I'm in the paper re: the Filibuster!!!!

[oxbow]

I'm quoted in the Richmond Times Dispatch on why this issue is so important. The article is fair to both sides, though I am disappointed that they left out what I said about the need for moderate judges. Don't worry, I won't forget all you little people at DU when I'm famous. ;)



J. Warner mum on rule vote

BY PETER HARDIN
TIMES-DISPATCH WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT Apr 18, 2005


WASHINGTON -- It's not clear if he got it from former wife Elizabeth Taylor or if it is innate, but U.S. Sen. John W. Warner has a flair for the dramatic.


The fifth-term Virginia senator was one of only a handful of Republicans to remain undecided last week as their leaders weighed a possible Senate rule change to ban filibusters of judicial nominees.


<snip>

Almost 19,000 Virginians' signatures recently were delivered to Warner's office as part of a petition drive by the Coalition for a Fair and Independent Judiciary, an alliance of civil rights, human rights and other groups, in support of protecting Senate filibusters over judicial nominees.

Milad Meamarian of Falls Church, a George Mason University senior who calls himself a "passionate centrist," recently lobbied Warner staff against the rule change. Meamarian sees it as potentially affecting the nation's future adversely through the federal courts.

The issue isn't dusty Senate bylaws, Meamarian said, but "it's about clean water, civil rights, all kinds of stuff -- about what our country is going to be like for the next 40-plus years."

Conservative commentator-activist Paul M. Weyrich of Fairfax County has encouraged some allies to lobby Warner the other way. He also said that if Warner is thinking about a re-election bid in 2008, a vote against the rule change would stir conservatives' ire.

"Conservatives regard this as the paramount issue," Weyrich said, given the lasting legacy of federal judicial appointments. If Warner wants to have one more term, Weyrich said, "I would not want to be John Warner and to have voted against the constitutional option."

Some Supreme Court justices are expected to step down over the next four years, and eliminating Senate filibusters of judicial nominees could give Bush a way to transform the federal courts.


<snip>

Full article: http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031782202589

[Up2Late]

1. Ooops, you gave away your true identity...

Now, if you say anything too radical, the Department of Homeland Security is going to pay you a visit. :hide: :evilgrin:

[Tippy]

2. Great Article n/t

[AndreaCG]

3. Interesting way to describe yourself

As a passionate centrist. I.E. a sensible person.

[oxbow]

4. Exactly. Both sides are often in the wrong

and I hope I'll always be brave enough to call em on it. Of course, I feel more comfortable at DU than say, US message boards, because you guys are just more open minded and nicer too. Conservatives are doomed to play catchup, while its progressives that try and dream up a better society.

[GetTheRightVote]

5. Thank you Peter, great job !!!

:kick:

[Moderator]

6. oxbow

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