Republicans & Conservatives: Archives

P.S.: Can anyone find a complete list of the Fourteen?

So far I’ve picked up on McCain, Graham, Lieberman, and Byrd.

Shucks, now they might just up and vote for these guys. Then we’ll all be in trouble because they’ll have time to start pass laws.

Supposedly Warner & Byrd put the deal together.

This is a huge boost for McCain.

It’s a boost for moderate politicians, Dem & Rep. Losers are the far left & Reid, & even more so, Frist & the far right.

And the more I think about this, the more I realize just how much Frist lost. The Republican ‘majority of the majority’ in the Senate just watched a group of moderate Republicans bolt. At the moment Frist’s wing has lost control of the legislative agenda. In terms of political infighting, the majority party just saw its middle-of-the-road Senators side with Dems. Collins, Snow, Chaffee, and others…

The filibuster remains intact should a Supreme Court fight come soon. In tactical terms, Reid lost, because several judges will be confirmed over Dem wishes. But in strategic terms, Reid holds onto the tool needed for the more important issue; there will be bigger fish to fry; and all this, while working with a minority, in a relative position of weakness.

Dang, Frist got outmanuevered by Reid again!!! This guy Reid is good! I just love this kind of politics…

phx8, I have to disagree with you here. Frist did not lose. He retains the ability invoke the nuclear option next year, and he got the Dem’s to back off on 3 nominees who could be appointed to the Supreme Court within the next two years.

The American people won by not having the slippery slope of ending filibusters proceed. But, this is only a temporary agreement for this year of Congress.

Nothing was permanently resolved, and Bush will get the folks he needs into the circuit court system. There is little doubt in my mind that this was probably the only compromise that could have averted the nuclear option.

Folks can play what if for the next few months as to who might have come out ahead had the nuclear option been imposed. But, one thing is fairly certain, the Supreme Court is going to become decidedly conservative and then judicial activism will run rampant over much of the policies established from the 1930’s through the 1970’s. Which has been the right’s goal all along.

David,
Yes, the nuclear option could be back on the table again. However, the same Senators could also bolt again.

I agree that, on the whole, the country wins. A legislature which could swing from one political extreme to the other every few years is in no one’s interest.

It remains to be seen what will happen with the balance of the Supreme Court. Keep in mind many relatively moderate conservatives- Kennedy, Sandra Day, Souter- were brought in by Republicans.

And undercurrent for the Republicans is the issue of Presidential politics. If McCain runs, and Frist runs, McCain just positioned himself in the middle, and Frist now finds himself to the right, with the stain of ineffective Senate leadership on his record.

Of course, a lot can & will happen between now & then, but it’s one of the most interesting political plays I’ve seen in a long time.

The good thing is that it’s hard to figure out which one of you - phx9 or David - is right. That’s how a compromise is supposed to work. It’s nice to see that the moderates still have a bit of clout left somewhere in Washington. Lord knows, if we couldn’t find it in the Senate, we weren’t going to find it anywhere. For one day, at least, we can feel a bit better about the possibility of sanity in U.S. politics. The founding fathers would be proud (though I’m sure they’d think they could have outmaneuvered this group of amateurs).

Reed, agreed. Well said.

Reed,
Phx9? Argh. I’ve been one-upped!

This compromise is an imperfect victory for Frist and all Republicans. I have been against the nuclear option ever since Frist introduced the idea. I have always said it would make the Republicans look bad to change the rules in their favor, it sounds more like something the left would do.

The reason why this is great for Republicans is because the far left Democrats put the last nail on their own coffins. I had to laugh at all of the Democrats who droned on about the constitution. I’m sure their ignorance of the constitution will hurt them in their upcoming elections.

Republicans have maintained their dignity and if they stay strong they will gain the seats in the Senate that they need to override a filibuster.

This business about Frist being a far right Republican is ridiculous. Frist is definitely a moderate and often sides with the Democrats. Most of the time he disgusts me, and his inability to resolve this situation shows that he is not fit to be the majority leader. He constantly demonstrates the weaknesses of our party.

