Free Republic

Suddenly, Democrats are all upset with the filibuster now that Republicans are using it. At least some Democrats say it is time to end it. That is not quite what they were saying when Democrats were using the filibuster to stop President Bush's judicial appointments. At least one Senator, Barack Obama, was quite in favor of the filibuster in 2005 when it was used to stop nine of Bush's appointments, including Miguel Estrada and Janice Rogers Brown. In 2005 I contacted my then-Senator, Barack Obama, regarding the filibuster. I asked Senator Obama about his views of the filibuster, especially since...

Groups like the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) have for years labeled crisis pregnancy centers and abstinence-only education as "fear-based" weapons of religious extremists. Now, with conservatives in control of judicial appointments, abortion activists are using their own fear tactics to rally foot soldiers in light of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist's cancer and a likely high-court vacancy. NARAL is motivating its political base of support with a campy, animated feature called "Creatures from the Far Right: Supreme Court Under Attack!" Set to echoing audio of jungle birds and Jurassic stomping, the cartoon opens with a series...

“Expect the worst, and you’ll never be disappointed.” Some people, and especially lots of liberal media pundits, seem to live by that philosophy. As I look forward to the New Year I believe that a spirit of optimism and hope is appropriate. I personally prefer great expectations instead of cynical pessimism any day. So here are some good things I’m hoping for in 2005. On the domestic front, I believe that we are going to see the influence of real, true blue conservatives continue to increase as we work overtime to build and strengthen our base nationwide. The fact is,...

As they have done to many Bush administration judicial nominees, the Democrats have accused Charles Pickering of having a "poor record on civil rights." Ostensibly because of this, they blocked his nomination from coming to the Senate floor. In response, President Bush has given Pickering a recess appointment, which allows him to sit on the appellate bench until a new Congress is sworn in next January, at which point the usual accusations of racism will start all over again. A March 28th 60 Minutes piece, reported by Mike Wallace, summarized the judge's record on race, and it so sharply contrasts...

<p>Washington -- Democrats made clear Thursday they intend to block California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown from the nation's highest appellate court, even as she won 10-9 party-line approval of her nomination by the Senate Judiciary Committee.</p> <p>Brown, an outspoken African American conservative and the daughter of an Alabama sharecropper, became the latest lightning rod for opposition to President Bush's conservative court nominees as her home-state senator, Dianne Feinstein, led the united Democratic opposition to the judge's confirmation on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.</p>