Senate Republicans: Wheels Coming Off?

[Plaid Adder]

I haven't been watching the Republican talkathon, but I have to ask: exactly what did they think it was going to accomplish?

* Raise awareness about the filibustering?

Well...isn't that going to help the Democrats? I mean isn't that one of the reasons they're filibustering these people in the first place--to get Americans to understand how important these judicial appointments are? And also to show that they ARE capable of standing up to Bush?

* Intimidate the Democrats into folding?

I can understand that after listening to 30 hours of Republican rhetoric, you might well be in a very strange state of mind, but I still don't see how they expected to convince them to end a filibuster by helping them filibuster.

* Grandstand about how mean the Democrats are being by refusing to confirm these nominees?

Sure, I can see why this would be a desired effect...only every spot I've seen on this talkfest so far has included a sound bite of a Democrat pointing out that Bush has had 98% of his nominees confirmed and only 4 filibustered, so that's not working out too well for them.

* Grandstand about how the Democrats are diverting precious time and attention from vital issues of the day by engaging in this pointless filibuster...

...by engaging in a pointless filibuster?

It really is baffling. Now, all of a sudden, the Democrats can use every single argument that the Republicans were using against them about how pointless and wasteful filibustering is against the Republicans, and I just heard 'em doing it on NPR, too.

So what was the tactical value of all this? I'll tell you: there was NO tactical value. They did this to make themselves feel better. They wanted a chance to stand up and rant about how frustrated and pissed off they are that they have been thwarted for once. That's the only reason I can think of for their doing this.

May it bite them in the ass sharply,

The Plaid Adder

[Dr Fate]

1. Well, we learned just how much Santorum REALLY hate the "right to privacy"

He railed against it for about 20 minutes- said there is no "right to privacy" in America. I kid you not.

[Pompitous_Of_Love]

8. A golden moment

Yes, and the DNC, if they had any sense and any courage, would use that spectacular snippet in every television ad in every U.S. House and Senate race across the country next year. But they won't. Too confrontational. They need to do a two-minute "best of" highlights reel of the craziest Rethug whack-a-doodle ranting on the floor of both houses. They can cap it by asking voters, "Do you really want these people running our government?"

[Spazito]

2. It was a pathetic attempt to rally their base...

it seems they received some empty envelopes back from their supporters with the message that no money would be donated until the Repubs fought harder on the judgeships. After watching the "talkathon" I think it was a BIG tactical error on the Repubs part.

[Loonman]

3. They've managed to make asses of themselves

Also expose FOX News Channel's Republican toadying.

Brit hume said 51 of our senators.

"Our" senators.

[0007]

4. The three junior vipers are indeed helping!

Santorum -
Coleman -
Graham -

[1songbird]

5. The Repugs look petty and tyrannical.

I even emailed Sen. Frist and told him so. Hopefully I won't get put on a dissenter's list, oh well it was fun.

[maddezmom]

6. hope it bites them in the ass

Anyone know how long this will go on? Don't know if I can take Hatch's voice much longer...

[shirlden]

7. We have let too many of *'s judicial

appointments slide by. The Democrats in this legislature are the absolute worse "opposition party" in all my many years (68). It is not that the Repugs are making a tactical error here, which I personally believe they are, but that the Demos have been making tactical errors for 3 years now. Let's take back our party and give the Repugs a real political battle.

:argh:

[realFedUp]

9. to get overtime pay?

:eyes:

[Plaid Adder]

10. Us gay folks already knew that

I put up a long rant about that here:

http://www.plaidder.com/crit.htm

The basic summary is that he's against the legal concept of "substantive due process" because it has been invoked to protect things he hates, such as birth control, abortion, and gay rights. He is perfectly right about the fact that the constitution does not *explicitly* guarantee a right to sexual privacy; however, I think most Americans would agree that such a right is implicit in the whole 'freedom' thing.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

[Plaid Adder]

11. Whoops-meant as a reply to Dr. Fate's post about privacy

Context helps,

The Plaid Adder

[Tansy_Gold]

17. I would think privacy would be implicit in property rights. . . .

. . . .and isn't that one of the cornerstones of repuke ideology?

I mean, if we don't/can't have property rights regarding our own bodies, what difference does it make if we can have property rights to land, intellectual property, minerals, water, etc?

Santorum is a complete and total turd.


Tansy Gold, with a head-ache and a really bad temper

[nostamj]

12. good god! they're SCREAMING

and THREATENING...

"NEVER, NEVER will be allow another liberal on the bench!!!"

unbelievable. (or is it?

[Plaid Adder]

13. OK, so do we finally have our McCarthy Moment?

Communists in the Army? Has it gotten that crazy yet?

Almost makes me want to watch,

The Plaid Adder

[ShimokitaJer]

14. I'm not so sure most Americans will know who to blame for this fiasco

I was watching the Daily Show last night, usually a moment of sanity in an otherwise conservative-schlock-filled day, and I was disappointed by Jon Stewart's representation of the Senate idiocy. He placed the blame on Senators (not Republican Senators) for the filibuster (not the insistence on a 30-hour blame-fest). If this is how it gets presented, it will be those who filibuster (i.e. the Dems) who take the fall for this. Sure, every clip of Dems from the floor will show them trying in vain to do regular business while the Repubs ignore it, but how many of those clips will people actually see on the mainstream media?

I'm worried that this will be just one more Republican outrage that gets blamed on the Democrats, like the oh-so-controversial memo which revealed the Democrats' desire to force Republicans to do their jobs.

[Skittles]

15. the sheer arrogance of republicans

it just GALLS them that they cannot get EVERYTHING they want, and they absolutely don't see how SILLY they sound whining about these four nominees. It's pathetic.

[creativelcro]

16. it's gonna feel good

the day this SOB bites the dust... -C

[stevedeshazer]

18. Santorum

What a sanctimonious pipsqueak.

I heard him on Hannity's radio show yesterday, he was foaming at the mouth (Unprecedented! Never before in history! Unconstitutinal!). Callers were saying the same things DUers say, like "The Republicans are finally getting a spine!"

They don't know what to do with their power. Jeez, the have tha House, Senate, White House and Supreme Court, and they still aren't getting it done. Incompetent.

I don't see how this helps them.

[msmcghee]

19. They've been getting blasted by their own lately . . .

. . for being totally incompetent. Their more rabid followers are wondering why Bush* couldn't have had his way with those 4 SC nominees - when they have a majority in the senate and have all the power to manipulate the rules.

So this was their chance to "show" how angry and incenced they were about those mean Dems - and how they are not going to put up with it anymore.

Instead - it vividly showed their complete incompetence - by even being unable to pull off a simple PR stunt to make the Dems look bad. Total backfire.

Can't wait for the end-of-the-week news analysis. I expect even the RW spinmeisters will show their contempt for their senate "team".

[kentuck]

20. They worry very much about losing power....

and they want to get as many judges as possible, as many taxcuts as possible, as many business breaks as possible, because once they lose power, they may be out for another 40 years...

[Cocoa]

21. they did it for Bush

I think if they had their druthers they would have just dropped the controversial nominees. Their constituents are not fired up about this issue, otherwise they would have outfreeped us at Frist's poll. It's all for Bush, maybe this was just to prove to him once and for all that it's pointless, get him off their backs.