McCain will never win the GOP nod for President. He can’t count on the fundamentalist Christian vote because he is pro-choice. He also threw away the votes of those who oppose illegal immigration by introducing a bill that will grant amnesty to illegal aliens, something I think will be a very big issue in the upcoming election. He is a loose cannon and the Republicans are getting sick of dealing with him.

Norman,
Frist is supposedly positioning himself to run for President, and he’s courting social conservatives, counting on them to support his bid. It’s early, but there’s a good chance his rival will be McCain.

Remember, Frist picked this fight. It was his call, his choice. He walks away with three more judicial confirmations than he had before, which is better than none. Meanwhile, the other filibustered nominees are doomed.

If the Senate were split 50/50 it could be considered a more or less even outcome. However…

Frist is Majority Leader, with 55 votes to the Dems 45 votes. He has just watched seven Repubs publicly bolt the party, and reject his leadership. Reid repeatedly approached Frist with versions of this compromise, and Frist rejected it. Now the compromise has occurred over Frist’s objections. Frist can spin it for all he’s worth, but he got publicly b****-slapped by McCain.

Reid & the Dems were playing a hand from a position of weakness; only 45 votes, right? No ability to choose the fights, control committees, etc. Suddenly seven Republicans bolt the party line, joining seven Dems from the minority party, moderate Dems who, as members of the minority party, have little significant clout. So! The Dems have strengthened their hand by splitting Republican moderates & conservatives.

For Dems, this could be a tremendous strategic accomplishment. Giving away three judicial nominees in exchange for publicy splitting the opposition is brilliant. And for this, I’d credit Reid with a strategic move of political genius.

Isn’t Frist the one who looked at a video tape of Schiavo and pronounced her cognitive?

It was the leadership of Sen. Warner (R) and Sen. Byrd (D), as I understand it, who were the leaders of the compromise. Reid and Frist could not/would not agree/cooperate. It took two of the most senior Sen.’s from both sides who love, respect, and have lived in the Senate for decades to preserve the deliberative and balanced tradition of this most venerable institution of US government.

They did an end run around the young impetuous upstarts who want what they want now and lack any of the respect or love for the workings of the Senate with its uniquely indispensable role in permitting cooler heads, moderation, and compromise to prevail.

7 Republicans and 7 Democrats CONSERVED the venerable character of the Senate. That is a conservativism I can be endeared to.

Reed,

I’d agree that your sentiment is dead on, and I’d further insist that it would resonate throughout the Lefty blogsphere tonite.

I can attest, that many of us wanted Reid & Co. to fight - a direct result (IMHO) of how the Dems positioned themselves politically, and unequivocally stated their position. Meaning, we were confident in being in the better situation to prevail in the end.

Yet, there is no animosity or sense of failure being expressed tonite on the Left blogs. And, although we’re dismayed by the fact that Owens, Brown and Pryor may be confirmed, we read it as a face-saving concession to Frist with an immediate impact. While many on the Right are spinning this as the Republicans maintaining leverage that can be exercised later, they of course are misreading the unwritten ‘predictors’ that render the notion a hollow threat.

However, if Chops believes that Frist ‘…profited from the confrontation’, that the Dems ‘…can be accused of selling out’, and that the Republicans ‘…did not make any concrete concessions’ - then he’s woefully oblivious as to what is occurring in an enraged, vengeful Conservative Echo Chamber, even as I write this.

From the Free Republic Message Board to the Right bloggers, it is clear that nothing less than a clear victory was acceptable! Words like ‘capitulation’, ‘cowardice’ and ‘weakness’ are being used to describe the Republicans’ acceptance of this compromise. While Frist is being eviscerated for his colossal failure, and John McCain is being harangued for being a traitor.

The problem for the Republicans right now, is that there are not enough folks like Chops and Norman calmly putting their partisan spin on this obvious defeat. There are far too many on the Right who were never genuinely vested in this fight. Instead, this was a win at all cost war, fought by desperate partisans anxious to put one in the win column.

Frist and the GOP, will weather the expected backlash from Dobson and the Evangelicals, not worried in the least they will make good on any threat to bolt the party, or back Giuliani in ‘08, for that matter. But, what of that insensed group of ‘true believers’ who defended DeLay and Cornyn, and argued how they could understand why the Christian Conservatives felt the Democrats hated them because of their faith?

