I want John Kerry to attempt a filibuster. I think it will help us significantly in the short and long terms.
There is no legitimate reason to attempt to block the Alito nomination, and any attempt by the Democrats to do so would prove just how on the fringe they really are.
Now, that being said, a number of things will happen if Kerry attempts his filibuster. For one thing, it will fail. Even Harry Reid admits Alito can't be blocked, saying, "Everyone knows there is not enough votes to support a filibuster." However, despite the inevitable failure to sustain a filibuster, Reid says he'd vote for it anyway. This shows who really controls the Democratic Party: the liberal interest groups.
Being the Democrats nominee for president in 2004, his inability to unite his own party to support a filibuster against a nominee he claims to believe is so dangerous would almost completely destroy his credibility as well as his chances to get his party's nomination a second time.
We've heard enough harsh rhetoric from the Democrats against Alito that a failed filibuster would also hurt their party as whole.
I say Kerry should move forward with the filibuster attempt. He'll lose. We'll win. And our majority will grow in November.
UPDATE by Mark Noonan: It seems someone signed me up to be a member of MoveOn (I'm taking anti-biotics to ensure against permanent infection), and I got this in my e mail:
Dear Mark,
Late yesterday afternoon, Senators Kerry and Kennedy announced that they will lead a filibuster against the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. The vote will come Monday, and now the rest of the Democrats have just over 48 hours to decide which side they are on.
To successfully block the nomination, 41 senators must join the Democratic filibuster. Most Republicans and a few conservative Democrats have already pledged to vote for Alito, so getting to 41 won't be easy. Every single Democrat could end up casting the last crucial vote—and this is the moment for us to weigh in.
They want calls to Schumer and Clinton to try and force their hands because, as MoveOn puts it:
Filibustering the Alito nomination isn't just the right policy for the country, it's good politics for progressives. Voters want leaders with the courage to fight for their true convictions. Democrats have said they oppose Alito's extreme views on unchecked presidential power and limited rights for the rest of us—now it's time to show they mean it.
As it turns out, perhaps we should call Schumer and Hillary and urge them to filibuster...as I mentioned yesterday, the left is the gift that keeps on giving, and this is the best gift we've ever got: a di-in-the-last-ditch fight against a conservative judge by the forces of the left. Remember, at this point a filibuster means the Constituitonal Option, and thus much easier replacement of any liberal judicial retirement.
Posted by Matt at January 27, 2006 12:03 PM
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Well, somebody signed me up to get news from the RNC. Talk about junk worth filtering...
Posted by:
Adam at January 27, 2006 12:23 PM
Mark,
Antibiotics won't help! Only an overdose of chemo would be useful. I too welcome an attempted filibuster. Hopefully Rove will be working in 08, what a tremendous amount of video and audio evidence he will have to select from, absolute proof. The Dems will have to continue distorting out of context. What an exciting time to be interested in politics.
Posted by: SEW at January 27, 2006 01:11 PM
Please filibuster you SoS moonbats. There is a slim chance it might work...really there is. Come on, come on...do it. JFnnK is vietnam war hero damn it. You can't let Karl Rove win AGAIN!
Moonbat pep rally off/
Mark,
Have you been to Slipgrid's website? After I visited just once I started getting Nigerian bank and Euro lotto spam mail...Hmmm just a thought.
Posted by:
Nebraska Militia at January 27, 2006 01:12 PM
This is starting to remind me of the Murtha situation, in that their "over the horizon" turned in to a democrats "cut and run" and a resounding 403-3 defeat. Kerry safely in Switzerland has mustered up the guts to filibuster from there. Is he "high on Heinz or something"?
This is continental Europe (and not Belgium), so we're in lager country, children. We shouldn't be surprised that country with four official languages is ever so slightly schizophrenic.
Posted by: dl at January 27, 2006 01:13 PM
I am sure Kerry has attended the ski slopes more than the World Economic Forum...
Posted by: Tom at January 27, 2006 01:40 PM
The Left filibusters and the Right uses the nuclear option, then the Senate slows to a crawl. What more could anyone ask for then a bunch of Republican theives unable to continue picking the publics pockets. Peace
Posted by: steve at January 27, 2006 01:57 PM
Adam - Well, somebody signed me up to get news from the RNC. Talk about junk worth filtering...
