[Alberta's Child]

I read about Pryor's hearing yesterday, and it occurred to me that Michael Savage couldn't have been any more blunt in his responses.

[MJY1288]

We need more people like Pryor

[Bryan24]

We love Bill Pryor here in Alabama.

Bill Pryor bump!

[William McKinley]

At that point, York acknowledged that a number of White House strategists and confirmation observers, "while impressed with Pryor's candor, wondered what was going on." Who is this guy? What does he think he is doing? Is he suicidal? Is he deliberately trying to derail the President's judicial agenda?

York said no such thing.

Take out the White House strategists part, and then you have what York said. The White House strategists part is made up by this author.

[thucydides]

I think Pryor's actions are very significant. He will probably be voted out of committee by a party line vote and join the list of filibustered candidates. For the first time, we have a candidate with the moral confidence to act as one should who knows he is on the right side of the issues. I think Bush is showing his usual political smarts. If the democrats want to filibuster all of his appointees, no matter how inoffensive (to democrats) they may be, he will send them a number of truly dedicated principled appointees that the democrats' interest groups will never let them allow a vote on. Things are being set up for 2004, with the democrats portrayed as total obstructionists against a very popular and even beloved president. I think Bush is in the process of working an ideological revolution in American politics, no less.

[gtech]

And now, at least, they can't hold him up from a vote for not knowing where he stands or for suspecting that he might have been trying to hide from things he uttered in the past. They will have to find other reasons (and they will) and it will become even more obvious that what they are doing is obstructing.

[jmaroneps37]

Just a thought: I think that Mr. Pryor is a fine man. I also think he is a special enough man that he has allowed himself to be nominated for a position that chuckie and his gang would never confirm him to. By 'taking one for the team' Bill Pryor will be adding his weight and the shame of his being screwed, to the whole picture. This whole picture, when fully developed, will show the rats to be the low life swine that they are.

[Brandon]

My guess: Pryor's nomination, and his behavior at the hearing, is a planned sacrifice play. The Committee will vote it out on a straight party line vote. Pryor will be added to the filibuster list. Eventually, the GOP will break the filibuster, whether by negotiation or by playing hardball with the rules, as has been suggested. They will then proceed to a straight up or down vote on each filibutered nominee on the floor of the Senate. All will be confirmed EXCEPT FOR PRYOR, who will be narrowlly defeated, with people like Olympia Snowe voting "no", while every single Democrat also votes "no".

Outcome: The GOP will be able to say (quite truthfully) that we allow our Senators to vote their consciences, and that there is no right wing cabal trying to stack the courts with barbarians -- after all, look what happened to Pryor? The Democrats' refusal to allow a straight up or down vote will be the cynical, empty strategy that it always has been. Bush will in turn campaign for conservative Senate candidates in 2004, and will be able to point to Pryor as evidence of his fidelity to social conservatives.

[votelife]

the comm. vote is supposed to be July 10th, after the recess. Maybe Bush should recess appoint during the break...