This was a MAJOR sell-out of the Republican Party rank and file. The people who elected a Republican President and enlarged the Republican majority in both houses of Congress did not do so to give Teddy Kennedy and Charles Schumer veto power over our judicial nominees. Now, the Democrats can block whatever Supreme Court nominations they please simply by crying “extremist”. Last night’s “compromise” set the stage for what very well could be our nation’s second civil war.

It seems to me the Repubs lost big on this. They only get a guarantee for three nominations and the judicial filibuster can still be used. Sure, the nuclear option is still on the table but they know it’s not a politically viable solution. And yeah, Bert, the Freepers are foaming at the mouth on this.

Bert -

I’m such a poker-faced partisan spin M.D. that I didn’t even support the nuclear option when it looked likely. Mad skillz, that’s what it is!

Finally…finally extremist positions and politics of the far right and far left have had a bucket of cold water thrown on them. The TRUE MINORITY of the Senate…the moderates of both parties…have bonded together to reject the “hyper-partianship” that has marked recent elections and political debates. IMO this agreement is the political equvilant of a “time out” for a small child…and was much needed. Smell that fresh air? I’m breathing deeply with a smile on my face for the first time in many, many years.

I think the basic problem here is that the Republican party is trying and has been trying to get elected and appointed leaders more to the right than the public they represent. The percentage of representatives in Texas who belong to the GOP actually exceeds the percentage of the population that is Republican, for example.

The trouble is, some in the Republican party believe they need to save society, and to do that must saturate the country in Far Right leadership. They reason that given time, people would follow the lead of those in office and those writing and interpreting the laws.

This can go only so far before the people start resenting all the power politics and strife that it takes to push political power past where the public will really support it. If the Republicans keep these kinds of tactics up, they may end up crossing a line they will regret politically later on.

To me it looks like Jim T is right - it’s a (rare!) victory for moderation. How can I tell? because both the far left and far right are mad as hell.

DailyKos is littered with stories like “Where is the courage? Where is the courage to stand up and refuse to be bullied—yes, bullied—into a false compromise?” and quotes from, eg, Fiengold: “Democrats should have stood together firmly against the bullying tactics of the Republican leadership abusing their power as they control both houses of Congress and the White House. Confirming unacceptable judicial nominations is simply a green light for the Bush administration to send more nominees who lack the judicial temperament or record to serve in these lifetime positions.”

But there’s also a quote from Dobson: “This Senate agreement represents a complete bailout and betrayal by a cabal of Republicans and a great victory for united Democrats. Only three of President Bush’s nominees will be given the courtesy of an up-or-down vote, and it’s business as usual for all the rest. The rules that blocked conservative nominees remain in effect, and nothing of significance has changed.”

This appears to be politics at it’s best. Everybody wins (or5 think the win) something. At the outside, nobody lost any ground.

Like any other game (politics is certainly that) all contestants can claim some small measure of accomplishment, even in defeat.

I’ve been one-upped!

Sorry, phx8. Guess you’re not ph9 with that.

Finally…finally extremist positions and politics of the far right and far left have had a bucket of cold water thrown on them.

Agreed. Fourteen cheers for these folks.

While Frist is being eviscerated for his colossal failure, and John McCain is being harangued for being a traitor.

I think Frist did screw up by not getting out in front of this. Instead, he’s quoted as saying, “I am not a party to it.” This makes him look weak when he might have been seen as the peace-maker, losing some votes on the fringe but gaining some in the middle. McCain, on the other hand, looks both level-headed and strong. The extremist right has never liked him, and he’s just gained more credibility among independents. In the end, if he’s nominated, the far right will have nowhere else to go.

Reed, if McCain is nominated, the far right will abandon him for someone (anyone) else like they did with GHW Bush in 92,

George H.W. Bush’s 1992 defeat provoked celebration not just in Clintonite Little Rock but also in some corners of conservative America. “Oh,yeah, man, it was fabulous,” recalled Tom DeLay, the hard-line Texas congressman, who’d feared another “four years of misery” fighting the urge to cross his party’s too-liberal leader.

At the Heritage Foundation, a group of right-wingers called the Third Generation conducted a bizarre rite involving a plastic head of the deposed Bush on a platter.

Three cheers for the Democrats and the GOP moderates!

