Wednesday, May 18, 2005

The hypocrisy about the filibuster debate

While we may know here in a day or two if Senate Republicans will vote to exercise the nuclear option, or as I like to call it, the "It was okay when we did it but now that it hurts us its not fair so it should go away" option. Before any ultra conservatives start going off about me being liberal, let me say this, I personally wouldn't mind the nuclear option since I agree that a nomination should get an up or down vote. They should. Although I don't have exact numbers here, I do believe Democrats have used the filibuster tactic to hold up nominations far more than Republicans, but people like Senator Frist of Tennessee are omitting something key when they talk about every judicial candidate getting an up or down vote on the Senate floor. Frist was actually quoted as saying that any candidate that makes it out of committee should get a vote. Want to know what Bill left out there (and just a hint you won't hear it from Hannity or Bimbaugh, oops I mean Limbaugh)? The favorite tactic of Republicans is to not let democratic nomiations out of the committee where they hold the majority. They did to 60 some of former President Clinton's nominee's ( I think the number was 63 if I remember correctly, although I can't recall the source to give them credit for that number). My question is this- if a fillibuster is wrong, and not mentioned in the constitution (Die hard conservatives, warning- hold on with both hands, you aren't going to like this part and I know how many of you have a hard time with anything that does not come from Hannity, Limbaugh or Coulter but try to grasp this anyway) then how is bottling a nomination up in committee strictly for partisan reasons (or any other for that matter) any better. Keep in mind that the committee process for judicial nominees is not spelled out in the constitution either, and oh hold on to your hats again my conservative friends this will hurt as well, and it is more of a tradition just like (oh, this is going to hurt) THE FILLIBUSTER!

Okay, if you are conservative go ahead and relax for a second, I know its hard to hear the truth. Please turn to line 2 of the conservative playbook and invoke the 'liberal media excuse" and give me the usual bullshit about Fox News being the only source for news (don't even get me started on that one, although I myself watch fox news probably more than MSNBC or CNN).

Again, I think the filibuster is not cool either for nominees but for conservatives who used the process to support their views (people like good ol Bill Frist) now acting as if it is part of the devil himself and trying to get rid of it, kind of reminds me of the little boy who went crying off to mom when he didn't get his own way. I think its pretty damn hypocritical to use a process to its full advantage when it suits you and then once its not in your favor decrying it as unfair and wanting to do away with it. That is, by the way, a view that some senior Senate Republicans seem to share as well.