Repukes Have Votes to Block Filibusters?

[Nite Owl]

I just saw this go by quickly on the bottom of the screen on Bloomberg News and for some reason can't get onto the US site. Did anyone hear anything about this. This could be devastating news.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. On certain issues, I'm sure they do.

Certainly not for all issues though.

[Nite Owl]

2. I think this is in regard to the

'nuclear option' so the right wing judges can get in. This is very serious if they do.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

3. Yeah, the nuke option would be horrible.

I fear for our democracy is the filibuster is ended.

[SixDollarBurger]

12. It will

Only end the filibuster on judicial nominees which is covered in the Senate rules. There are seven other instances in the Constitution where filibusters are allowed.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

13. It's still terrible.

Judicial nominees are EXTREMELY important!

[w4rma]

22. precident for the rest. Don't be so naive to say it will stop there. (nt)

[katsy]

16. Will the Dems stick to their promise...

to use parliamentary measures to "grind" the Senate to a standstill?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

17. It's hard to say.

I personally hope they will. I think this is important enough to do it. No doubt, however, we're going to take a political beating on it if we do. Therefore, I won't be surprised either way.

[mmonk]

26. You're talking permanent

minority for a long time as far as passing anyting legislatively if they don't hold. Social Security took a long time to pass because the courts said congress didn't have the authority.

[Selatius]

4. Could it be Frist bought out the last Republican hold-out???

If it's true, he probably cut a deal with the senator. You give me X, I'll repay you with Y.

[Nite Owl]

5. OK saw it again

and it said USA Today.

[mmonk]

6. A most critical situation

[Junkdrawer]

7. I think that was the *plan* re this whole Shiavo mess..However...

the 82% "it was politically motived" polls may have them rethinking their plan.

See:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3355585&mesg_id=3355585

[mmonk]

8. Frist did not have the votes going into today

so if things changed, it might have worked. Let's hope this was wrong.

[Nite Owl]

10. Last I heard he had 49 votes

so he only needed one more with Cheney to break the tie.

[Nite Owl]

9. They needed one more vote

this would mean that they got it. I can't find anything about it at the USA Today site. Bloomberg isn't talking about it it's just on the crawl. I thought that the whole TS case would backfire on them but maybe they got someone instead.

[iconoclastNYC]

11. The fear of this nuclear option is overblown.

Let them! I really don't see how many people we can block. How much more acceptable are the others that get thru the Senate? I just don't understand all the "sky is falling" hysteria over this nuclear option.

And the upside is that when we get back in control of the Senate and the White House we can put up liberal judges. The only judges Clinton could get thru were uber moderate. And the Senate dragged thier feet so much that Bush had record (i think it was a record, i may be wrong) vacancies to fill. So Bush got to fill more than he should have.

[Nite Owl]

14. These are lifetime appointments

that will be with us for decades. Much damage can be done, we may or may not get the Senate back but the number of appointments that could be put through in the time before is serious. We are talking the Supreme Court also. Over 95% of his judges got through he has to have a reason for wanting these 20 that he put up again. And there will be more and they will be worse.

[K-W]

15. You dont see why stacking the courts with insane right judges

is a problem of historical proportions?

[iconoclastNYC]

18. Here's why....

They will get their judges, as I see it they'll put forth an UBER right winger the first time, and get the country burnt out on the fight, then they'll do a second slightly less right-winger, and cry "obstructionists!" when we try to stop that one, and eitehr do the nuclear option, or they'll put up someone who's slightly less right-wing.

My point: we're going to get a right-wingers on the bench....if they go nuclear then when we get into power we can put up true liberals instead of the moderates that Clinton put on the Supreme court and the federal bench.

And here's another thought...look at what the right has been able to do, dimisssing the independant judiciary as "activist" over silly fringe issues extending equal rights to gay rights and extending the right of privacy via abortion. Imagine that these right-wing judges that we are stuck with, via thier activism, start strafing our fundamental liberties with thir "literal" interpritation of the constitution....screwing us over on issues that have broad populist appeal.

How hard would it be to have the left rail against the right-wing activists judges and get a constitutional amendment limiting terms of supreme court nominees? HARD. Yes. But possible. I think a 12 year terms is plenty for a supreme court nominee, and i don't think it would be impossible to get thru once the country wakes up and sees how much of American has been lost under right-wing rule.

Every abuse of the right has a silver lining when you think about it as a way to get people to wake up and see what is being done in thier names.

[countryjake]

20. WTF?

Anyone who considers granting equal rights to all Americans a "silly fringe issue" needs to sit down & study the meaning of Fundamental Liberty & read the Constitution without blinders on.

What was your point again?

[iconoclastNYC]

28. Calm down.

My point was that its a fringe issue to be UPSET about judicial "activists" extending rights to gays, extending privacy rights to abortion, etc.

Take a Xanax and reread the entire post, why don't you?

[mmonk]

19. If you think going back to 1937

(the date that is cited as what the neoFederalists are looking at) as far as our court and laws go isn't overblown, then I don't know what would be overblown to you. This would be the most significant change to the United States in a generation. Even if we voted in a dem majority, their legislation may pass but the courts will strike it down.

[Cats Against Frist]

27. pardon my french, but that's extraordinarily frickin' naive

I'm all for fighting the dark side in creative ways -- including going as far as to, basically, disband the federal government (I'm a libertarian), -- HOWEVER, even as radical as I am, I DO NOT think that judges are the place for the "let it all come crashing down" philosophy to work. In fact, it's the LAST and ONLY place that one should not "give ground" to the fascists.

Last time I checked, I don't recall where it said in the Constitution that these judges HAVE to be appointed. The fillibuster, in terms of the Democratic usage of it, is SERVING its appropriate function: an internal check on legislative power. Without that check, the fascists with the 3 percent "win," can tyranny over the other 48 percent of the fucking country.

This idea that expidency of judicial confirmation has some kind of "moral value," is just another completely made-up construct, on behalf of the "logical fallacy brigade."

The fillibuster is providing a check -- and there is no better place for it, when faced with potential mob rule, under potential theocrats and corporatists -- which goes against the principles on which this nation was founded.

[mmonk]

21. decided to

give this a kick in case anyone has heard anything more on this. For those that have not grasped what this would mean, you need to familiarize yourself with how grave this would be.

:kick:

[Nite Owl]

23. I just got in a while ago

and checked Bloomberg and USA Today for any updates. Nothing. Hope that is good news and not that they don't consider it important enough for a story.

[mmonk]

24. Thanks

I'll keep checking. I don't have any alarming emails yet which is a good sign at least so far.

[mmonk]

25. Any news, anyone?

[Nite Owl]

29. Nothing

No news is good news right? Hopefully they found that what they were told was a mistake and that was the extent of it.

[mmonk]

30. good

I've been sweating it.