BTW, it’s hilarious to hear Reid called “far left”. That guy is only slightly less conservative than “Zig-Zag” Zell Miller.

AP -

This is slightly off-topic, but do you think Reid would have a chance as a candidate in ‘08, possibly as Hillary’s VP? He’d carry Nevada with him, and could probably help an otherwise eastern-oriented team in the other swing mountain/desert states.

Didn’t anyone watch the speech that the pitifull 14 gave at the press conf.? The so called deal was for 5 of the 7, not 3. Three right away and two a lil later,2 more, no agreement one way or the other.

I don’t know who won, I know who lost, McCain.

Both Ried and Frist were over their heads and did not have the guts to back off, so they used the mods to get each of them out of a pickle. Niether of them are very good leaders as they both allowed themselves to be backed into a corner. The ugly part has yet to come, and that will be when Bush nominates a supreme court justice. We will then see who has the power

“if McCain is nominated”
McCain couldn’t beat a drum. Nominating McCain is akin to holding the innauguration ceremonies for the Democrats during the RNC.

David,
Like judicial activism hasn’t run rapmant over the 60 years with a liberial court?

Ron Brown, you are right, it has. One good turn of the screw on the rack deserves another, eh? I love Republican logic.

(He got to murder someone, so I should get to, too! But, I am a better person when I do it, more compassionate, don’t you know?)

James, not according to the news. Cornyn said today the 14 met in secret, and the rest of the Senators did not know the deal that was being brokered. Frist alluded to the same thing in his speech today.

So your claim that Frist and Reid had anything like control over the compromise is just plain not born out by the statements being made in the Senate today, unless, of course, you want to call Cornyn and Frist liars.

After some more checking I find that the “Rhinocrats” also agreed(although not written down)that the 3 nominones for for the 6th circut will also get an up/down vote.
Of those 3, only 2 the Dem’s really had a problem with but all had been stalled, thats where the 5 comes from.

It’s extremely difficult to tell who is and who isnt lying anymore.

I still think the real truth as well as who really holds the pwoer will be revealed if and when it comes time for Bush to nominate supreme court justices.

McCain couldn’t beat a drum.

I hope not, since I’d like to see a Democratic president next time around. But give McCain his due. He’s widely seen as the bravest and most honorable Republican at the federal level right now, and he’s currently second only to Giuliani in the presidential polls (though it’s still far too early for that nonsense). I think the heartland Republicans recognize McCain as one of them but the fringe can’t stand a person with much integrity. The more rabid bloggers will try hard to bring him down.

Reed,

Do you have a link for that poll?

The one I saw where republicans were polled(presented on “hardball” I have no link..lol) showed McCain not even making the list of the top 5, thats all that was covered. Frist was #1.

If McCain ever runs for President( with a party nomination) it would have to be a “D” behind his name.

McCain is popular with voters in general, but he is not strongly organized to win the Republican nomination. Too bad.

Frist is not really gonna make it. Jeb is just a pipe dream. Watch George Allen.

Beagle,

The poll can be found at http://www.pollingreport.com/2008.htm. I think I originally saw this one on Meet the Press.

If you look at the issues, McCain has little to recommend him as a Democrat. But his character often strikes me as rather unusual for his party, at least in our current age.

Unfortunately, the candidates who would do the best at the polls in November never make it there, because they don’t make it through the primaries. McCain would be an excellent choice for President, and could win over a LOT of Democratic voters, but the GOP would never nominate him. Instead they’re gonna nominate a right-wing nut, and the Democrats are going to nominate a left-wing nut, and the polls are going to divide Red State/Blue State yet again.

Both parties have good options, but neither will exercise them. Thus the flaw with the two-party system.

Watch George Allen.

I agree that Allen is someone who bears watching on the GOP side. He’s about right to win the nomination. Wish I could stomach him.

It seems that the comment by Ron Brown was ignored. Ron, I saw it and agree. It is exhausting sometimes to see the far left describe the current set of judicial nominees as “activists” without some sort of balance pointing out that, the Supreme Court, as well as the district courts have been practicing judicial activism for decades. Perhaps, it is only called activism if you are on the opposing side of the political spectrum……What happened to the legislature making the laws and the judiciary interpreting only? Rhetorical question?

