LAT/AP: Senate's 'Gang of 14' Fractures Over Alito

[DeepModem Mom]

Senate's 'Gang of 14' Fractures Over Alito
By JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON -- The 14 centrists who averted a Senate breakdown over judicial nominees last spring are showing signs of splintering on President Bush's latest nominee for the Supreme Court.

That is weakening the hand of Democrats opposed to conservative judge Samuel Alito and enhancing his prospects for confirmation.

The unity of the seven Democrats and the seven Republicans in the "Gang of 14" was all that halted a major filibuster fight between GOP leader Bill Frist and Democratic leader Harry Reid earlier this year over Bush's lower court nominees.

The early defection of two of the group's Republicans, Mike DeWine of Ohio and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, could hurt if Democrats decide to attempt a filibuster of Alito, the New Jersey jurist Bush nominated Monday to replace retiring Sandra Day O'Connor.

If Democrats do filibuster, Frist wants to change the Senate rules to eliminate the delaying tactic -- something the centrist group blocked in May....


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/ats-ap_top10nov02,0,1427185.story

[joeybee12]

1. One day too late...DeWine has shut up after the shutdown yesterday...

...and Salazar has started becoming very vocal in his displeasure at this choice...yeah the gang is fracturing, but it's gonna help the Dems.

[rzemanfl]

2. So fucking what? Make them do it, then shut the Senate down. n/t

[zara]

3. Why keep the filibuster anyway?

Force the Rethugs to change it. At least then, when a Dem is president, its absence will help us. As it stands now, we cave in to the Rethugs, and then we'll also be stuck with their filibusters and cave in then too.
Well, at least they showed some spine yesterday.
Great headline on buzzflash: Spine Implant Succeeds!

[CityDem]

20. Not a good idea

It will be difficult to keep someone like Alito off the SCOTUS because the position is so visible (live tv hearings) and Alito is very qualified (past experience, education, etc.). However, the filibuster has kept a bunch of nut jobs off the appellate courts. People like Kuhl, Estrada, Saad and untold others are not judges today because we have the filibuster. If we lose this tactic, the repubs will ram through a host of appellate judges that will be on the bench for 30 years. I would approve Alito and keep the filibuster.

[anotherdrew]

24. seems to me we have a nuke option too...

the dems could simply deny the repubs quorum.

Anyone seen any speculation on this?

[stepnw1f]

4. Shut the Senate Down!!!! Fuck These Nazis

Do not play their game... shut the fucking Senate DOWN!

[wordpix2]

18. remember the Tennis Court Oath! It started the French Revolution

when the commoners met to discuss the REAL issues the king and his men were evading.

[Tatiana]

5. The author draws the wrong conclusion. This is win-win for the Dems.

If the Rethugs try to change the rules to eliminate the filibuster, there will be a definite backlash against them. It will look like they are trying to change the long-established rules once again to protect their corrupt interests (ethics rules w/ DeLay, gerrymandering to create absurd-looking Republican Congressional districts). They do not have the support of the American people, nor the political capital to pull off such a move.

Remember we've got midterms coming up. Republican Senators who support elimination of the filibuster can pretty much script their opponents' ads while kissing their seats goodbye.

And if the so-called "gang of 14" stays together, a filibuster can be sustained.

Dems win either way, with or without the "gang of 14."

[Guaranteed]

6. Senate's "Gang of 14" Fractures Over Alito

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051102/ap_on_go_su_co/alito_gang_of14_2;_ylt=AuTyTa59rBthwQoj2xNLWdluCM0A;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

WASHINGTON - The 14 centrists who averted a Senate breakdown over judicial nominees last spring are showing signs of splintering on President Bush's latest nominee for the Supreme Court.
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That is weakening the hand of Democrats opposed to conservative judge Samuel Alito and enhancing his prospects for confirmation.

The unity of the seven Democrats and the seven Republicans in the "Gang of 14" was all that halted a major filibuster fight between GOP leader Bill Frist and Democratic leader Harry Reid earlier this year over Bush's lower court nominees.

The early defection of two of the group's Republicans, Mike DeWine of Ohio and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, could hurt if Democrats decide to attempt a filibuster of Alito, the New Jersey jurist Bush nominated Monday to replace retiring Sandra Day O'Connor.

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This is actually a GOOD thing.

[paparush]

7. Big Suprise...that lasted what, all of six months....

[still_one]

8. doesn't matter the democrats better stand together on this one

it will be interesting to see how the so-called pro-choice repukes vote

[Guaranteed]

11. That's right. This is the first step to a filibuster.

We need all seven of our guys on our side.

[IndyOp]

9. Agreed - This is a GOOD thing.

The only reason the gang of 14 formed was because Dems put themselves in a compromising position --

[WI_DEM]

10. It will be an excuse for Frist to go nuclear

but I wonder if Give 'em hell, Harry has an plan if Frist attempts to do that?

[Guaranteed]

12. Hopefully, we'll just shut it down.

I assume that if Frist does "go nuclear," that we WILL, in fact, shut it down, actually.

[skooooo]

15. Can the Democrats shut it down anytime they want??

I don't understand the rules. What if the pugs change the rules again so that we can't?

[Lochloosa]

21. Yes. And that was what Reid showed them yesterday.

Parliamentary rules are somewhat complex, but if you understand them and know when to pull the rug out from under the opposition, you can get away with just about anything.

[skooooo]

22. What if the pugs...

...just decide to ignore parliamentary rules? AFter all, they ended Hearings on us before and didn't follow the rules.... Just trying to understand.

[anotherdrew]

23. any quick links handy to see the senate Parliamentary rules?

Here's where I'm starting...
http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/d_three_sections_with_teasers/process.htm

[wordpix2]

19. good fucking bye, Repugs, we don't need your sorry corrupt asses

[BattyDem]

13. If the Dems back down just because Frist THREATENS to go nuclear ...

then they have already lost the filibuster. So I say go for it ... call Frist's bluff and let him change the rules to protect Republicans AGAIN! I can't wait to hear their explanation as to why a rule that served the country well for over 200 years is suddenly a bad thing. Somehow I don't think it'll fly with an American populace that is slowly but surely waking up.

What Frist and the Repugs keep forgetting is that those Democrats were ELECTED by MILLIONS of people who put them in Washington in order to represent and protect their interests. Taking power away from those Democrats is the same as telling those millions of people that they don't matter.

[kainah]

14. this is just ignorant

I mean, really. The Democrats do not need a single Republican to do anything to carry off the filibuster. How can people be so absolutely stupid and still get to write articles carried nationwide???

Jesse Holland, you need to take a course with kagro x over at The Next Hurrah. Until you can show evidence of successfully completing same, please refrain from expressing stupid opinions disguised as news.

[struggle4progress]

16. The "nuclear option" was stinking in the polls before Lindsey et al ..

.. saved Republican face with the gang-of-fourteen gambit.

[wordpix2]

17. maybe Frist will be indicted by then for insider trading by SEC

we can only hope.