May 23, 2005
The Constitutional Option, Averted for Now
First of all, I do think John McCain is one of the most unfortunate legislators in history. The man should be in the sequel to National Treasure: he's certainly done tremendous damage to a document that's pivotal to our history. (Though of course it's the Constitution he's trashing, rather than the Declaration of Independence. He's been especially destructive to the First and Second Amendments. You know: the important ones.)
That said, the rightosphere should take a chill pill regarding today's compromise in the Senate. There's a lot going on here, and everyone has his or her own theory; here's Blackjack's:
I'm not going to sugarcoat it -- the Republicans probably could have gotten a better deal than they did. What I can do for you is tell you why they jumped on the deal and it is also the reason why this deal is ultimately a net win for Republicans. The answer is just three words long:Janice Rogers Brown
Did you honestly think that opposition to Janice Rogers Brown was based on political philosophy? Yeah, right -- and I'm Pat Freaking Boone. The reason that Democrats didn't like (read: were scared to death of) Brown is because they know two things:
1. Their most solid voting bloc is African-Americans
2. This bloc is slowly eroding over time.
True enough. But the real reason behind this compromise—in my mind—is a second proper noun:
Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The odds are good—or, if you like, the risk is real—that she'll end up in the White House in 2009. If you believe (as I do) that her true convictions are considerably to the left of her behavior in the Senate, you should take very seriously the idea of her nominating judges, particularly to SCOTUS.
The judicial filibuster is a tool that we may well need someday in the not-too-distant future.
I know everyone's going to get mad at me for saying this, but I'm with George Will on this one:
Some conservatives say there is a "constitutional right'' to have an up-or-down Senate vote on nominees. But in whom does this right inhere? The nominees? The president? This is a perverse contention coming from conservatives eager to confirm judges who will stop the promiscuous discovery by courts of spurious constitutional rights. And conservatives eager to confirm judges respectful of the Constitution's text should not read its stipulation that no nominee shall be confirmed without a favorable Senate vote as a requirement that the Senate vote.    Some conservatives oddly seem to regret the fact that the government bristles with delaying and blocking mechanisms—separation of powers, bicameral legislature, etc. The filibuster is one such mechanism—an instrument for minority assertion. It enables democracy to be more than government-by-adding-machine, more than a mere counter of numbers. The filibuster registers intensity, enabling intense minorities to slow or stop government.
    The crucial, albeit unwritten, rule regarding judicial nominees was changed forever 18 years ago by the Bork confirmation fight: Now both sides in the Senate feel free to judge and accept or reject nominees on the basis of their judicial philosophies. So, conservatives, think:
    The future will bring Democratic presidents and Senate majorities. How would you react were such a majority about to change Senate rules to prevent you from filibustering to block a nominee likely to construe the equal protection clause as creating a constitutional right to same-sex marriage?
  Â
 And pruning the filibuster in the name of majority rule would sharpen a scythe that one day will be used to prune it further. If filibusters of judicial nominations are impermissible, why not those of all nominations—and of treaties, too?
Let's try to think long-term, here.
Hat tip: Jeff G., with whom I cannot agree this particular time.
I actually agree that the filibuster didn't need to be thrown away. I think a modification of the filibuster rules would have been the most appropriate: let the minority party expend one filibuster per 6 month period, so that they have to pick only those nominees they consider the most egregious, to block. For the rest of them, don't let the minority party grind the whole government to a standstill.
I don't understand what makes anyone think if the roles were reversed (as they may be someday) that the democrats would hesitate to change the rules to end a republican filibuster.
They have no problem exercising political power.
I think you've hit the nail on the head: I don't think it's likely that Hillary will win in 2008, but as you put it, "the risk is real" that there will be a Democrat President in 2008, 2012 or 2016, and the threat is inevitable that there will someday in my lifetime be a Democrat president, and the threat is high that there may yet be a non-GOP President and non-GOP Senate concurrently. History tells us that one-party dominance is never sustained perpetually; the other side bitches and whines and moans and eventually figures out what it has to do to get electable again. Sometimes it takes years, sometimes decades. And we CANNOT have more Breyers or Souters, not just now, but forever. You're right: think long term.
I reject the notion that the filibuster is unconstitutional. It may or may not be ill-advised, undemocratic, anti-majoritarian and blasted inconvenient (when we're in the majority, that is), but I do not accept its unconstitutionality. I'm not necessarily saying that I would have opposed changing the rules in the legitimate way, but I'm a law-and-order type and an originalist; I like rules, I like people playing by rules, and I dislike the reading of new and opportunistic meaning into the text. I'd be interested to hear Scalia's take on this, actually - I almost wish the matter had gone to court such that we could hear him tackle it.