Sam, what I hear in between your words is that it is now the Right’s turn to install their own activist judges. While I understand that point of view from a competitive sport analogy, I have to say, I don’t believe running a nation like the US should be a sport.

I support activist judges when their activism moves the country toward the fulfillment of the preamble of the Constitution. I find it a bit hypocritical that those supporting the appointment of conservative activist judges are some of the very ones who turned the term activist judge into a dirty word.

But that I guess is politics, making it the dirtiest of all competitive sports.

David,

Actually, I should have been a bit more clear. I don’t support activism by any judge. In my perfect world (lol), the Congress would show some integrity and stop deferring to the courts to make law. They are the ones we have elected to make decisions and represent “all” the people, not judges. Since we do not “elect” judges directly, we have less to say about how we feel about their influence once they are in. If we do not like the way a senator represents us, we vote for another choice. Given our lack of options with judges, I believe they should limit themselves to interpretation of the law as it pertains to the constitution and let the legislature make the laws.

The whole point I was trying to make was the hypocrisy of both the far left and the far right. We have never been more “unrepresented” by our government than now. Both on the right and left.

Sam, thanks, for the reply. While we are on opposite sides regarding activist judges (I view the action of any judge’s pronouncement one party’s interpretation and another party’s activism), we are in agreement regarding the rest of your comment. It is indeed a less than perfect system which leaves middle, moderate America feeling alienated by its own government when politicians proclaim it is a government of, by, and for the people.

David,

Well said…..

In my perfect world (where ever that is…), party affiliation would have no bearing on the decisions judges make, but we all know that concept to be absurd. What human being can turn off all their beliefs while making decisions?

In essence, we are probably closer than you think….

Understand this: McCain will never be elected to the office of President of the US…ever. He is a millstone around the neck of the Republican Party. Any chance he MAY have had… and that was slim… IF it existed at all, is GONE! There will be active campaigns to dump the 7 Republicans who signed on to the “deal” (I prefer the “Sell-Out”) with the Democrats.

Oh, Giuliani can never win the South. Never!

“Longstreet”

“Understand this: McCain will never be elected to the office of President of the US…ever. He is a millstone around the neck of the Republican Party.”

Longstreet,

Yeah, I can see that anyone with any integrity would be. He is the man I would have voted for in 2000.
Probably would have given Mr. Bush a good run too, had Rove not thrown him under the bus in South Carolina.

Rocky, McCain is the man who could have pulled my vote from Nader, as well in the last two elections. I will probably have to write in Nader’s name long after he is gone for all the integrity either of the two major parties put up as candidates.

David,

Where is Pat Paulson now, when we really need him?

But seriously, David,

McCain has his pecidillos. He was after all involved with the Charles Keating affair, however he seemed to right his ship, and I applaud him for seeking the middle ground in this debacle.
The man has done alot to bring credibility to a party that seems to move further right with every passing day.

I don’t like McCain. I heard he fathered a Black Kid somewhere. That’s pretty disgusting.

Aldous,

I don’t like McCain. I heard he fathered a Black Kid somewhere. That’s pretty disgusting.

ROFLMFAO!

Thanks, Aldous, I needed that.

The rancorous bile, the venomous vituperative railing of the far right against McCain does my heart good. And I’m amazed at just how much of this venom is aimed at McCain. It’s not that I dislike McCain- I think he’s a good and honorable man, even though I disagree with many of his stands- but seeing the right and moderate wings of the Republican party split is tremendously encouraging.

Blinded by a self-righteous lust for power, and an almost religious imperative to dictate to others, the Republican right’s control of the Senate is now evaporating before our eyes.

Just six months after re-election (or should I say, election), Bush’s approval ratings are extraordinarily low, mid 40’s %. Approval ratings for the Republican controlled Congress are even lower, 33%. Bush’s centerpiece domestic initiative, The Social Security privatization scheme, is dead in the water.

Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid demonstrated pure political genius by orchestrating the Republican’s nuclear option debacle.

The 2006 midterms just keep looking better and better for the Democrats. Thank you, Bill Frist!!!

It’s nice to know there are 14 Americans…elected officials, even, that have compromise in their vocabulary.