And yet you are here exhibiting the mindset of a child, contributing nothing meaningful to a debate and taking up space with failed humor.
Seems appropriate that the term "filibuster" comes from a Dutch word meaning "pirate".
I for one hope that if they do attempt a filibuster, the Republican’s this time will not let them off easy by adjourning the conference for the evening only to allow it to continue the next meeting. If they really want to filibuster, don’t get all wimpy and adjourn at the end of the day, but instead hold them to it and keep them there 24/7 if need be just as they use to. Frankly I find it rather ridiculous that spouting off anything on your mind that does not contribute to the debate at hand and is exclusively intended to delay a vote is allowed.
If you cannot have an actual intellectual discussion to debate on the subject matter and the only friend you have is time to wear your opposition down, then you really have no footing in your ideals and it is a waste of time and resources that is truly no less than piracy.
Posted by: Momo at January 27, 2006 02:24 PM
Kerry is being an idiot. The filibuster is definately being abused by Kerry and Kennedy in this situation. There are times when the filibuster is necessary and justified, but this is definately not one of them.
Posted by: Georgia Frawg at January 27, 2006 02:39 PM
These two "Dinosaur-Dems"...John Fraud Kerry(who
ran off to another country, and Edward "The Sot"
Kennedy, who runs off bridges, need to face the
facts..."Their grandstanding, blustering, and face
time on camera, aren't working, will not work in the future, and ain't gonna stop Alito by threatening a filibuster-as they try to rally the
Liberal-Leftists they are, and pander to"....They,
will need to "Move-On", and take the rest of the
losers with them. You can definitely see the difference in party politics, when the GOP, sent
in votes for Liberal Ginsburg, without whinning,
stomping their feet like children, and pouting-After all, it was their President that sent her up there for a vote----JUST LIKE PRESIDENT BUSH HAS THE RIGHT, AS THE SITTING PRESIDENT TO SEND
HIS NOMINEES TO HAVE AN UP OR DOWN VOTE..."GET OVER IT GUYS....YOU LOST, AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO, AS THE WORLD SEES, HEARS AND WITNESSES YOUR
ANTICS, RHETORIC-AND...."how you enable and have
empowered Terroists"(bit off subject, but true)
Posted by: Jo at January 27, 2006 03:41 PM
These two "Dinosaur-Dems"...John Fraud Kerry(who
ran off to another country, and Edward "The Sot"
Kennedy, who runs off bridges, need to face the
facts..."Their grandstanding, blustering, and face
time on camera, aren't working, will not work in the future, and ain't gonna stop Alito by threatening a filibuster-as they try to rally the
Liberal-Leftists they are, and pander to"....They,
will need to "Move-On", and take the rest of the
losers with them. You can definitely see the difference in party politics, when the GOP, sent
in votes for Liberal Ginsburg, without whinning,
stomping their feet like children, and pouting-After all, it was their President that sent her up there for a vote----JUST LIKE PRESIDENT BUSH HAS THE RIGHT, AS THE SITTING PRESIDENT TO SEND
HIS NOMINEES TO HAVE AN UP OR DOWN VOTE..."GET OVER IT GUYS....YOU LOST, AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO, AS THE WORLD SEES, HEARS AND WITNESSES YOUR
ANTICS, RHETORIC-AND...."how you enable and have
empowered Terroists"(bit off subject, but true)
Posted by: Jo at January 27, 2006 03:41 PM
Kerry and Kennedy: That old pathetic Northeastern Vaudeville group consisting of one degenerate dipsomaniac and a cadaverous, lumbering human eyesore. These two are holding forth on American politics from Switzerland...and Al Gore is whining about the Candadian elections while Hamas wins an election in Gaza. I can hear the laughter from here.
Posted by: Rhod at January 27, 2006 04:02 PM
Ol' Spitball Kerry,and Teddey the Drunk Swimmer, are senators from a safe, kook-left state. They will never be defeated there. There is no reason for Kennedy to satisfy the national kook base. Kerry, on the other hand, wants to run again in '08, so he must satiate the MoveOn and Howard Al-Dean masses. And Harry Reid? As minority leader, he must do the same. Or maybe he's the new junior senator from Massachussetts. Who knows, or cares, about this midget? He looks like the undertaker in the cowboy movies, emptying the pockets of the loser of the gunfight. What I want to know is, what the hell does he have that keeps him in office in Nevada?