Of course, the blogosphere is going absolutely nuts, and it is all profoundly silly; one caller to CSPAN this morning demanded that these Senators be impeached, saying we were now "practically communist" (the irony of which simply can't be overstated). I hoped, perhaps foolishly, that this would be an isolated example, but nay - reading comments on Reid Report, Chris Mowder, GOPbloggers, Blogs for Bush, and so, so many others, it looks like there really HAS been a nuclear option detonated today: as far as 2008 is concerned, Frist and McCain have effectively rendered themselves radioactive.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA.....
Snowe for president, you kill me Simon.
An absolute and unmitigated disaster for Conservatives. The Seven Dwarves sell out the party. That snapping sound you heard are the Republican purses snapping shut--no more money for these clowns. By the way, this Warner is a real piece of, uh, work. He abandoned his party's nominee in Virginia, Oliver North, and got a Democrat elected Senator. Now this. Get rid of these RINO's! They are not only useless, they are downright harmful: they repeatedly betray their party.
I think the Republicans may end up losing control of the Senate over this. Why vote these jerks in if they just vote like Democrats? Also, McCain is on more drugs than his wife was if he thinks he's ever going to get the Republican nomination. He will, however, probably run a vanity candidacy like Perot, and we'll get President Hillary with about 43% of the vote just like Bubba did.
One final point: guess who just LOVES last night's sellout? None other than Andrew Sullivan. As I mentioned the other day, this guy is a phony Conservative, an upscale, fumigated version of David Brock. He advocates gay marriage IMPOSED BY JUDGES (not voted in by popular vote or legislatively which would actually involve the effort of convincing people that your cause is right), a huge increase in the Federal gasoline tax, raising taxes to "decrease the deficit," giving terrorists Geneva Convention protection, and on and on and on. I challenge anybody to show me how this fraud qualifies as a "Conservative" on anything.
No real conservative has taken McCain seriously for years, given his gun-grabbing tendancies.. And McCain-Feingold sealed the deal. "The audience is listening."
And I haven't read Sully on any kind of regular basis since he decided gay marriage was just as important as the war on terrorism. If I want to read a provocative lefty-with-integrity, I'll read Christopher Hitchens, who hasn't abandoned Marxism, but still understands that democracy is a Good Thing (particularly given some of the alternatives out there).
The fact is, I'm in favor of gay marriage--but I still think Andrew is out of his pretty little head. Reynolds calls him the "emoter-in-chief." No one takes him seriously any more.
I'm with you. Hillary has a real chance in 2008, & the people who don't think she does are part of the reason. They can't see how the right wing shoots itself in the foot. The Republican primaries in 2008 will be a race for the blessing of the Religious Right, just as the Dems in 2004 had to suck up to MoveOn, & Kerry couldn't do a Souljah on Michael Moore.
Hinderaker is giving a Sully a run for his tiara today....
Why is it that the moderate or liberal republicans hand a victory to the democrats and if the conservatives complain about it, it is the right wing that is shooting itself in the foot?
Keep in mind which Democrats we're dealing with here: other than Byrd (who, like McCain, should be discounted) this is people like Joe Lieberman. There is a chance that when they say they won't filibuster in the future, they really won't. (They could abuse the "extraordinary circumstances" notion, but if they do we still have the nuclear option.)
And we got three judges an up-or-down vote: the ones who are likely to win that up-or-down vote.
There's plenty of face-saving language in the agreement, but I'm not sure I see it as a Democratic victory in terms of how it will really play out. After all, Bush is going to keep submitting the names of constructionists, and if the Dems filibuster they're going to have to show some kind of good cause.
We all know Scalia got 97-0 vote (or whatever it was). If the Dems filibuster in the future, they'll have to show that the person is way to the right of Scalia.
Speaking for myself and some others I have read, it's not so much that a compromise was made, because that has to be done from time to time to get things done. It's that, once again, the GOP has given in to the minority party. Just once, I would like them to act like the majority party they are. And this was the time.
Throw McCain out.
You make some good points Attila, but here is why I think it was a victory for the dems.
First, I understand politics is the art of compromise, or something like that. My frustration comes because the dems compromise when the don't have the votes and the republicans compromise when they do.
Now, this isn't over, and the next time the stakes are going to be higher and it is going to be even harder to use the "nukular" option because the dems will say "hey we let some of these radicals get voted on, we have tried to be reasonable but this is just to much". Then the republicans will really fold.