Just my opinion. I believe the republicans lost this time. I don’t think the Dr. has stood up enought to the left standing democrates!

I don’t like McCain. I heard he fathered a Black Kid somewhere. That’s pretty disgusting.

Posted by: Aldous at May 24, 2005 09:37 PM

Republicans must be proud to call Aldous one of their own. I think that statement sums up why the current administration and its suporters are so immoral in the eyes of many Americans…

Rocky, now that is a name I haven’t heard in awhile. What fond memories his name brings to mind.

McCain and I sit on opposite sides on a number of issues and on the same side on a number of others. But, he is a man who has been tested and challenged, and he is defining himself as a person of courage, and committment to his country and its people.

That means he is becoming the kind of person who would move toward what works for the American people instead of following some dogma that evidence shows is not working. I believe he would be the kind of president that I would write often with both praise and critique in the hopes that he would actually care what his fellow citizens thought.

For those of you who don’t know, it was John McCain that forced the Army to admit that Tillman was killed by Friendly Fire. The Army lied to a Soldier’s Family and to the Nation but you don’t hear BushCo condemning it.

There will be active campaigns to dump the 7 Republicans who signed on to the “deal” (I prefer the “Sell-Out”) with the Democrats.

As a Democrat, I really hope so. McCain already got an offer to put a D behind his name. The offer’s still open, as far as I’m concerned.

I don’t agree with McCain on everything, but I didn’t agree with Clinton on everything either. I believe McCain is an honorable man with good common sense. I too probably would have voted for him in 2000 (though that really says more about the “old” Gore than McCain).

BTW wesley, Aldous is a very informed and sarcastic lefty. He cracks me up.

Sorry folks, but 30% isn’t a passing grade, and this comprise only advance three out of ten nominees. The comprise is a failure.

Also, fourteen people usurped the power of the senate.

What is the worst that could happened if the vote to end the debate came before the floor?

It would pass or fail. If it passed everyone nominee would have come to the floor, where many might have been voted down anyway. Only the sniviling senators would have had to go on the record one way or the other.

And if you are concerned about the change in the rules, the senate change the rules all the time. After all in 214 years the filibuster has never been used as a means to block judicial nominiees en masse. It could always be changed back. Not that I believe for one minute that a democrat majority would willing give that power to a republican minority.

All this does is preserve the ability of protesters to shut down the government. Right now, the protesters are all democrats. In the future that may change.

However, we elect our representatives to do the business of goverment, not protest it.

This 30% comprimise is not a comprimise but a delaying tactic… 70% of the posts remain vacant without a nominee to even consider. Thats progress?

A 14-member bomb squad rescued the U.S. Senate from political devastation on the eve of the detonation of the so-called nuclear option, a GOP plan to keep Democrats from filibustering judicial nominees.

The squad — made up of seven Republicans and seven Democrats - reportedly used an unusual and some say antiquated set of disarmament tools that most politicians fear or disdain in Washington circa 2005: courage, wisdom, trust and common sense.

One member of the squad, Sen. Joe Lieberman, all his appendages still intact, coolly noted of the unexploded option that “the bipartisan center held.â€

According to the neutralizing document at the heart of the disarmament, future judicial nominees “should only be filibustered under extraordinary circumstances.â€

Half of the squad members pledged to permit the Senate to vote on some of the conservative judicial nominees that had previously inflamed the passions of their fellow Democrats, causing an escalation in hostilities.

After having stood well away from the squad as they defused the device, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist stated, “I am not a party to it.†Frist had reportedly been planning to detonate the option in the hope of one day ruling over a post-Nuclear Option America.

For now stripped of his first resort — using overwhelming force against opponents — President Bush may be forced to follow historical precedent and consult with senators from both parties about his judicial nominees.

“Such a return to the early practices of our government may well serve to reduce the rancor that unfortunately accompanies the advice and consent process in the Senate,†according to the squad.

Members included Ben Nelson, John Warner, John McCain, Joe Lieberman, Robert Byrd, Olympia Snow, Susan Collins, Lincoln Chafee, Lindsey Graham, Mike DeWine, Mary Landrieu, Mark Pryor, Ken Salazar and Daniel K. Inouye.

