An Odd Filibuster
From the AP...
Does this really score points with their base? Are Democratic voters impressed by this? I don't see why they should be impressed. It's a free shot, not a brave stand. There's no real risk in this. The only risk would be if they actually got the votes to extend debate, and Frist invoked the rule change.
The AP also notes the following...
To more effectively oppose Supreme Court nominees in the future, Democrats need to convince the public "their values are at stake" rather than use stalling tactics to try to thwart the president, said a senator who opposes Samuel Alito's confirmation.This statement is from Senator Obama. The article continues...
Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., said he, too, would support the filibuster attempt but agreed that it was not particularly wise.This is so weird. We've got senators trying to take both sides. I'm guessing by that "too" and other hearsay evidence that Obama is reluctantly going to support the filibuster (it doesn't say so in the article). Senators are saying that this filibuster is stupid, a waste of time, and doomed to fail, yet they are going to vote against cloture anyway.
"I think a filibuster make sense when you have a prospect of actually succeeding," Biden said on CNN's "Late Edition." "I will vote one time to say to continue the debate. but the truth of the matter" is that Alito will be confirmed, he said.
Does this really score points with their base? Are Democratic voters impressed by this? I don't see why they should be impressed. It's a free shot, not a brave stand. There's no real risk in this. The only risk would be if they actually got the votes to extend debate, and Frist invoked the rule change.
The AP also notes the following...
Alito's supporters must produce 60 votes to cut off a filibuster; an Associated Press tally shows at least 62.This whole thing will be wrapped up by Tuesday. I hope Justice Alito makes an appearance at the State of the Union.
The AP tally also shows that at least 53 Republicans and three Democrats intend to vote to confirm Alito; that is well over the required majority.
I think it definitely scores points with their base.
The good part is that it also makes them look like the obstructionists that they are.
Posted by
Malott |
8:31 AM
Doesn't their base realize that this does make them look like obstructionists out to score political points? Don't they realize that they need to appeal to more than the PFAW crowd?
The base is not enough to win an election. At some point, their die-hards need to realize that there's more to politics than just fighting losing battles like this.
Posted by
Steve |
12:01 PM
Steve,
Hillary started trying to appeal to the moderates and the lunatic left was not pleased.
In the past the Dem nominee has swung to the left to get the nomination... then swung towards the middle to get elected.
And, it sometimes works for them.
Posted by
Malott |
12:31 PM
I understand the tactic; I just think that its days have come and gone. When people blatantly state that Hillary is "moving to the center" that sort of paints the whole act as just that, an act. People are onto it.
I think that the role of the internet and newer forms of media cannot be discounted here. The 2004 election was fought not only in newspapers, tv news, and debates. It was fought on talk radio and the internet. Every "move to the center" that a candidate does will be memorialized alongside their actual record on a thousand websites.
I just think that we have so much readily available information that no one an pull this move to the center garbage.
Posted by
Steve |
12:48 PM