WP: Senate GOP Sets Up Filibuster Showdown

[kskiska]

Two Bush Nominees, Both Women, Sent to Floor for Test Between Republicans and Democrats

Friday, April 22, 2005; Page A1

Moving the Senate closer to a historic confrontation, the Republican-controlled Judiciary Committee yesterday endorsed two of President Bush's most controversial nominees to federal appellate court, and Democrats vowed once again to use the filibuster to block their confirmation.

The committee, voting 10 to 8 along party lines, endorsed Janice Rogers Brown of California for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and Priscilla Richman Owen of Texas for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. Both were nominated, endorsed by the Judiciary Committee and ultimately blocked by the Democrats in Bush's first term, along with eight other appeals court nominees.

Yesterday's action therefore sets up a replay of past battles but with potentially far greater consequences. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has threatened to change Senate rules to ban filibusters for judicial nominations, clearing the way for them to be confirmed by a simple majority vote. But Democrats have threatened to bring the Senate to a virtual halt if Frist invokes what has been called the "nuclear option" on such nominations.

Republicans carefully chose their nominees for a Senate confrontation that could occur sometime in the next month, assuming that they can put Democrats, who pride themselves on appealing to female and black voters, on the defensive if they attempt again to deny two women, one of them an African American, an up-or-down vote.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6621-2005Apr21.html

[Pirate Smile]

1. Some more.

"We're in the ramp-up to a great constitutional crisis," Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.

and

"President Bush is responsible for the ill will that has plagued this body for the past few years and the potentially disastrous upending of Senate precedents that we may soon see," said Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.).

and

Lawmakers have been told the filibuster battle may now be seen less as a stand for principle -- that Democrats are abusing the rules by preventing up-or-down votes on judicial nominees -- and more part of a larger GOP strategy to bring the federal judiciary to heel. Complaints by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) and other Republican lawmakers about federal judges in the aftermath of the Terri Schiavo case have dramatically changed the framework for the Senate debate.

[Gyre]

2. What about this is unexpected?

The Democratic Party; if it is to survive, better fight this like a tiger. Otherwise, they're even more superfluous than before (hard to imagine).

Gyre

[Pirate Smile]

6. I forgot to add this paragraph to the post above but considering

your comment about fighting like a tiger, whoever Specter is talking about better back their party.

"Specter, who is battling Hodgkin's Disease, said he has not decided how he would vote on the rule change. He said many Democratic senators "have told me that they do not personally believe it is a good idea to filibuster President Bush's judicial nominees," but "they gave in to party loyalty."

[Dave Reynolds]

3. They just need to fucking do it

and get it over with. The senatorial foreplay is getting to be too much, the suspense is killing me.

[AndyTiedye]

8. There Is No Way Back For Us If They Do

That is why it is called the :nuke: option.
They would be nuking not only the Democratic party,
but the whole notion of opposition parties,
and in fact the whole fabric of democracy itself.

[Dave Reynolds]

9. I'm beginning to think that

this might be a good thing.

We need to start over. I don't have a grand plan to do it, but I'm sure someone does. The democratic republic that was started a couple hundred years ago has been gone for a while now.

Scrap it and start over. As a bonus, the population would be cut back by a shitload.

[mmonk]

17. Starting over is the whole idea

with the republican attempt at getting rid of this check of power so they can effectively change the legal framework of the country for at least a generation.

[merwin]

11. No, there are many ways that the dems could bring the senate to a halt.

This would only block filibuster of judicial nominees... there's much more that we could do to basically halt the process (or at least slow it down to a crawl).

[AndyTiedye]

12. If They Do It For Judges Now, They'll Do The Rest Next Month

Sure we'll shut down the Senate. Just like we've shut down the House for the past 4 years.:-(

[merwin]

13. No, if they try it, I think that the Supreme Court judges will rip them

a new one. They're already not happy with the neocons, to say the least. And, since this directly affects their chosen profession, they're going to be more likely to respond.

[maxrandb]

16. Repukes Will Do It. They Have No Other Choice

The Terry Schiavo case, The Bolton rejection, the pResidents poll numbers, the Repuke Congress poll numbers all mean that they will do this, and the country be damned.

Their little wing-nuts are all in a "tizzy" about losing in the Schiavo case, and not being able to ram Bolton through, that they are turning on the GOP. The GOP knows that, without the support of the "end-timers", their hold on power is OVER!

They've painted themselves in a corner, and have no choice but to do this. I'm hoping they do!

It might just turn off enough "sane" Republicans to return Democrats to power.

The wing-nuts are beyond reach. They are going to vote "Gooper" NO MATTER WHAT.

Can't wait until Dems get back the majority. Hope they are paying attention. The next Dem President that is faced with a Repuke majority better be "very" busy while the Senate is in recess.

[mmonk]

18. I'm hoping they don't

If they rule ADA unconstitutional as a result, my family will have to move because I can't go to my grave knowing one of my sons will be left to fend for himself in a country where he will have no legal standing and can be discriminated against at will.

[Erika]

4. More of Bush's "bring it on" mentality

I suppose he won't be happy until he's completely destroyed the very fabric of this country. Global corporatism profits when countries are in chaos.

[Nothing Without Hope]

5. This is historic all right. We also need to look into the CORNYN LIES

about the legal support for his anti-filibuster arguments. We need to follow up on the report that Cornyn lied and kept on lying even when the expert TOLD him to stop about ALL THREE of the legal experts he claimed as supporting his contention that the Senate filibuster is unconstitutional. This is important ammunition for the Democrats and we need to verify it and publicize it. That story was big on the blogs and then disappeared. We need to follow it down.

The various threads and links and the story were collected here 2 weeks ago:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=315&topic_id=2196

RECOMMENDED

[Pirate Smile]

7. What a piece of work that guy is and he was on the Texas Supreme Court!

Geez, if he was still there, I bet Georgie Boy would be appointing him to be a Judge - maybe even the Supreme Court. :wow:

[Nothing Without Hope]

10. Oh, I'm sure he's getting whatever reward he most wants

for being so very useful to the Cartel.

I wish some organized work could be done to put together and publicize the full story about Cornyn Lying about the legal basis of his filibuster statements. I'm serious about this - we need all the valid ammunition we can get. The story needs to be corroborated and publicized. The nuclear moment is coming.

[radfringe]

14. RUN! They've NUKED the SENATE

http://radfringe.tripod.com/ <--- toon

[fasttense]

15. My of Brush's uniting?

He is not going to be happy until every person in this country is fighting one another.