In giving thanks for saving the Senate from disaster and for trying to resurrect the Republican-led Congress from its plummeting poll numbers, many of those on the further reaches of the right wing promptly labeled the Republicans on the bomb squad as cowardly traitors.

As I see It

McCain will be the biggest loser in the end. He has no home anymore. He fights against any Republican strategy.He will never rise to a higher office than that which he holds.

The Dems will be seen for what they are? And Americans will see the Hypocrisy behind all this.

Because once again the Senate cannot face an up or down vote because of there self important, self absorded fat heads. They punt again like the bunch of weenies there are.

Bush he will be seen as the winner because he gets three confirmations and when the first scratch that the second Supreme Court nomination comes up the nuclear option is back and now the senate MUST finally face there constituents in an up or down vote on the record. When those so called moderates choose sides what home do they choose there party or there so called compromise?

The Republican leadership will not forget!Niether will there constituents!
Either way they vote they are toast.
Somewhere out there someone is forming a PAC to unseat these seven. I wonder how many will go the way of Tom Daschle?

The WISE SKEPTIC MAKES A GOOD POINT!

I just heard those Traitors just passed the Stem Cell Research Law!!! How dare they? Don’t they know God told the Evangelicals this was evil? At least the Duence-in-Chief will make sure God’s Will Be Done. Just like in Iraq!!!

70% of the posts remain vacant without a nominee to even consider. Thats progress?

Yeah Chris, “The WISE SKEPTIC MAKES A GOOD POINT!” It’s been four years now - when is Bush going to get around to nominating the other 70%? Talk about causing delay in the courts. Speaking of DeLay in the courts… Well, that’s for a different thread.

BTW, please please please purge the Republican Party of all the RINOs. America is counting on you guys to do the right thing.

“McCain will be the biggest loser in the end. He has no home anymore. He fights against any Republican strategy.He will never rise to a higher office than that which he holds.”

Yeah Chris, but in the end, he is doing what “we the people” pay him to do. There is no dishonor in compromise.
Our politicians need to grow up and run the country. Republican strategy is just partisan bullshit.

BTW, McCain can stay at my house anytime.

Hindsight is an amazing thing. People now make comments about what legislation should be in place, recent stem cell bill passed by congress likely to be vetoed by Bush, the Supreme Court becoming decidedly conservative, who we would have vboted for against or instead of Bush if they had run, etc.

The present administration is the one that was voted in. The Republican party gained a majority wherever one was needed. The time for all the moaning and groaning about what they did, are presently doing and, probably will due in the future was necessary BEFORE the election. I realize that if you voted you have the right to complain and criticize but, evidently the Democrats who feel as most posting here did not vote or, there are not enough of them. Understandably there are ranges of positions within each of the major 2 parties from far left and right to the other extremes. Until there is a viable 3 or more party system, you have only 2 choices. You should dance with the girl you brought or, in this case, the blind date that someone brought for you.

steve, are you saying people shouldn’t express appreciation for those they admire in a different party?

Too bad. Here’s a list of some conservatives I highly respect: Bob Dole, Chuck Hagel, John McCain, Olympia Snowe, Colin Powell, and Christine Todd Whitman. So there. I don’t always agree with ‘em, but I think they’re smart, capable, and acting in the interest of America rather than just their party.

steve,

You do realize that even though a Senator may be elected Democrat or Republican, they still work for all of us, not just the Democrats or Republicans.
What’s past is past. Let’s see who is the bigger party.
That would be the one that puts aside the partisan crap, and gets on with the people’s business.
I personally don’t hold out much hope for the extremes. This country has had enough of the far left AND right.
Screw the PACs and the special interests.
It’s time to govern from the middle.

It’s time to end the arguement about who’s doing what wrong.

One thing I am certain of is that if the next election should be taken by a Democrat, there will still be many issues to discuss here at watchblog! Neither party is the divine chosen one with all the correct answers!

American Pundit,

I am not saying that people shouldn’t express appreciation for those they admire in a different party. I never said or implied that in my post.

The message was that we have elected an administration. Some like it and some don’t. My suggestion to those who don’t was that they had an opportunity before the election to get their ducks in a row and, if they had done so would not have as many issues to cause them the discomfort they presently experience.

