Republicans Preparing to Launch Senate "Nuclear Option"

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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If you haven’t heard by now the Republicans are planning to put an end to filibusters in order to take away power from the Democrats so they can put place into power Bush’s judicial nominations (Including Supreme Court nominations) and Democrats could do nothing to stop them. For 200 years the filibuster has given the minority party a tool that prevents the other party from having absolute power. Quite simply, if the “Nuclear Option" goes forward it will have devastating effects on the entire U.S. political landscape.

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WASHINGTON (AP) – Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell called on senators Saturday to reject a Republican plan to ban filibusters of judicial nominees, calling it “unprecedented, unfair and unwise.”

“Neither I nor any other senator, Republican or Democrat, ever dreamed of taking the kind of drastic action now being proposed,” said Mitchell, a former federal judge himself who was majority leader from 1988-95 as a senator from Maine.

“We had the power to do so, but we refrained from exercising that power because it was as wrong then as it is now. The end does not justify the means,” he said in the Democrats’ weekly radio address.

Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, the majority leader, has threatened to try to push through a rule change to eliminate the ability to filibuster judicial nominees.

Democrats have been using filibuster threats – to stall the nomination through extended debate – on 10 of President Bush’s judicial nominees, which requires 60 votes to overcome. The Senate has confirmed 204 of the president’s 214 trial and appellate judicial nominees.

Observers expect Frist to attempt the rules change before Memorial Day in case of a possible Supreme Court nomination during Bush’s second term. Chief Justice William Rehnquist, 80, is fighting thyroid cancer.

Mitchell said the ability to block judges is an important part of Congress’s power to check the presidency. “The Senate’s power to confirm or reject judicial nominations balances the president’s authority to nominate them,” he said

Frist’s plan is called “the nuclear option” because “it will destroy any hope of bipartisanship and permanently change the Senate for the worse,” Mitchell said.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada has threatened to shut down the Republican legislative agenda, which would cripple the Senate, if Frist succeeds in stopping the filibusters.

Republicans want to “silence the minority,” Mitchell said. “What they are proposing is unprecedented, unfair and unwise. Our democracy works best when the parties work together in the interest of all Americans.”

Mitchell served as a U.S. District Court judge from 1979-80 before filling the Senate seat vacated by Edmund Muskie.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/04/02/dems.radio.ap/

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Re: Republicans Preparing to Launch Senate "Nuclear Option"

maybe democrats should stop their opposition of Bush's nominations for the sake of opposition and Republicans will not have to the so called "nuclear option".

Injectionz
Injectionz
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Re: Republicans Preparing to Launch Senate "Nuclear Option"

More disinformation from the pary of disinformation. Democrats have used the filibuster on only 7 Bush nominees while Republicans blocked confirmation votes on more than 60 of Clinton's. And Clinton's nominees were far less ideologues than Bush's. More of "do as I say, not as I do" hypocrisy.

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Re: Republicans Preparing to Launch Senate "Nuclear Option"

Frist who is leading the call to rid the filibuster just 6 years ago used it to stall a Clinton nomination. Hypocrisy at it's finest.

Injectionz
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Re: Republicans Preparing to Launch Senate "Nuclear Option"

^ you guys dont forget that clinton never enjoyed the party majority in the congress like bush does

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Re: Republicans Preparing to Launch Senate "Nuclear Option"

^ that is the ineptness of democrats.
Seminole, everytime he nominates someone, he is told by the back channels or press statement by esteemed dems that this candidate stands no chance so keep that official record in the cobwebs where it belongs.
UTD,dont worry dems will elect a president sometime this century and they may even have the majority in the senate as well...just mabe. :)

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Re: Republicans Preparing to Launch Senate "Nuclear Option"

Until then Kaleem it's about limiting the damage done.

Punjab, Pakistan
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Re: Republicans Preparing to Launch Senate “Nuclear Option”

Talk about disinformation…

There is a big difference between between the majority party in the Senate using Senate rules to prevent a vote on a judicial nomination as happened in the Clinton years versus the minority party using the filibuster as is happening now. In the former case, the nomination will fail because the majority will not approve the candidate. In the case of the filibuster, the judge would be approved by a majority vote of the Senate but the Democratic minority prevents that vote from occuring.

