Filibuster

[dmaze]

Today's Globe has two items on the op-ed page both dealing with the Senate, judicial nominations, and judges. The editorial rings true to me: the Globe claims that the Democrats have approved most of Bush's nominations, and certainly are being no more unreasonable than Republicans were during the Clinton administration. The opinion column sounds a little whinier to me — complaining that Congress is interfering with "President Bush's constitutional authority to appoint judges who share his philosophy" completely ignores this little concept of "checks and balances", for example — but it does name several of the judicial nominees and gives reasons that the writer thinks they're good picks.

From what I can tell, the filibuster is essentially part of the game. I don't know if Bush's nominees really are that far to the right, but it does seem like minority rights are at stake here, and this has become a Big Enough Issue that, if 50% of the Senate is enough to confirm judges, then the Republican majority will silence debate. It is almost certainly the case that, if there were a Democratic president and Senate then we'd be seeing the same things but with the sides reversed.

(The column, incidentally, is from one James C. Dobson, "founder and chairman of Focus on the Family". When did "family" become the keyword of the far right? Don't liberals get to have spouses and kids too?)

Comments

[iabervon.livejournal.com]

When did "family" become the keyword of the far right?

In the 80s, when they traded half the FBI to the mafia for it?