The Other Side
It seems being part of "The Gang of 14" is having repercussions for Sen. John McCain. This article in today's NY Times provides the rather startling news that the conservatives were just as irate as the liberals were in the deal that cleared the way for the appointments of Justices Alito and Roberts to the US Supreme Court.
Amazing.
Back in 2005, Senator John McCain of Arizona and fellow members of the so-called Gang of 14 were hailed as heroes in some quarters when they fashioned an unusual pact that averted a Senate vote on banning filibusters against judicial nominees.
Now Mr. McCain’s central role in that effort, which cleared the way for confirmation of some conservative jurists, is cited as one reason for lingering distrust of him among many conservatives. The power to appoint federal judges is seen as one of the most crucial presidential roles by many on the right, and some continue to believe the agreement undermined the Republican leadership at the precise moment the party was about to eliminate the ability to use procedural tactics to block judges. [Emphasis added]
It's difficult to conceive that the hard-liners are so, well, hard-line when it comes to judicial appointments that they would have risked having the nuclear option used against them at some point in the future. Of course, many of them no doubt believed that Republicans would control the government forever, but still, the results of that deal were so favorable to them, and will last practically forever (given the ages of Roberts and Alito), that they should be counting their blessings. Apparently they're not.
It's nice to see at least one of the Gang of 14 getting his chops busted over that horrible deal, and there's a certain schadenfreude that it's a Republican.
Sweet.
Amazing.
Back in 2005, Senator John McCain of Arizona and fellow members of the so-called Gang of 14 were hailed as heroes in some quarters when they fashioned an unusual pact that averted a Senate vote on banning filibusters against judicial nominees.
Now Mr. McCain’s central role in that effort, which cleared the way for confirmation of some conservative jurists, is cited as one reason for lingering distrust of him among many conservatives. The power to appoint federal judges is seen as one of the most crucial presidential roles by many on the right, and some continue to believe the agreement undermined the Republican leadership at the precise moment the party was about to eliminate the ability to use procedural tactics to block judges. [Emphasis added]
It's difficult to conceive that the hard-liners are so, well, hard-line when it comes to judicial appointments that they would have risked having the nuclear option used against them at some point in the future. Of course, many of them no doubt believed that Republicans would control the government forever, but still, the results of that deal were so favorable to them, and will last practically forever (given the ages of Roberts and Alito), that they should be counting their blessings. Apparently they're not.
It's nice to see at least one of the Gang of 14 getting his chops busted over that horrible deal, and there's a certain schadenfreude that it's a Republican.
Sweet.
Labels: 109th Congress, Judicial Nominees
posted by Diane at 3:50 AM
1 Comments:
Funny, in a not so funny way. They do this kind of thing all the time. Laws are always for the other people, not them. Some days I feel they only think about as far as the ends of their noses. They forever are blinded to the near future.
The entire Bush years have been an episode of the mentally challenged trying to run the world.
PeasantParty
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