Posted by: keefer at January 27, 2006 04:11 PM
Need your experience & opinion: Online political news survey ($10 reward possible)
Hello, all.
My name is Daekyung Kim, a Ph.D. student studying journalism and mass communication in Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. I am emailing to ask you to do me a favor. I am now working on my dissertation whose topic is about online news and want to gather information about how and why Internet users are using news Web sites for political information based on an online survey.
This online survey will approximately take 15-20 minutes to complete. After collecting the data, I will draw to pick up 50 respondents among those who complete this survey and each will be given $ 10 gift card. Your experience will be very useful in understanding how politically interested online users are using online news and the consequent effects on traditional news.
Would you please spend some time to fill out this survey ?
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=594061481532
(please click on the address, OR if not working, copy it into the URL address)
You can withdraw the survey at any time you want. All responses will be kept confidential and only be used for academic purposes. This survey has been reviewed and approved by the SIUC Human Subject Committee. So, there are no questions that may identify personal information.
Thank you very much in advance for participating.
Posted by:
dannykim at January 27, 2006 04:29 PM
Let's see what can possibly be accomplished here. What is the best case scenario for the Dems? Let's say that they do manage to hold 40 or a scooch more votes against cloture. Kerry and his pals squawk and groan through the phonebook or whatever and keep the Senate tied up for a couple weeks. In this time, Frist does not "go nuclear" for whatever reason... maybe Carville has video of him in a gay bath house though I think we would have seen that by now if so. Finally, Bush sees this as too much trouble, Alito bows out for the usual face-saving reasons.... what next children? BUSH NOMINATES SOMEONE ELSE! Personally Janice was always my first pick. The animosity shown her on the Left Wing is a sound endorsement but the Rep judicial "bench" is a mile deep. There are dozens if not hundreds of fine candidates who would impact the court exactly as Alito will. Are they going to filibuster and simultaneously win the Presidency and THEN scrounge up a Ginsberg clone to take O'Connor's seat? Anything short of this does precisely NOTHING to advance (or more like, protect) all these sacred sacraments that Alito allegedly endangers. They have nothing with which to wage this fight. Nothing. They cannot win, they cannot delay enough to make it a win and are obviously quite oblivious that there could POSSIBLY be ANY downside with the electorate. Brother Byrd could tell them a thing or two about that, if they would listen. Man, you gotta love those Democrats!
Posted by: megapotamus at January 27, 2006 04:56 PM
I agree, Mega, gotta love them Democrats. They make the Republicians position ever more prevelant with each twit's statement ... whether it be Dean or Kerry.
Posted by: Stacy65 at January 27, 2006 05:15 PM
This is really a LOSE/LOSE situation for the Donks. If they successfully filibuster, the nuclear option (actually I prefer the "constitutional option") will be employed. If they don't filibuster, they will piss off their kook base and likely lose a lot of campaign donations. The only way they can possibly win (and the odds are slim to none) is if they filibuster, the nuclear option is not employed, and Alito withdraws. Then, as Megapotamus notes, all they've won is another conservative nomination; plus I think the voters really take it out on them next fall. It's really gotta suck to be a liberal Democrat right now.
Posted by: Retired Spook at January 27, 2006 05:43 PM
But what about this? Maybe the Democrats wish to invoke the wrath of the Constitutional Option because then, when they get the chance to run the country again, they can easily slide even the most asinine of judges onto the SCOTUS. Sounds scary, but reasonable.
Posted by: Tim Mo at January 27, 2006 08:22 PM
Mark, forget the antibiotics. Ya need a rabies shot for that site! Eww!
Question: If the Constitutional Option is exercised by the Republicans, is it a permanent rules change or just a one-time deal?
Posted by: Freedom1 at January 27, 2006 08:25 PM
Order Matt and Mark's book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble
Well, somebody signed me up to get news from the RNC. Talk about junk worth filtering...
