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.
Kinda like Peggy Hill in King of the Hill. Al Gore, no way in my book, no how, not never. But folks need to stop deifying Bush, take a look at what he did as gov in Texas, for he's following suit, domestically speaking.
I know what you mean about the suit -- wait till they get us for writing this stuff while we're at war, we're just so evil, doncha know. -g-
I use to do the same with my fathers blessings. But by sending their trash back with a little acknowledgment quelled my personal anger. It worked like a charm (for me).
I see quite a bit of demonizing Bush but no one is deifying him. As to his record in Texas, I will take it over Mississippi any day of the week.
You just summed it up. Thank you.
Just calling it as I see it ... check out some of the comments being made on those Bush-photo-of-the-day threads. And the excuse-making for some of the cruddy stuff, that amnesty deal for one thing, well ...
Just moved to Mississippi 14 months ago, have yet to have an opportunity to vote for public office. My husband is sorely disappointed in Lott -- knows first-hand just what kind of go-getter, stiff-spine man he was when Lott was in the House. Getting that Whip/Leader post in the Senate has taken all the stuffing out of the guy.
I agree. But what is apparent is that these congress crooks have not advanced into the computer age. We can all do our communications about these guys and guyettes through our computers the second things happen.
What you interpret as "excuse making" may just be people that actually read the bills being proposed and hyperventilated over and find out that the hysterics are just a bit overblown. Then when they try to bring the noise level down a notch they are accused of "making excuses". I know that "righteous indignation" is an Olympic sport around here but it is almost always based on half-truths, downright lies and hidden agendas.
48 posted on 3/18/02 7:38 PM Pacific by MississippiDeltaDawg
No, having the information in his fbi file entered into hillary, bill's, and the dnc computer base is what took all the "stuffing" out of the guy.
34 posted on 3/18/02 7:04 PM Pacific by AdA$tra
And making phone calls.
Using that logic, there should be no laws against anything because people will break them anyway. My point is that overall, at least the way I read this bill, it places more restrictions on the democrats cash cows than it does on the GOP cash cows. It also goes a long way in limiting the national parties' domination over state parties such as happened with California. Yes, there will be violations and probably by both sides but with the exception of the clearly unconstitutional 60 day ban on ads, I don't see much problem with this. It is also telling that the language in the bill clearly anticipates an immediate court challenge.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.