Culture Be Damned; It’s Time To Get To Work
By Brian Yates (05/11/03)
Friday was an anniversary of sorts for the Bush Administration. Two years ago, to the day, President Bush nominated Miguel Estrada and Priscilla Owen for federal judgeships. After two years, the two nominees are still awaiting for an up-and-down vote in the Senate. Senate Democrats have run out of stall tactics to use against a vote on Estrada and Owen, so now they have simply begun to filibuster. Needing 60 votes for cloture, Senate Republicans have only managed to come up with 55.
Most of the blame obviously belongs with the Democrats, who are pursuing an unconstitutional route to block the president’s nominations. However, as I did two weeks ago, I point at least one finger of blame at Republican leadership in the Senate. Once again, Majority Leader Bill Frist has failed to act decisively enough against the Democrats. Where are Frist, Don Nickles, and Mitch McConnell? The only Senate Republicans who appear to be working towards a plan of action are the freshmen senators. Men and women who have been in the Senate for years and years are completely unable to figure out what in the hell can be done, and yet first-time senators like Jim Talent, John Cornyn, and Elizabeth Dole have managed to solve what President Bush has rightly termed a “crisis.” The question is, will anybody listen?
Ten freshmen senators sent a letter to Majority Leader Frist and Minority Leader Tom Daschle offering to help repair the appointment process. John Cornyn, Lisa Murkowski, Elizabeth Dole, Norm Coleman, Lamar Alexander, Lindsey Graham, Saxby Chambliss, Jim Talent, John Sununu, and Mark Pryor (who by the way is a Democrat) all signed onto the letter, and Jim Talent’s plan
The Talent plan is brilliant, and has not been thought of by a single other senator. His plan goes like this: After a cloture vote is lost for lack of 60 votes, some senator would move to appeal the vote on the grounds that it is unconstitutional. It is unconstitutional because the minority (the Democrats) is attempting to require 60 votes for judicial nominations, and yet the Constitution is very clear about when these so-called super-majorities are required. Judicial nominations are not one of them. The parliamentarian of the Senate would most likely rule the motion out of order. This ruling would be appealed and if all 51 Republican Senators could manage to hold together, this ruling would be overridden. (Since several Democrats such as Zell Miller and Mark Pryor stand with the GOP on this issue, getting the 51-vote majority should not be a problem.) Having now managed to regain control of the appointment process, Majority Leader Frist would move to bring the nominations to the floor for a vote. This vote would require only a simple 51-vote majority and could easily be attained. This is the Jim Talent plan. The problem is, as Sen. Talent expresses, is that it is the culture, rather than the rules, which is keeping the Senate’s leadership from accomplishing meaningful things. Culture be damned, an opportunity arises now, but if “culture” prevents GOP leaders from acting, they may not be a part of that culture much longer.
Frist and other Republican senators need to work harder to get judges confirmed. Heck, just get them to a vote; we’ll worry about actually confirming them later! Get out and launch a campaign to the American people over Democratic obstruction. Capitalize on comments such as Tom Daschle saying in 1999 that “I find it simply baffling that a Senator would vote against even voting on a judicial nomination.” Daschle also added that “Hispanic or non-Hispanic, African American or non-African American, woman or man, it is wrong not to have a vote on the Senate floor.” Tom Daschle becomes the ultimate hypocrite, yet Frist, McConnell and the rest have failed to nail him on it.
The complete lack of fortitude on the part of Senate Republican leadership since gaining the majority has been a real disappointment to me, and many other conservatives. Unless they get their act together, and start to get things accomplished, voters will see no reason to continue to vote for them and their party. Maybe they could take a few lessons from the majority leader in the House, Tom DeLay, who is hated intensely by the minority Democrats precisely because he does not hesitate to use his power for the common good whenever necessary. Senate Republicans would be wise to heed that strategy.
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