In 1968, the GOP successfully filibustered Lyndon Johnson’s nomination of Abe Fortas as Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court (he was already on the Supreme Court as an associate justice). In no case during the Clinton presidency did the GOP, ** as a party, ** defeat a Clinton judicial appointment by filibuster.

The use and frequency of the filibuster by the minority party to defeat Bush judicial nominations who have the support of the majority of the Senate is unique in history.

UTD and Seminole: Come on guys. At least be intellectually honest about what is currently going on. IMO, the Democrats have made a very foolish mistake in choosing this route. It’s going to be a long, long time, if ever, before the Democratic party gets to a filibuster proof 61 Senators. Now, as long as the GOP has at least 41 Senators, they have the historical precedent to filibuster any and every jduicial nomination by a Democratic President.

There once was a gentlemen’s agreement between the parties that as long as 51 Senators supported a nomination, that was it. End of story. Now you need 60 Senators to approve and will need 60 Senators to approve forevermore.

Some might view that as a positive change. I have my doubts.

All that said, I think it would be worse to change the filibuster rules. If you take away the filibuster right on judicial nominations, from what do you take it away next?

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Re: Republicans Preparing to Launch Senate "Nuclear Option"

The showdown has been setup for next week. Republicans known for changing the rules when it suites them (ethic rules changed for Tom Delay last year) will now try and disassemble part of the check and balance system that has been in place for over 200 years.

The man leading the charge Bill Frist attempted to use the check and balance filibuster against a Clinton judicial nomination in 1994, so it was okay then but isn't now as it doesn't suite the Republicans.

The Republican claim that Democrates are denying Bush's picks is simply a lie as the vast majorty have gone through, in fact Bush had the most lower-court confirmations of any president in a first term over the past 25 years.

Bush once joked that it would be much easier to rule be decree and it seems that Frist thinks so to, as myvoice states above “If you take away the filibuster right on judicial nominations, from what do you take it away next?”

Next week the gloves come off.

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Re: Republicans Preparing to Launch Senate “Nuclear Option”

Senate Republican leader Bill Frist defused.
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Compromise In Filibuster Showdown

CBS/AP) In a dramatic reach across party lines, Senate centrists sealed a compromise Monday night to clear the way for confirmation of many of President Bush’s stalled judicial nominees, leave others in limbo and preserve venerable filibuster rules.

“In a Senate that has become increasingly partisan and polarized, the bipartisan center held,” said Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., one of 14 senators seven from each party — to pledge their “mutual trust and confidence” on the deal.

“The Senate is back in business,” exulted Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., reflecting the view that a showdown would have would have had a long-term detrimental impact on Congress’ ability to conduct the nation’s business.

Under the terms, Democrats agreed to allow final confirmation votes for Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown and William Pryor, named to appeals court seats. There is “no commitment to vote for or against” the filibuster against two other conservatives named to the appeals court, Henry Saad and William Myers.

The agreement said future judicial nominees should “only be filibustered under extraordinary circumstances,” with each Democratic senator holding the discretion to decide when those conditions had been met.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/05/23/politics/main697154.shtml

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Re: Republicans Preparing to Launch Senate "Nuclear Option"

Noora Kushti at it's best..

Note: for the benefit of the goras and brown sahib(a)s, Noora Kushti is the equivalent of a WWE bout..

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Re: Republicans Preparing to Launch Senate “Nuclear Option”

Wouldn’t the more appropriate comment be: “Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid Defused.” Or “Democratic Filibuster of Three Bush Judicial Nominees is Defeated.”

Nice spin though UTD. Let’s see now. The DEMS were blocking a vote on 5 nominees and have been forced to allow a vote on 3 of them. So the GOP goes from 0 for 5 to 3 for 5 and you claim a defeat for Sen. Frist???

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Re: Republicans Preparing to Launch Senate "Nuclear Option"

It was a good compromise, no one is really happy with it myvoice.