Mark,
Antibiotics won't help! Only an overdose of chemo would be useful. I too welcome an attempted filibuster. Hopefully Rove will be working in 08, what a tremendous amount of video and audio evidence he will have to select from, absolute proof. The Dems will have to continue distorting out of context. What an exciting time to be interested in politics.
Please filibuster you SoS moonbats. There is a slim chance it might work...really there is. Come on, come on...do it. JFnnK is vietnam war hero damn it. You can't let Karl Rove win AGAIN!
Moonbat pep rally off/
Mark,
Have you been to Slipgrid's website? After I visited just once I started getting Nigerian bank and Euro lotto spam mail...Hmmm just a thought.
This is starting to remind me of the Murtha situation, in that their "over the horizon" turned in to a democrats "cut and run" and a resounding 403-3 defeat. Kerry safely in Switzerland has mustered up the guts to filibuster from there. Is he "high on Heinz or something"?
I am sure Kerry has attended the ski slopes more than the World Economic Forum...
The Left filibusters and the Right uses the nuclear option, then the Senate slows to a crawl. What more could anyone ask for then a bunch of Republican theives unable to continue picking the publics pockets. Peace
And yet you are here exhibiting the mindset of a child, contributing nothing meaningful to a debate and taking up space with failed humor.
Seems appropriate that the term "filibuster" comes from a Dutch word meaning "pirate".
I for one hope that if they do attempt a filibuster, the Republican’s this time will not let them off easy by adjourning the conference for the evening only to allow it to continue the next meeting. If they really want to filibuster, don’t get all wimpy and adjourn at the end of the day, but instead hold them to it and keep them there 24/7 if need be just as they use to. Frankly I find it rather ridiculous that spouting off anything on your mind that does not contribute to the debate at hand and is exclusively intended to delay a vote is allowed.
If you cannot have an actual intellectual discussion to debate on the subject matter and the only friend you have is time to wear your opposition down, then you really have no footing in your ideals and it is a waste of time and resources that is truly no less than piracy.
Kerry is being an idiot. The filibuster is definately being abused by Kerry and Kennedy in this situation. There are times when the filibuster is necessary and justified, but this is definately not one of them.
These two "Dinosaur-Dems"...John Fraud Kerry(who
ran off to another country, and Edward "The Sot"
Kennedy, who runs off bridges, need to face the
facts..."Their grandstanding, blustering, and face
time on camera, aren't working, will not work in the future, and ain't gonna stop Alito by threatening a filibuster-as they try to rally the
Liberal-Leftists they are, and pander to"....They,
will need to "Move-On", and take the rest of the
losers with them. You can definitely see the difference in party politics, when the GOP, sent
in votes for Liberal Ginsburg, without whinning,
stomping their feet like children, and pouting-After all, it was their President that sent her up there for a vote----JUST LIKE PRESIDENT BUSH HAS THE RIGHT, AS THE SITTING PRESIDENT TO SEND
HIS NOMINEES TO HAVE AN UP OR DOWN VOTE..."GET OVER IT GUYS....YOU LOST, AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO, AS THE WORLD SEES, HEARS AND WITNESSES YOUR
ANTICS, RHETORIC-AND...."how you enable and have
empowered Terroists"(bit off subject, but true)
These two "Dinosaur-Dems"...John Fraud Kerry(who
ran off to another country, and Edward "The Sot"
Kennedy, who runs off bridges, need to face the
facts..."Their grandstanding, blustering, and face
time on camera, aren't working, will not work in the future, and ain't gonna stop Alito by threatening a filibuster-as they try to rally the
Liberal-Leftists they are, and pander to"....They,
will need to "Move-On", and take the rest of the
losers with them. You can definitely see the difference in party politics, when the GOP, sent
in votes for Liberal Ginsburg, without whinning,
stomping their feet like children, and pouting-After all, it was their President that sent her up there for a vote----JUST LIKE PRESIDENT BUSH HAS THE RIGHT, AS THE SITTING PRESIDENT TO SEND
HIS NOMINEES TO HAVE AN UP OR DOWN VOTE..."GET OVER IT GUYS....YOU LOST, AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO, AS THE WORLD SEES, HEARS AND WITNESSES YOUR
ANTICS, RHETORIC-AND...."how you enable and have
empowered Terroists"(bit off subject, but true)
Kerry and Kennedy: That old pathetic Northeastern Vaudeville group consisting of one degenerate dipsomaniac and a cadaverous, lumbering human eyesore. These two are holding forth on American politics from Switzerland...and Al Gore is whining about the Candadian elections while Hamas wins an election in Gaza. I can hear the laughter from here.
