Posted on 03/18/2002 3:25:16 PM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
Top Republican aides predicted Monday that an expected parliamentary fight over a campaign finance bill opposed by most Republicans as unconstitutional would be "anti-climatic."
"I expect that the bill will receive a cloture vote on Wednesday and be voted into law on Thursday," said a top Republican aide. "The horrible fight everyone expects will probably be anti-climatic."
The Republican leadership in the Senate strongly opposes the bill, which would ban unregulated donations to political parties and limit issue advertising before elections. It had threatened to filibuster the bill. But GOP aides said Monday that the bill would pass and that there might be few members willing to delay the inevitable.
Senate plurality leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said Friday that any attempt by the Republicans to delay the campaign finance vote would result in the Senate "working around the clock." Democrats then arranged a photo opportunity of cots and mattresses being delivered to the Capitol so that senators could take naps during the non-stop debate. Republican aides dismissed the move as unnecessary.
"I think Daschle is grandstanding on this one," the senior GOP aide said. "He knows that we won't need any cots."
Although the campaign finance bill - introduced and supported by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Russ Feingold, D-Wis. - has the simple majority votes needed for passage, any bill in the Senate needs 60 votes to end debate, or it can be filibustered. Current vote counts put the number of senators willing to vote to end debate at about 60, leaving passage virtually assured, according to aides from both parties. But according to Senate rules, a vote to end debate is usually followed by 30 hours of final debate. Daschle has said he would be willing to keep the Senate in session nonstop if Republicans did not agree to waive the 30 hours. Several aides to Republican senators said that such a maneuver, though possible, seemed unlikely.
Payback for Pickering? Don't Be on It
But one aide did warn that the Senate Judiciary Committee's refusal last week to let the full Senate vote on District Judge Charles Pickering, a close friend of Republican Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., had caused a lot of tension between the leadership of both parties that could explode. The aide also said that no behind-the-scenes discussions between the parties to relieve the tension had taken place.
"We ain't talking," he said.
The Senate passed its original version of McCain-Feingold last year 59 to 41, but several senators who voted against the measure said they would vote for cloture. The Senate will consider a new version of that bill that passed the House in February and expects not to consider amendments to that bill, according to staff with the Democrat leadership.
Any amendment would force the bill to go to a bipartisan, bicameral conference committee, where Republicans would get another shot at defeating or changing the legislation.
Although he has expressed concerns about a ban on "soft-money" donations to political parties, President Bush has indicated that he will sign McCain-Feingold if it passes Congress.
First I heard of this - I guess the photo-op was deemed stupid and no one reported it.
Parliamentary?? WTF is parliamentary? Shouldn't this say congressional.
No, parliamentary is correct. Refers to parliamentary rules the Senate is run by. Basically means the institutional procedures.
No.
It was SOOOOOO stupid looking but Fox News reported it. As IF, ANYONE of them was going to sleep on a COT! I don't think in a million years one of these elitist jerks even had a clue what they were. SLEEP ON A COT! NO WAY! Those girly guys? ROFLOL!
Dear Mr. President,
Please Sir, ask our senior / seasoned Republican leaders to stand up to the damage being done to our Republic by the Dashle / Gephardt / Kennedy triad.
Sir, we Conservatives are waiting for some thrashing to the obstructionist "evil-doers" towards your administration in Washington, DC
Warmest regards,
Mark and Karen Davis
Tomkins Cove, NY
Trent, you never cease to be a big disappointment.
Alan Keyes, for all his bluster, is a blowhard that's never been elected to anything. If he is so serious about getting into politics, perhaps he should run for Congress before another Presidential attempt. At least that would diffuse the charge that he runs to promote his radio show, and now TV show. Don't get me wrong, I like Keyes, but he has a tendency to be grating.
Pat Buchanan is NOT a conservative. He used to be, but now Populist is a better description. If you still doubt this, read the transcript of his "culture war" speech at the 1992 Republican convention, and contrast that against his positions today. If you still think this is the same guy, I'll have some of whatever you're smoking.
Finally, I firmly believe that most of the "I'll never vote for Bush again" crowd here on FR didn't vote for him in the first place. The man has done exactly what he said he would do, and has exceeded expectations for many of us. Of course, this will earn me the tag of "Bushie", or "Bush-bot", or whatever epithet is being thrown around by the line-in-the-sand crowd today.
I have now donned my asbestos suit.
Fill in the blank.
Well gee, you gotta know they can't possibly catch a snooze between votes on those taxpayer-bought-and-paid-for couches in their offices -- too lumpy. *Princess and the Pea* and all ...
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