The so-called deal on the President’s judicial nominations has absolutely incensed the right, relieved the left, and pointed out that Republican moderates are a bunch of pansy-assed, lily-livered weak kneed smurfs who are more interested in winning approval from the liberal media than they are from the base of their own party.
I was pretty non-committal about the entire nuclear option to begin with. It wasn’t until the Democrats started their “end of the world” rants, comparing the coming of an up or down vote on judicial nominees with the coming of the anti-Christ that I started to take notice. Here was an issue where the 10 seat Republican majority could be put to use for a good cause. The idea that a minority should be able to dictate to the President on judicial nominations or anything else for that matter, goes against the very idea of free and fair elections. Why bother to have an electoral contest when the losers can act like winners? What’s the penalty for being, like the Democrats have been, obstructionists?
The penalty is that you lose elections. And looking at Congressional and Senatorial elections, the Democrats were slaughtered. Especially in the Senate where Republicans picked up 4 seats, the Democrats entire electoral strategy failed miserably. But wait! Here come the Republican RINO’s to the rescue. It’s enough to turn one’s stomach.
There’s no doubt in my mind that the Captain has hit the bullseye with this analysis:
In other words, welcome to Versailles. The centrists who made their play for power last night have constructed an elaborately meaningless document that holds no one truly accountable for their actions and only applies to five of the controversial nominees, splitting them 3-2 for the Administration. It may sound Solomon-like, but in the end the nuclear option will return to the table as soon as the Democrats filibuster anyone outside of Saad and Myers. They have not ended the war, but have merely set the seeds for a more polarizing battle than ever before, as accusations of “bad faith” will now be added to the abuse-of-power allegations already bandied about so casually during this debate.In the meantime, the GOP centrists will have explicitly endorsed the use of the filibuster in dealing with interbranch transactions, against the model of equality among the branches, while the Democrat centrists have betrayed the notion that ideology had nothing to do with their obstructionism. The only winners appear to be Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown, and William Pryor, and only because they’ve been allowed to escape.
Versailles is right. Immediately after that treaty was signed – the treaty that ended World War I – British Prime Minister Lloyd George said “This isn’t a peace treaty! It’s a cease fire for 25 years!” He was off by 5 years. World War II broke out in 1939, almost 20 years to the day after the treaty was signed.
It seems clear that the next group of nominees that come to the floor will probably be blocked by the Democrats putting us right back where we were yesterday. This time, the Republicans will have the precedent of compromise going against them as the Democrats will be able to say that they tried to make a deal but the Republicans were not operating in the spirit of the agreement. In short, the Democrats will be able to take the high ground and make the Republicans look like a bunch of power hungry politicians who won’t compromise.
The Captain plans on continuing his “Not One Dime” campaign this time refusing to donate money to the party until Bill Frist is replaced as Majority Leader. I couldn’t agree more. Frist has made one disastrous move after another, including his appearance on the Reverend Dobson’s TV extravaganza thus tying the Republican party more closely with the man who believes that Sponge Bob Square Pants is a threat to children’s sexual development because the character espouses a gay lifestyle.
Phooey!
Frist has allowed Harry Reid to outmaneuver him at every turn. And to make matters worse, he can’t even bring his own caucus along with him on the most important issues of the day including social security and tax reform. This “compromise” should be seen as a total unmitigated defeat for the Senator from Tennessee and should in all fairness, lead to someone in the caucus challenging his leadership. Alas, it won’t happen. Frankly, the Majority Whip Mitch McConnell isn’t much better and may be even more of a colorless personality than Frist, if that’s possible.
So it will be up to others in the Senate to hold Frist’s feet to the fire on this deal if only to get the most out of it that we can. In the end, what we’re getting is less than half a loaf. And the baker doesn’t realize it.
3:10 pm
Rick, you are quite right about Frist. Seems that he wishes to be liked. Never in all his years as he been disrespected. Having the Press pound on him and his actions has made him skidish. Frist had a choice and he was well aware of our conservatives views, he choose to drag this crap out, in hopes that the demoCraps will think better regarding their actions. Instead they mustard an army, including the limpdicked 7 republicans, mccain included, a miserable, get-even little shit, and took Frist powers away. Has this ever happened to demoCraps? Never, they don’t play by the rules. Anyway, all’s not lost, things can be improved. Frist may wake up to the fact that it’s not necessary to be liked by the Press. At the moment he did not vote for us, I expect TN. won’t support him. I know he is not running for the senate again, his home state will let him know what they think about running for the Oval Office. As I wrote Frist some time ago, “Presidents lead, you didn’t, you’ll never be president.
5:47 pm
The Ministry of Beer For Breakfast
Today’s dose of NIF - News, Interesting & Funny … It’s Kerry-180 Tuesday (he MAY have signed!) ... Riley just got her first tooth!
9:51 pm
Great post, Rick, but you’ve fallen for the same anti-Dobson lie that so many other good bloggers fell for. Dobson doesn’t think Sponge Bob is gay. He decried the production of a video that used Sponge Bob and other cartoon characters that amounted to promoting “tolerance”—modern code-speak for uncritical acceptance of all things the left wants. That this video was plugged into schools, taking time away from the things schools are supposed to do such as teaching reading and so forth, made it all the worse.
That’s what Dobson was criticizing. So please stop spreading that lie.
But like I said, otherwise you’ve written a great post about the GOP’s idiotic and pointless surrender.
5:42 am
If only Frist had… hand. I will give him this much: he stuck to his guns with the leadership and especially not budging an inch re Up-or-Down vote with Dingy Harry Reid. Hearing Frist speak on Hannity yesterday, You’d believe he’s already planned to put Meyers up next week, or anyway one of the “unprotected” nominees, just to dare the Dems to make him pull the nuke trigger anyway, despite the Seven Dwarfs.
And getting that Seven-Dwarf RINO freakshow to dance in step? Failure there sickens me but I don’t lay it all on Frist’s doorstep, so much doggie doo in a burning paper bag that it is. Media darling McCain put that bag there, I believe as his ultimate payback to Bush for 2000.
While I’m way pissed at the Senate GOP, I have to agree with Beth’s comment over at Ogre’s place (even though I seriously disliked her sanctimonious tone) that it’s utterly counterproductive to swear off financial or voting support of the GOP at this stage. Then, THEY win.
What I will do is work to support, in any way I can, valid GOP senatorial candidates that run in primaries against any of the Seven Dwarf RINOs (heck, from outside SD I helped Thune beat Daschle…)
Anyway, Rick, I’m adding this well-stated post to my collection of other links on this depressing yet intriguing topic.
7:21 am
A Cold War Moment On Filibusters
I think that might be what we witnessed yesterday with the compromise deal worked out by the 14 ‘moderate’ senators, 7 from each party, to avert the OK Corral showdown over judicial filibusters.
7:59 am
I just CAN’T wait until the next elections in ‘06…...dancing in anticipation of them…..”look ma, I’m dancin’...”
9:01 am
TMH:
Frist is a non-entity, a living, breathing Ken Doll perfectly illustrative of the Peter Principal in action.
This is not to say he’s not a nice guy.
I am saying that he’s not up to the task of Leader. And he’s got his eye on ‘08 instead of the ball in front of him.
Throw him overboard.
7:32 pm
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