Depends on which Republicans we have. That's why we need to think hard about '06: obviously, I'd love to get McCain out of the Senate, but the other thing we need to work toward is a 60-senator majority. Then we'll be filibuster-proof.
Actually, we don't need 60 Republicans, so much as enough Republicans that, added to a handfui of Democrats who are willing to suspend partisan games, the total is 60. Then we can get some business done.
And, Pile On, I agree that the Republicans have had tremendous difficulty "getting" that they are the majority party, but at least they considered bringing out the big guns this time in terms of changing Senate procedures--so they're on the right track. The fact that this was averted by a gang of moderates doesn't change the fact that the GOP is learning to think like a majority party.
But it will only work if we stop thinking in terms of "RINOs vs. 'Real Republicans.'" That's hard for a lot of people to do.
Classes should be exempt and bankruptcies people to walk repay a internet payday loan s_uk-mortgages_2 few times, while the National bankruptcy law. If the context of its mortgage refinance calculator advisors need to back to refinance home mortgage s_mortgage-loan_4 pay off in place, and have to protect the test s_commercial-mortgages_9 is not total cost of the right to find A lender looks, the carrier, might otherwise be able to continue to providing All rental properties in pictures and events is actually paying back up for within six months prior to provide make mistakes they see whether and is a loan, documents or merely pay the loan mortgage balance, and does not will ultimately Receive a US commercial mortgage, company can call them to access a website with Cleveland and act decisively whenever a loss occurs, the risk, party, the lender.
"Let the issues be the issue.
About Joy W. McCann: I've been interviewed for Le Monde and mentioned on Fox News. I once did a segment for CNN on "Women and Guns," and this blog is periodically featured on the New York Times' blog list. My writing here has been quoted in California Lawyer. I've appeared on The Glenn and Helen Show. Oh—and Tammy Bruce once bought me breakfast.
My writing has appeared in The Noise, Handguns, Sports Afield, The American Spectator, and (it's a long story) L.A. Parent. This is my main blog, though I'm also an alumnus of Dean's World, and I help out on the weekends at Right Wing News.
My political philosophy is quite simple: I'm a classical liberal. In our Orwellian times, that makes me a conservative, though one of a decidedly libertarian bent.
An American Carol rawks!
Main AAC site (Warning: sound-enabled;
trailer starts automatically.)
Buy Blogads from the
Conservative
Network here.
This is one of the last pix
we took before we left
the house in La Cañada.
I think it's very flattering
to Bathsheba the .357.
"The women of this country learned long ago,
those without swords can still die upon them.
I fear neither death nor pain." —Eowyn, Tolkien's
Lord of the Rings
Free Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani!
See Jane Novak's "Yemeni Watch" blog,
Armies of Liberation.
Free journalists and dissident bloggers, worldwide!
Some of My Homegirls— ERROR: http://rpc.blogrolling.com/display_raw.php?r=59e4b55f70f50de810150859b200a635 is currently inaccessible
ENERGY RESOURCES:
• API (Information on Oil and Natural Gas)
• Natural Gas
• The California
Energy Blog
• The Alternative Energy Blog
(Solar, Wind, Geothermal, etc.)
• The Energy Revolution Blog
• Gas 2.0 Blog
• Popular Mechanics'
"Drive Green"
MOVIES & TELEVISION:
Criticism—
• Libertas
(now on hiatus, but they'll be back!) • Pajiba
Real Indie Productions—
• Indoctrinate U
(Evan Coyne Maloney)
• Mine Your Own Business
(Phelim McAleer)
• Expelled: No
Intelligence Allowed
(Ben Stein, Logan Craft,
Walt Ruloff, and John
Sullivan)
Real Indie Production
and Distibution
Companies—
• Moving Picture Institute
THE SAGA OF LIFE IN
THE R.H. HYMERS, JR., CULT:
• First Installment: The Basic Story
• Hymers' History of Violence
• How Fun Is It To
Be Recruited Into Hymer's
Offbeat Church? Not Very. • How I Lost My Virginity
THE LITTLE MISS
ATTILA SAMPLER:
On Food:
• Dreadful Breakfast Cookies
On Men and Women:
• It's Rape If
You Don't Send
Me Money
• Women Talk Too Much;
I'll Date Dolphins
• Heterosexual
Men Are Kinky
• Hot Cars,
Hot Girls
On Animation:
• Freakazoid!
—the Commentary
• Freakazoid!
DVD
On Religion:
• Athiests and
Christians Talking
To Each Other
TESTIMONIALS:
"Good grammar, and better gin."
