General @ Thursday May 19, 2005 09:41 am by WunderKraut
I have very little to say about the “nuclear” option/constitutional option for ending filibusters for judicial nominees. Others have said all there is to say and I do not feel like re-hashing it. Here is my quick and dirty take on it:
1. The same Democrats and media that are now claiming the judicial filibuster is the most sacred aspect of the Senate have called for the abolishment of it in the past.
2. The same Democrats have used or attempted to use rule changes while they were in power to stifle the power of the Republican minority.
3. Republicans did obstruct numerous nominees of President Clinton, while in the minority. (This has been pointed out to me as not entirely true. See comment #1 below for a great rundown. Sorry for my lazyness. See the MSM is good at telling a lie so much that even I begin to believe it)
Ok, so where does that leave us? According to the Constitution, the Senate can make or change its own rules at any time. They have done so throughout history and should be allowed to continue. Also, the Constitution always spells out when a supper majority is required. By not spelling it out, to me and every Constitutional scholar, means that the advice and consent required is a simple majority.
Also, we as Americans have voted for people. Those people make decisions on our behalf. If more of one party is elected than another, means the majority of Americans feel that party will best represent them. Same goes for the Presidency. So, it is a bit unconscionable for Democrats to stand up and with a straight face say that too much power has been given to the Republicans and that Republicans are trying to pack the bench. Well, Mr. or Mrs. Democrat, who elected those evil Republicans? It seems that a little over half of America voted for the Senate Republicans and for President Bush. Even more voted for the House Republicans. Aren’t you elected to speak the voice of your constituents? Explain what the Republicans are doing that is wrong. If their constituents want conservative judges, then they need to vote for conservative judges. Just as Democratic constituents want their elected representatives to vote in a way that reflects their desires. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, that is how it is supposed to work.
The last thing I wanted to say about this whole issue has to do with the future. I have lost count of how many times I have heard Democrats and their friends in the MSM say something to the effect of “Republicans will rue the day they killed judicial filibusters because one day they will be back in the minority and they will wish to God that they had the option of filibustering.” That is the biggest pile of crap I have ever heard. What I am about to say goes back to a previous post of mine. Democrats are ruthless. Republicans are not. Republicans were out of power for so long (like 40 years in the House and almost as long in the Senate - give or take a few years) that they are afraid of losing power. They want to play nice with the Democrats for the very reason stated above. One day they may be back in the minority and they do not want Democrats to pay them back for things they rammed down the Democrats throat. But there is a big problem with that rational: Democrats do not feel the same way. Look at the history of the House and Senate; you will be hard pressed to find a Democrat who ever worried that his actions today may cost his party in the future. Why? Well, until recent history, Democrats were never out of power.
If the Republicans fail to stop the filibuster I can GUARANTEE one outcome with all certainty: The Democrats, when back in the majority, will simply change the rules and end judicial filibusters. Especially if their return coincides with a Democratic President. They have done it in the past and will do it again. Republicans need to get it through the pansy ass brains that this is a war of ideas. The Democrats take no prisoners and make no concessions. They do not worry about the future. When they have power they are single minded in their purpose to enact their agenda. Republicans need to be the same way. Stop worrying about what the mean, old Democrats might do if they get back in the majority. Even if all Republicans bent over and took it, if President Bush started sending liberal nominees to the Senate or if Republicans compromised on all the issues…The Democrats will forget all that once they re-gain the majority. You can bank on that.
All this is summed up best by this Tom Toles Washington Post editorial cartoon.
I hope that others, more articulate than I am, will pick this up and go hammer some balls on the Republicans in the Senate.
3 Responses to “Fighting To Win”
“Republicans did obstruct numerous nominees of President Clinton. While in the minority”
A quibble or two. First, did your sentence get cut off there? It looks like it might have. However, if this is your entire statement, it is not really accurate.
The Republicans were in the minority only during the first of Clinton’s four Congresses (the 103rd). That Senate confirmed all but three of his Circuit Court nominees during the same Congress (and his one Supreme Court nominee). Having a small number returned at the end of a Congress was hardly noteworthy– that happens all the time. Clinton renominated all three to the very next Congress, and all three were confirmed (this time, with the Republicans holding the majority). This makes the rate 100% for Clinton’s nominations made originally to the Senate when Republicans were in the minority.
For the 104th Congress, Republicans held the majority in the Senate (which they maintained through the rest of his Presidency). They got much slower in their actions, but they did not completely obstruct. Of Circuit Court nominees first made to the 104th, 82% were eventually confirmed. Similarly, of the nominees first made to the 105th, 78% were eventually confirmed.
It was only during the 106th where the Republicans tried to run out the clock.
[...] ll this is that now the judicial filibuster has be legitimized. As I have written here and here, just wait until the Democrats are back in power. When that happens an [...]
This entire episode was a joke. Once again the Senate have done nothing and then hold a press conference to try and tell us they have once again done a great job. The fact is the Republicans had enough votes for the nuclear option and were afraid to pull the trigger. The Democrats new this and gave them a wimped out “compromise” because they want the filibuster to be intact when a nominee for the Supreme Court comes up. This is just another great example of our Congress doing nothing important. Yet again…