Ol' Spitball Kerry,and Teddey the Drunk Swimmer, are senators from a safe, kook-left state. They will never be defeated there. There is no reason for Kennedy to satisfy the national kook base. Kerry, on the other hand, wants to run again in '08, so he must satiate the MoveOn and Howard Al-Dean masses. And Harry Reid? As minority leader, he must do the same. Or maybe he's the new junior senator from Massachussetts. Who knows, or cares, about this midget? He looks like the undertaker in the cowboy movies, emptying the pockets of the loser of the gunfight. What I want to know is, what the hell does he have that keeps him in office in Nevada?
Need your experience & opinion: Online political news survey ($10 reward possible)
Hello, all.
My name is Daekyung Kim, a Ph.D. student studying journalism and mass communication in Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. I am emailing to ask you to do me a favor. I am now working on my dissertation whose topic is about online news and want to gather information about how and why Internet users are using news Web sites for political information based on an online survey.
This online survey will approximately take 15-20 minutes to complete. After collecting the data, I will draw to pick up 50 respondents among those who complete this survey and each will be given $ 10 gift card. Your experience will be very useful in understanding how politically interested online users are using online news and the consequent effects on traditional news.
Would you please spend some time to fill out this survey ?
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=594061481532
(please click on the address, OR if not working, copy it into the URL address)
You can withdraw the survey at any time you want. All responses will be kept confidential and only be used for academic purposes. This survey has been reviewed and approved by the SIUC Human Subject Committee. So, there are no questions that may identify personal information.
Thank you very much in advance for participating.
Let's see what can possibly be accomplished here. What is the best case scenario for the Dems? Let's say that they do manage to hold 40 or a scooch more votes against cloture. Kerry and his pals squawk and groan through the phonebook or whatever and keep the Senate tied up for a couple weeks. In this time, Frist does not "go nuclear" for whatever reason... maybe Carville has video of him in a gay bath house though I think we would have seen that by now if so. Finally, Bush sees this as too much trouble, Alito bows out for the usual face-saving reasons.... what next children? BUSH NOMINATES SOMEONE ELSE! Personally Janice was always my first pick. The animosity shown her on the Left Wing is a sound endorsement but the Rep judicial "bench" is a mile deep. There are dozens if not hundreds of fine candidates who would impact the court exactly as Alito will. Are they going to filibuster and simultaneously win the Presidency and THEN scrounge up a Ginsberg clone to take O'Connor's seat? Anything short of this does precisely NOTHING to advance (or more like, protect) all these sacred sacraments that Alito allegedly endangers. They have nothing with which to wage this fight. Nothing. They cannot win, they cannot delay enough to make it a win and are obviously quite oblivious that there could POSSIBLY be ANY downside with the electorate. Brother Byrd could tell them a thing or two about that, if they would listen. Man, you gotta love those Democrats!
I agree, Mega, gotta love them Democrats. They make the Republicians position ever more prevelant with each twit's statement ... whether it be Dean or Kerry.
This is really a LOSE/LOSE situation for the Donks. If they successfully filibuster, the nuclear option (actually I prefer the "constitutional option") will be employed. If they don't filibuster, they will piss off their kook base and likely lose a lot of campaign donations. The only way they can possibly win (and the odds are slim to none) is if they filibuster, the nuclear option is not employed, and Alito withdraws. Then, as Megapotamus notes, all they've won is another conservative nomination; plus I think the voters really take it out on them next fall. It's really gotta suck to be a liberal Democrat right now.
But what about this? Maybe the Democrats wish to invoke the wrath of the Constitutional Option because then, when they get the chance to run the country again, they can easily slide even the most asinine of judges onto the SCOTUS. Sounds scary, but reasonable.
Mark, forget the antibiotics. Ya need a rabies shot for that site! Eww!
Question: If the Constitutional Option is exercised by the Republicans, is it a permanent rules change or just a one-time deal?