Reply #52: I hope democrats spend their time calling republicans hypocrtical liars. [View All]

[snippy]

I sent this email to almost every democratic Senator this weekend.

Dear Senators:

I have read that Senate republican leaders plan to devote 30 straight hours of debate next week in their bid to confirm a handful of judicial nominees being blocked by democrats. If this occurs it will present a huge opportunity for democratic Senators to do something good for this country.

This debate will receive a fair amount of media coverage when it begins. Democrats need to seize this opportunity to make this debate receive a huge amount of media coverage and to determine what that coverage includes. If the democratic Senators are bold and brave they can dominate that coverage.

Every democratic Senator needs to make exactly the same point when it is his or her turn to speak. That point is that the republicans are lying hypocrites about the blocking of Bush's judicial nominees. The democrats should not be overly polite or genteel, or even respectful. The making of that point needs to be shocking in its bluntness and brutal honesty. It needs to be exceptionally newsworthy.

Democratic Senators need to emphasize these facts:

1. Republicans blocked 167 Clinton judicial nominees.

2. Democrats have blocked 4 Bush judicial nominees.

3. Bush has had 168 judicial nominees confirmed in less than 3 years, a record number for that length of time.

4. The vacancy rate in the federal courts is at its lowest level in 13 years.

If the Democratic Senators hammer home these 4 facts and accuse the republicans of being hypocrites and liars over and over and over again, the media will cover that story and it will be big news. The media will report the actual facts concerning judicial nominations. The media will report the lying hypocrisy of the republicans. People will remember that the republicans were exposed as hypocritical liars.

If the democrats talk about the qualifications or lack thereof of the nominees it will be boring and people will remember only that democrats are blocking some of Bush's nominees. It will be playing right into the republican plan.

Exposing the republicans for the hypocritical liars they are will have ramifications far beyond the judicial confirmation process. The American people will remember it in other contexts as well.

The republican party is spending huge amounts of time and money to define the democratic party in false terms. It is time for the democratic party to define the republican party truthfully. Please take this opportunity to begin.

Sincerely,

XXX