You took the liberty of advancing your point through the mis-interpretation of mine.

Rocky, thanks for reminding me that senators democrat or republican work for all of us. That’s why they sit on opposite sides of the aisle, create extremes within their own parties, fear the knell of doom if a certain person is appointed to something, stop at nothing to have a “majority” that believe as they do and so on.

I agree that the party who puts aside the partisan “crap” will be the bigger party. Of course when everyone puts aside the partisan “crap” we have one party government.

Pundit…

You do realize if the Republican party purges all the RINOs…the only “evil” forces left in the Senate will be the “lunatic fringe” liberals. Think about it a while. Who would you rather the American people revile…Darth Frist or Darth Reid?

steve, I guess I still don’t get it. Are you saying it’s the Democrat’s fault that Bush won, so we should sit down and sut up? I think you’re better off with my “mis-interpretation”.

Jim, I’d just like to see the GOP become once again a force for good instead of evil. If that means all the good guys in the party - the RINOs - get kicked out and either join the Democratic Party or form a third party to promote traditional conservative values, then the sooner the better. :)

As most things are, this matter is simply analyzed, if one goes to original sources.

1. The Constitution provides for the Senate to advise and consent on the Executive’s nominees for the judiciary, not the judicial committee, or a cabal of senators, acquiring more than equal say with the rest of the individual representatives of each state.

2. It specifies the 2 specific matters protecting our country from within or without, which require a greater than majority vote, neither of which covers judicial nominations, for the sections on the judicial branch provide well for the balancing of the 2 separate branches of government involved in the appointment of judges, not to be usurped by a
fabricated artificial number of Senators required for approval, which would give the Senate more power than the wise Constitution signers allowed.

3. A filibuster is clearly not included therein, because the Senators, clearly directly elected by the people of their states, vote as individual representatives of their people, not in blocks that weight the addition of 10 more people more heavily than the majority of individual votes.

steve, if the election were held today, it is unlikely Bush would win. Look at the polls.

Which raises the issue that the US government does not have a mechanism to remove a President who is failing the majority of the public and nation on so many vital issues. That is one thing Parliaments have over our Congress. Think how much more responsive to America’s needs our leaders would be if we had confidence votes with teeth, like in Britain or Canada.

David,

steve, if the election were held today, it is unlikely Bush would win. Look at the polls.

I agree if you are talking about allowing all that has happened since the actual election to be considered by the voter. You or I could probably win under those conditions.

Doesn’t a Parliament system like Britain or Canada also have shortcomings in terms of majority partys within the body.

Chris,

Just because a man doesn’t follow party lines on every issue doesn’t make him week. It makes him a man that thinks for himself. McCain is that man. As a left-leaning moderate I would certainly have voted for him in 2000 instead of Gore.

If the election of 2004 were held again today, who would win? Bush or Kerry?
I’d have to say Bush, by a much wider margin, as for kerry, do they have a “sea-world” in Mass.?
(perfect place for flipper).

Beagle your killing me.

steve, my understanding of Parliaments indicates their biggest problem is the inefficiency of too many parties. I do not know the mechanics of why Parliaments are correlated with multiple (more than 2) parties, but, they do pay a price for it from what I have read.

David, there’s always impeachment. :)

In a parliamentary system, the electorate votes for a party and the party chooses the leader. I like to pick the leader myself AND our leader doesn’t have to be from the majority party.

I’m not ready to switch just yet. :)

All this discussion is worthless. In the next few months look at results. Actions speak loader than all these words. That is the best thing about Pres. Bush, he takes action.

“That is the best thing about Pres. Bush, he takes action.”

Rolland,

Now if we could just get him to think about the ramifications of his actions BEFORE he acted, everything would be groovy.

No, no, Rocky, you’ve missed the point. ANY action is better than reading, thinking, deliberating, consulting, analyzing, or debating. Those are all for pussies, and we don’t want to be pussies in this country. We want to blow things up to get our way. Or is that the terrorists? I forget, but anyway, remember, ACTION!

MW,

RRRIIGHT

Because of Bolton the SO-CALLED FOURTEEN MODERATES, are running for cover already has it been a weak yet. In your face the spin is already beginning. OOOPS WE MODERATES SCREWED UP