By Brigitte Greenberg, Associated Press, 6/4/2001 01:46 WASHINGTON (AP) Republicans say they may try to block a Democratic takeover of Senate committees unless the Democrats promise they will not reject outright or indefinitely delay President Bush's judicial nominees. Democrats take power this week following Vermont Sen. James Jeffords' decision to leave the GOP and become an independent. In the 50-50 Senate, Republican control relied on Vice President Dick Cheney's tie-breaking vote. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., did not rule out a GOP filibuster to stop Democrats from adjusting committees to reflect their 50-49 edge. Jeffords is siding with Democrats for purposes of organizing in the Senate. A filibuster would bring all Senate business to a halt. Santorum, a member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, said Democrats should guarantee that Bush's nominees for the federal bench get a floor vote, rather than face rejection by the Judiciary Committee on ideological grounds. That deal, he said, is ''the price of admission.'' ''We're willing to give them a one-seat majority ... but what we want in exchange for that is really some protection that government can continue to function here,'' Santorum said on ''Fox News Sunday.'' ''If we don't get that assurance or some assurance in this vein, then I think we're going to have some hard times organizing.'' Excuse me? Was this not a Republican senator who supported the blocking of Clinton nominees in committee? Orrin Hatch and his cronies prevented dozens of Clinton's judicial nominees from getting a fair vote on the Senate floor, thus creating a bad judicial backlog... and now Santorum dares to claim that it would be fundamentally unfair of the Democrats to do the same? Hypocrite! If you're going to wield majority power bluntly, then it's silly to be upset when you become the minority. Such a deal as he's asking for is unprecedented in US legislative history. The majority *always* has the option of blocking nominations or legislation in committee. It's usually only done in the most extreme cases, but a blanket-guarantee to the contrary would be ridiculous. I'm not saying it's right to prevent a vote on the floor, except in the most extreme cases. However, Santorum did this to the Democrats... so his recent theatrics are disingenuous and expose him as an unethical political shark. ------------------ A few years back on the Senate floor... Phil Gramm: "If Democrats could, they'd tax the air we breathe." Ted Kennedy (jumping up): "By God, why didn't I think of that sooner!" Boston College - NCAA Hockey National Champions 2001 [This message has been edited by haven (edited June 04, 2001).]
Republicans are not hypocrites. They are all good, law-abiding folk. Democrats are all evil. Get it straight. ------------------ http://www.swirve.com ... more fun than a barrel full of monkeys and midgets.
I knew this would happen. What the Republicans did was terribly short-sighted, eventually the would be the minority again snd there would be a reckoning. Things like that always come back around to bite you in the ass. ------------------ This space currently being renovated. We apologize for the inconvenience.
The demos will give in like they did with the debates during the elections I'm not republican but the Demos are weak and give in too much Rocket River ------------------
