That filibuster deal that the seven Republican senators were fawning about the other day seems to have been broken. Let me see, by my count it lasted 3 days. Those senators sold out the constitution to broker “peace” and give the minority a voice and what did it get them, nothing. Frist is in big Trouble.
The vote on John Bolton to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has been blocked, with Democrats trying to force the White House to release long-sought classified information about the controversial nominee, or perhaps to pick someone else for the job.
Republicans were not able to muster on Thursday the 60 votes needed to stop debate on Bolton’s nomination
despite support from two Democratic senators who had been instrumental in recent negotiations over judicial nominees.Although Democrats claimed the move did not constitute a filibuster, Republicans said it sure looked like one.
Ok, last night they had a cloture vote. This is a vote to end a filibuster. If this wasn’t a filibuster then what the hell was it? And what about the seven Democrats who worked out this deal. Only 3 of them voted for cloture, so 4 of them voted to continue the filibuster and the Republican’s are surprised:
The vote against cutting off debate over the confirmation of John R. Bolton to be ambassador to the United Nations, just as Congress was recessing for Memorial Day, left Republicans fuming and showed there is still some distance to travel to reach the new spirit of Senate comity that some believed was represented in the judicial pact announced Monday.
…
Its authors had said repeatedly that it was a testament to the ability of senators to trust one another. In the aftermath of the Bolton vote, some Republicans were asserting that Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, had been misled by his Democratic counterpart, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada. Mr. Reid, they said, had assured Dr. Frist there were sufficient votes to cut off debate and move toward a floor vote on Mr. Bolton. …Aides to Mr. Reid said he had provided no such assurances and, in fact, had warned Dr. Frist a few hours earlier that the effort to force a confirmation vote on Mr. Bolton could fall short. “I am disappointed that tonight we were unable to have a vote on Bolton,” Mr. Reid said. “But it is not the fault of the Democratic caucus. We’re not here to filibuster Bolton, we’re here to get information.” But it was not lost on Republicans that only a few hours before the Bolton vote, Mr. Reid delivered a tough speech at the National Press Club, where he assailed Republicans for pandering to the right wing and described the Senate agreement on judges as a potential “new beginning” for consensus in the Senate.
What did Reid say a few hours before this vote? He said the following:
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid yesterday in a speech laying out Democrats’ agenda accused Republican leaders of being so consumed with partisan
political “sniping” that they’ve neglected a troubled economy and a weak national defense.“Democrats are the party of national security,” Mr. Reid said at the National Press Club. “And we have an agenda to defend America from danger.”
He is tired of the sniping from the Republicans? You gotta be kidding me:
Shall we list the irrational partisan attacks involving the Senate under Harry Reid’s stewardship of the minority?
* Democrats forced a debate on a state’s presidential electors for the first time since 1876, despite not
having any evidence whatsoever of any fraud, and despite much closer races in other states* Democrats called an executive nominee a “liar” during floor debate, a breach of Senate etiquette
* Reid’s reference to Henry Saad’s FBI file, a highly confidential investigative file that even Saad can’t
access* A continuing series of smears against sitting judges awaiting confirmation to the federal appellate court, undermining their authority in their current positions while they cannot respond to their own defense
* The continued indiscriminate use of the filibuster for every nominee whose politics they disagree with
And then he has the nerve to tell the Senate that the filibuster is not the fault of the Democrats. Give me a break. The people I am most pissed off at tho are the spineless Republicans. Disgusting.
Hopefully Bush will make him a recess appointment since the Democrats want to play rough. While he is at he should appoint Saad and Myers since neither of these two will get to the floor for a vote. If any Republican has balls enough to do it, it would be Bush. Doesn’t look like any of the other Republicans have any spine left.
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