When you see the Democrats use Rule 21 to convene a 'secret session' to discuss pre-Iraq war intelligence, and watch Democratic leaders scurry about claiming righteous indignation over the way intel was handled, you know one thing.
Sam Alito's nomination is going to sail through the process without any filibusters and will be confirmed along the same margin that John Roberts was confirmed.
Why do I say this? Simple. Just look at what the Democrats had to do in order to change the topic of discussion in Washington yesterday. Less than 24 hours earlier, Alito was nominated and got rousing support from the GOP and even begrudging respect from some Democrats. So, Senate Democrats needed to do something to change the topic of discussion to something that they thought might score a few political points and take the focus away from the Administration's strong choice. And that worked for all of one 24-hour news cycle, if that.
However, pulling parlimentary parlour tricks doesn't solve the Democrats problems. It exposes them for everyone to see.
UPDATE:
Ace busts out the Animal House quotes. And it's totally fitting for what the Democrats have accomplished. John Cole of Balloon Juice thinks that this is a preview of the filibuster fight over Alito. I'm not quite sure I see it that way. In fact, I think the bait and switch topic change, coupled with the various statements coming from the Gang of 14, suggests that Alito will be confirmed in the same manner and decorum as was Roberts.
No comments:
Post a Comment