The Brink of Nuclear War

In the US Senate over the filibuster. I haven't said much about this, because it's just the same old story: The US is currently ruled by thugs, charlatans, and incompetents.

Disgusting Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum says

I MEAN, IMAGINE, THE RULE HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR 214 YEARS THAT THIS IS THE WAY WE CONFIRM JUDGES. BROKEN BY THE OTHER SIDE TWO YEARS AGO, AND THE AUDACITY OF SOME MEMBERS TO STAND UP AND SAY, HOW DARE YOU BREAK THIS RULE. IT'S THE EQUIVALENT OF ADOLF HITLER IN 1942 "I'M IN PARIS. HOW DARE YOU INVADE ME. HOW DARE YOU BOMB MY CITY? IT'S MINE."

So the Democrats threatening filibuster is equivalent to the Nazis in Paris? I cannot find words enough to say how outrageous that is.

The amazing thing is that the Republicans have the gall to describe things in terms of unprincipled, unreasonable Democrats. As anyone who has actually looked at the facts knows,

• The Democrats have not been reckless in opposing Bush's nominations. A very large of number of Bush's nominations have been approved.


• When the Republicans were in the minority, they used every trick in the book to prevent up-or-down votes on nominees that they didn't like.

Some of previously used Republican tactics include

• Filibuster. Yes, the Republicans have used filibusters to block judicial nominees. Bill Frist, the leader of the Republican assault on the filibuster, has participated in such filibusters.


• Blue slip rules. There once was a Senate practice that allowed a nominee to be blocked if both Senators from the nominee's state disapproved. When the Republicans were in the minority, this was changed (under Orrin Hatch's leadership on the judiciary committee) so that only one Senator was required to block a home-state nominee. So it became much easier for the minority to block nominees. Then when the Republicans became the majority, this was changed back to two Senators, and then the blue slip rule was eliminated altogether. This history is explained in this article by the People for the American Way

So the Republicans enjoyed expanded minority privileges when they were the minority Party, and are asking for eliminating minority privileges when they are the majority. Okay, so you could just say that that's playing hardboil---if you're going to play, play to win. But what makes me sick to my stomach is the breathtaking hypocrisy. The Republicans are talking about the Democrats being unprincipled. It truly makes me sick to my stomach. If I only had faith that thugs will eventually be seen as thugs, I could take heart, but that just doesn't seem to be born out by the evidence of recent years.

Note: I'm not actually disagreeing with Kyle's arguments as to why the filibuster is a bad thing, undemocratic. I'm just bothered by the Republicans having one set of rules when they are in power, and different rules when they are out of power.