Perfect crystallization of what's wrong with the Democrats

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Just opened WashingtonPost.com for my lunchtime fix of US news, and there, at the very center of my screen, was this headline:

Poll: Americans Oppose Rule Change in Senate

Two-thirds reject GOP plan to ease confirmation of Bush judicial nominees. Survey also finds president's approval ratings falling.

– Richard Morin and Dan Balz

• Democrats Hint at Filibuster Deal

That's it in a nutshell: the GOP has made a very big, very public push for "reforms" that turn out to be overwhelmingly unpopular, and what do the Dems do? Race to teh barricades? Move in for the kill? Reposition themselves as America's true centrists?

No. They begin looking to cut a deal.

Feckless losers. An entire party of feckless losers, and I'm a member.

[Drake Tungsten]

Actually, those poll results show the success the Democrats have had in framing the debate on the filibuster of judicial nominees. Polls show that a majority of people oppose the filibuster of judicial nominees, but the Democrats have managed to spin the Republican move to change the Senate rules to end such filibusters into "an attack on checks and balances" and other such nonsense. That they've managed to turn 2/3rds of Americans against reforms that would restrict a practice a majority of Americans don't approve of speaks well of the Democratic party.

You can't stick to your guns on a foundation consisting mostly of spin, however. Best to use the temporary advantage you've built up to cut a favorable deal, which the Democrats seem to be going for. Smart move.

[Shi Huangdi]

The Democrats are actually playing this very smart. What they have offered is to confirm two of the judges in exchange for GOP agreement to allow the filibuster to continue.

If the GOP agrees, then they get two appelate court justices but give up the right to filibuster for the rest, which will allow the Democrats to filibuster Supreme Court justices with impunity. This would outrage the GOP base particularly among the religious right which supports stopping the filibuster.

If the GOP does not agree to this deal, then the Democrats can claim that they tried to be reasonable and compromise, but the extremist unreasonable GOP refused to compromise at all. That would hurt the GOP among centrists.

Very smart move by the democrats.

[Bosh]

Recently Reid has been smacking around the Republicans like red-headed step children. First the Social Security debacle, then the Republicans make fools of themselves in the Shiavo mess, then Bolton looks like he'd going to be blocked and now it looks like the Dems'll get this too.

Damn, losing Daschle was the best thing that ever happened to the Democrats.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Or ten years of being *****-slapped into being the minority party. A diet of a little crow is sometimes good for the soul, if not the stomach.

On the flip side, a lot of the Republican leadership has gotten a bit arrogant and complacent of late.

[Berzerker]

Feckless losers. An entire party of feckless losers, and I'm a member.

Permission to use that in my sig?

[Dinner]

I'm not seeing how the foundation is made mostly on spin. Bush got 95% of his nominees through and it is only that last 5% of dire hard extremist candidates who are being filibustered. In Clinton's first term something like 20% of his nominees got filibustered by the Republicans and Newt was up on TV talking about how the filibuster was as American as apple pie and was part of the checks and balances.

The flip flopping of the Republican party would be comical if they weren't attacking the democratic nature of our government.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Boshko
Recently Reid has been smacking around the Republicans like red-headed step children. First the Social Security debacle, then the Republicans make fools of themselves in the Shiavo mess, then Bolton looks like he'd going to be blocked and now it looks like the Dems'll get this too.

Damn, losing Daschle was the best thing that ever happened to the Democrats.

Can't disagree about Daschle, but it's hard to see how any of the rest has anything to do with the Dems; it's just the Dems benefitting from GOP arrogant overreaching. And that's the problem: the Dems have been coasting for years without standing for anything other than not being Republicans. It's not a winning strategy.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Boshko
Recently Reid has been smacking around the Republicans like red-headed step children. First the Social Security debacle, then the Republicans make fools of themselves in the Shiavo mess, then Bolton looks like he'd going to be blocked and now it looks like the Dems'll get this too.

Damn, losing Daschle was the best thing that ever happened to the Democrats.

Yeah, Daschle was a do nothing who had run out of ideas. We needed new blood who was hungry for the kill.

Now if we need to hammer home how corrupt Tom Delay is and how the whole Republican Party in Congress knew it but didn't care as long as Delay kept the dirty money flowing in then we'd really draw some blood.

[Bosh]

Joshua Mitchell of www.talkingpointmemo.com take on this:

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_04_24.php#005523

He's a smart man and I usually trust his judgement, its at least worth reading.

[Agathon]

You're surprised? Neither party gives a stuff about the little people or the voters, who have proved their own stupidity again and again.

[Drake Tungsten]

In Clinton's first term something like 20% of his nominees got filibustered by the Republicans

Facts are your friend, Oerdin...

Joshua Mitchell of www.talkingpointmemo.com take on this:

How can you forget the name of Joshua Micah Marshall, especially given how prominently it's displayed on TPM?

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Oerdin
I'm not seeing how the foundation is made mostly on spin. Bush got 95% of his nominees through and it is only that last 5% of dire hard extremist candidates who are being filibustered. In Clinton's first term something like 20% of his nominees got filibustered by the Republicans and Newt was up on TV talking about how the filibuster was as American as apple pie and was part of the checks and balances.

The flip flopping of the Republican party would be comical if they weren't attacking the democratic nature of our government.

Actually the Repubs didn't to my knowledge filibuster anyone, they didn't need to as they were the majority party and could stall the nominations in committee or simply vote them down. The filibuster is different because it is being used by the minority to quash appointments against the will of the majority.

[Ben Kenobi]

Agreed with Shi here.

It's a bright move. Short term pain for long term gain.

[Ben Kenobi]

Bush got 95% of his nominees through and it is only that last 5% of dire hard extremist candidates who are being filibustered.

So a extremist is someone who opposes Roe?

That's a novel definition.