Janice Rogers Brown would be savaged, but perhaps her nomination and savaging would make a point that the president and Sen. Frist have been trying to get across for a couple of years now.
There are republicans, too many of them, who will jump ship if it comes to a nuclear option vote. The nominee will then fail.
I think we need to walk down that road to prove that point.
Exactly. As much as I love the idea of JRB on the court, if she get's rejected, send up another conservative originalist, and another, and another if need be. In the end, the idea of conservative originalism will win, and that is more important that any one person.
I think we need to walk down that road to prove that point.
It's in God's hands. We have long prayed for God to heal the Supreme Court. But considering the hateful behavior of Christians this past month, it could be that His healing will be to swing the Court hard to the left with yet another "Souter" - so that His own people will understand what happens when they choose self-will instead of seeking His will.
I think you are exactly right about that, xzins, and the Senate shall virtually certainly provide that demonstration/object lesson soon enough. If anything, not a few of those guys are trying to distance themselves from the President in the run-up to next year's elections. They would prefer to campaign on local, not national issues -- at least, that is what I'm hearing right now.
I have a modest proposal, since it is clear to me that the "nuclear option" likely would not survive the caving of "our own people" in the Gang of Fourteen. My modest proposal is pretty simple, really: If the Dems want to filibuster the President's next "controversial" nominee (and all the President's nominees are "controversial," doncha know?), let 'em do it; but make 'em do it "the old-fashioned way."
That is, restore the original Senate rule regarding the filibuster: It must be done around-the-clock, with no "time-outs" or breaks. The floor must be continually held 24/7 in order to keep the filibuster alive. You've seen the "old-fashioned filibuster" if you ever saw Jimmy Stewart's great movie, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
I wonder how many senators on either side of the aisle would be up for something like this. Which is why it could be a most useful rules change. Might improve the level of seriousness and self-discipline over there.