Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Welcome to Paraguay
There are two extremely good posts on Daily Kos this morning that illustrate the point, generally missed in almost every discussion of judicial filibusters, about what makes the nuclear option "nuclear." It's true, as Repugs keep saying, that the Senate has the right to make its own rules. But to go nuclear, the Repugs are going to have to break the rule that says any rule change must be approved by a two-thirds majority. That's the nuclear part. The Senate's own parliamentarian has said they can't do it--but Frist and company have blown him off. (Kos posts are here and here.)
This is banana-republic governance. Rules don't matter; only power does. Although if the Repugs succeed, we can look forward to a day when Democrats hold the presidency and both houses of Congress, and we can put some judges of our own on the courts. Gay judges. Atheist judges. Tree hugger judges. Supreme Court Justice William J. Clinton.
There are two extremely good posts on Daily Kos this morning that illustrate the point, generally missed in almost every discussion of judicial filibusters, about what makes the nuclear option "nuclear." It's true, as Repugs keep saying, that the Senate has the right to make its own rules. But to go nuclear, the Repugs are going to have to break the rule that says any rule change must be approved by a two-thirds majority. That's the nuclear part. The Senate's own parliamentarian has said they can't do it--but Frist and company have blown him off. (Kos posts are here and here.)
This is banana-republic governance. Rules don't matter; only power does. Although if the Repugs succeed, we can look forward to a day when Democrats hold the presidency and both houses of Congress, and we can put some judges of our own on the courts. Gay judges. Atheist judges. Tree hugger judges. Supreme Court Justice William J. Clinton.
