Originally posted by: gallivanter
Sigh. At least half of the compromise Senators at yesterday's press conference refered to the nuclear option as the Constitutional option, just as law professors from such places as Yale and Harvard have as well. You may not like that term, but it is just that, a term, and an appropriate one as well, since the whole issue of Senate rules is in the Constitution. You continue to illustrate your very shallow knowledge of almost every subject you engage in.
No need to be condescending.
The
only thing the Constitution says is that
the house and senate will set their own rules. The Constitution sets no directive on filibusters. They didn't even exist for about a 100 years after the Constitution was written.
There is nothing Constitutional about it, it has to do purely with procedural precedence in the Senate.
There is no "whole issue of Senate rules". There is actually one single sentence in the Consitution:
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
The Constitutional option is just a political term to make it sound like the filibuster is against the Constitution. It's not.
As for the vote, do a count. There was possibly one Senator not involved in the compromise whose vote was somewhat iffy, though he indicated he would vote for the rule change, with that being Senator Specter. That gives the Republicans 48 votes. Senators Graham and DeWine stated at the press conference that they would have also voted for the rule change if a compromise had not been reached. That is fifty votes, all that was needed. Further, it is almost certain the Senator Warner would have voted with his party, and it was expected that Senator Collins would have as well. That would be fifty-two votes. Senator McConnel was absolutely correct. The deal was struck not because the votes were not there, but because this bloc of Senators did not have to listen to anybody else. Once they got enough of themselves together, it was fully up to them. The leadership of neither party got what they wanted.
It's not as black and white as you make it seem. Graham and DeWine could easily have said that to make it seem like theyre still with the Republican party.
The truth is that you do not know how they would have voted, since everything they say now is skewed by the need to portray themselves in a good light.
Again, you really should learn more about what you speak. You do a disservice to this forum. Read what I posted, read what happened to both Justice Souter and Justice Thomas. They were both fast-tracked in exactly the same manner. You make a silly statement as if this is just an impossibility, but in fact it is recent precedent, and always what has been discussed by those aware of the situation. Sorry, but there will be nothing the Democrats can do about it either. I hope that you comprehend that one. This deal very likely puts Judge Brown on the Supreme Court. Make sure you all vote for these Democrat Senators in the future.
I agree with most of what you have said, but I think you are underestimating the political spin the democrats can put on it. They can still easily say that the approval of these conservative judges with respect to SCOTUS is an extraordinary circumstance, especially since these Judges were only recently appointed to Appeals Court positions. However, they will be slightly handicapped by writing in the compromise.
But, remember that when I say "they" I only mean the Democrats involved in the compromise.