. So in that sense it IS their job to make law. What they AREN'T supposed to do is make law without basis in the constitution.
That's why Kerry misses so many sesssions, he has a liberal on the court that makes new laws for him. And if the court can make law, then the president can veto it.
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