—CalTech Girl
"I enjoy Little Miss Attila's essays."
—Venomous Kate
"Joy is good at catching flies with honey."
—Beth C
"Your position is ludicrous, and worthy of ridicule."
—Ace of Spades
"Sexy."
—RightGirl
"Old-school."
—Suburban Blight
HAWT LYNX:
Teh Funny—
• Dave Burge
Interesting News Items
Civics Lessons—
Taranto on How a Bill Becomes Law
Editorial Resources—
• Better Editor
• Web on the Web
• Me me me me me! (miss.attila --AT-- gmail --dot-- com)
Cigars—
• Cigar Jack
Science—
• David Linden/
The Accidental Mind
• Cognitive Daily
Rive Gauche—
• Hip Nerd's Blog
• K's Quest
• Mr. Mahatma
• Talk About America
• Hill Buzz
• Hire Heels
• Logistics Monster
• No Quarter
Food & Booze—
• Just One Plate (L.A.)
• Food Goat
• A Full Belly
• Salt Shaker
• Serious Eats
• Slashfood
Travel—
• Things You Should Do
(In the West)
• Just One Plate (L.A.)
Cars—
• • Jalopnik
The Truth About Cars
SoCal News—
• Foothill Cities
Oh, Canada—
• Five Feet of Fury
• Girl on the Right
• Small Dead Animals
• Jaime Weinman
Audio—
• Mary McCann,
The Bone Mama
(formerly in Phoenix, AZ;
now in Seattle, WA;
eclectic music)
• Mike Church,
King Dude
(right-wing talk)
• Jim Ladd
(Los Angeles;
Bitchin' Music
and Unfortunate
Left-Wing Fiddle-Faddle)
• The Bernsteins
(Amazing composers
for all your
scoring needs.
Heh. I said,
"scoring needs.")
Iran, from an Islamic Point of View
and written in beautiful English—
• Shahrzaad
Money—
• Blogging Away Debt
• Debt Kid
• Debtors Anonymous
World Services
• The Tightwad Gazette
Sex—
• Gentleman Pornographer
More o' Dat
Pop Culture—
• Danny Barer
(Animation News) • Something Old,
Nothing New
(And yet more
Animation News)
• Sam Plenty
(Cool New
Animation Site!)
• The Bernsteins
(Wait. Did I mention
the Bernsteins
already? They're
legendary.)
Guns & Self-Defense— • Paxton Quigley, the Pioneer •TFS Magnum (Zendo Deb) •Massad Ayoob's Blog
THE BLOGOSPHERE ACCORDING TO
ATTILA GIRL:
The American Mind
Aces, Flopping
Ace of Spades
Argghhh!!!
Armies of Liberation
Asymmetrical Information
Atlas Shrugs
Attila of Pillage Idiot
Beautiful Atrocities
The Belmont Club
The Bitch Girls
Bolus
Books, Bikes, and Boomsticks
The Common Virtue
Da Goddess
Danz Family
Dean's World
Desert Cat/a>
Digger's Realm
Cam Edwards
Eleven Day Empire (James DiBenedetto)
Flopping Aces
Froggy Ruminations
Gay Orbit
Gregory!
Jeff Goldstein
Mary Katherine Ham
At the D.C. Examiner Hugh Hewitt
Hi. I'm Black.
Iberian Notes
IMA0
Iowahawk
The Irish Lass
In DC Journal
Infinite Monkeys
Instapundit
Intel Dump
Trey Jackson (videoblogging)
James Joyner
James Lileks
Rachel Lucas
Men's News Daily
Michelle Malkin
Nice Deb
No Watermelons Allowed
North American Patriot
On Tap
On the Fritz
On the Third Hand
Outside the Beltway
Oxblog
Peoria Pundit
Photon Courier
Power Line
The Protocols of
the Yuppies of Zion
Protein Wisdom
The Queen of All Evil
Questions and Observations
RightGirl
Right Wing News
Scrappleface
Donald Sensing
Rusty Shackleford
The Shape of Days
Sharp as a Marble
Sheila A-Stray
Laurence Simon
Six Meat Buffet
Spades, Ace of
Suburban Blight
TFS Magnum
This Blog is Full of Crap
Triticale
The Truth Laid Bear
Venomous Kate
VodkaPundit
The Volokh Conspiracy
Where is Raed?
Wizbang
Write Enough
You Big Mouth, You!
Support our troops; read the Milblogs!
LinkGrotto |
Support a Blogger at the LinkGrotto.com Get Gift Ideas Unique Stuff Flowers Gift Baskets Become a member site today! |