I'm not happy. Really not happy. I think out of desperation and spinelessness we ground to a halt over the worst possible option. If you're unfamiliar with the deal the long and short of it is that in return for the Republicans not trying to pull a rule change we are left with:
A. Votes for Certain Nominees. We will vote to invoke cloture on the following judicial nominees: Janice Rogers Brown (D.C. Circuit), William Pryor (11th Circuit), and Priscilla Owen (5th Circuit).
B. Status of Other Nominees. Signatories make no commitment to vote for or against cloture on the following judicial nominees: William Myers (9th Circuit) and Henry Saad (6th Circuit).
So the bad, but not horrendously bad, judges won't get up or down votes, but the really evil, baby seal clubbing judges are going to get up and down votes and will pass. Maybe if the deal ended at this I wouldn't feel as irked as I do, but it gets worse:
A. Future Nominations. Signatories will exercise their responsibilities under the Advice and Consent Clause of the United States Constitution in good faith. Nominees should only be filibustered under extraordinary circumstances, and each signatory must use his or her own discretion and judgment in determining whether such circumstances exist.
Extraordinary circumstances??? Anyone else besides me hear loophole instead? This is setting the stage for a disaster. Extraordinary means out of the ordinary, right? What if Bush throws a dozen Owen nominations at us? The circumstances would certainly cease to be extraordinary. Furthermore it is so open ended that it seems to me if a Democrat tries to filibuster that a Republican does not see as out of the ordinary (apparently like Owen) then the Republican would be perfectly justified in shooting the filibuster down and maybe trying another nuclear option to silence the opposition again. If you think I'm crazy and that would never happen, then why would Mike DeWine say
Some of you who are looking at the language may wonder what some of the clauses mean. The understanding is – and we don’t think this will happen – but if an individual senator believes in the future that a filibuster is taking place under something that’s not extraordinary circumstances, we of course reserve the right to do what we could have done tomorrow which is to cast a yes vote for the constitutional option.
(from Think Progress)
But wait, they're going to make sure we don't get radical nominations:
We believe that, under Article II, Section 2, of the United States Constitution, the word “Advice” speaks to consultation between the Senate and the President with regard to the use of the President’s power to make nominations. We encourage the Executive branch of government to consult with members of the Senate, both Democratic and Republican, prior to submitting a judicial nomination to the Senate for consideration.
Since when does Bush give a damn about what the Senate does? Only 10 of his nominations didn't get through and he went right back and pushed them again. All he cares about is pushing his reactionary agenda and even if he sits down with his opponents in the Senate and listens to them he'll just be paying them lip service.
The only maybe plus to this is that we can still filibuster Supreme Court nominations, which should ensure that we don't wind up with another Thomas.
(memo link)
Chris Andersen over at Kos has a rosy view of the deal. He believes that moderates have conceded that filibustering is OK, extraordinary circumstances is something that will not come into play for a long time and because moderates in the Senate believe in advice and consent it will magically spring into existence complete with fairy wings and three wishes. I think Chris has a little too much faith in the moderates. How many Republican moderates exist in the Senate anymore? Collins, Snowe, Warner, Specter, Chafee, McCain? I know there were other Republicans up there but I know that some of them (as well as some Democrats) were looking for a way out to save face. Chris also says
"Extraordinary" is defined according to the impact the nomination could potentially have on the course of the nation, not simply on the character of the individual nominee.
Which is kind of funny considering that he starts off his kick by asserting
Some have complained about this agreement by saying that the extremism of Brown and Owen are the very definition of "extraordinary circumstances."I disagree.
Well wait a second, not worried that they kick puppies, eat babies or kill cats on the weekends, but we're worried about the consequences that these judges could wreak upon the nation with respect to labor, environmental, commerce, social welfare, etc. Doesn't that fit that definition of extraordinary?
1. The filibuster issue comes to fore on Tuesday, there is a floor vote and the Republicans don't have the votes. Democrats win, hands down. Right wing power grab thwarted and Frist exiled to the deepest dungeon of Dobson's Pit of Despair where he is forced to play the role of Jesus in a live stage performance of the Passion with no special effects.
2. The filibuster issue comes to fore on Tuesday, there is a floor vote and the Republicans have the votes. Republicans get their rule change and some considerable gains in the short run but politically it is a huge victory for the Democrats. They can now turn around and portray the abuses of power and one party rule. They can get on every news show and flout the abuse and underhandedness that Republicans regularly use to get their way (Tom Delay connection, anybody? Anybody?).
I know some (a lot) of people will disagree with me on the second outcome, but I believe the Democrats have learned a lot in the last year and are continuing to learn. Under Reid's leadership this party will not bend over and ask "thank you sir, may I have another?" Part of the reason that the counter will be so easy to deliver is that the drive to eliminate the filibuster did not come from the big business wing of the Republican party that has learned how to disguise itself and pass itself off as mainstream, but from the evangelical Christian right wing of the party that cannot conceal its true intentions and whose actions will provoke a severe reaction against them.
The floor vote was going to be a win/win situation for the Democrats. However, it didn't happen because moderates on both sides decided to negotiate a compromise. First off, if someone on the Democratic side is trying to negotiate a compromise it shouldn't be the moderates. Salazar? Nelson? Are these people who represent the mainstream of the Democratic party? Moreover, the moderates on the Republican side they negotiated with (nevermind Graham and the others who stowed away) are only moderates in light of the shift in the Republican party. These were the people who 20 years ago were conservatives. Why is the Democratic party brokering a deal with conservatives? Why can't they stand up and fight for what they truly believe in? That depends on if they do, of course. Now we're going to wind up in a situation where approval ratings for both Congress and both parties will go up instead of an increase for Democrats and a decrease for Republicans.
We've also blown a huge shot at the 2008 election. Is there anyone who thinks Frist could really win? Like I said above, Bush represents big business, which knows how to pass itself off as kinda normal, but Frist represents people who think Spongebob enjoys sodomizing male squids on a regular basis. That's a huge difference to begin with, on top of which Frist has all the charisma of a narcoleptic giving a speech at a pep rally. Now the big winner of the day is McCain. Have you seen the headlines? I haven't seen Democratic names pop up on T.V. yet. I have never and will never vote Republican, but how many people do you think will cross party lines to vote for McCain? That all depends on if he can get his party's nomination, but if he does I don't know how good our shot is in '08.
Because the Democrats were once again unable to stand up for their core beliefs and values we are now in a situation where they have once again aided moving the center of discourse to the right and blew a potentially huge political and moral victory. But I guess for some people that's ok because we only let the Republicans beat us a little and not break anything this time. Well not me. I'm not happy. Really not happy.
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