The wind howls outside this drafty window rattling like it has something to tell me. Amidst this oasis of political compromise in the Senate, something stirs beneath it all. Like this cold stormy May evening in New England, there’s an identity crisis spring sometimes suffers from around here. Though with the sun finally breaking through the gray clouds that seemed permanent over DC, I understand full well that this is a moment to savor and store away for the bad days that are sure to come. As the leaders we elected have actually made a deal in the spirit of the idea that tomorrow still matters.
An idea of what the senate is supposed to be and should still be when we’re dead and gone, was behind the compromise that has killed the nuclear option for the time being. Religious leader James Dobson responded with knife and fork in a cannibalistic expression of rage over the battle plan having been undone. Right-wing blogs were littered with complaints of traitors in the GOP, while left-wing blogs savored the only victory Democrats have experienced in years. Crusaders seeking re-election vowed to continue the fight another day, while the rest of them allowed the potent venom of perspective to seep in as reminder that they actually have jobs to do.
I have honestly felt that from the death of Mrs. Shiavo until today, there has been a plan to use these judicial nominations as a litmus test to see whether or not eliminating the filibuster could actually be accomplished. Why else would President Bush have nominated fewer judges than there were open seats? There were some brilliant politics at play as the focal point of the nominations was where Rove wanted it to be, on the concept of the fairness of an up or down vote on the Senate floor. For if more than enough nominees had been recommended by the President, focus would have been lost and the entire discussion would have centered around the question of, ‘why isn’t the highest confirmation rate in decades good enough?’ With only a short list of nominations, the politics were easier to manage on the lines of race or obstruction and the judges themselves easier to leverage and romanticize in a way that could trick the public into thinking that this was about fairness rather than power.
Dobson’s reaction tells me that elaborate plans had been made. No doubt a constitutional amendment defining marriage was on the agenda. The chances of such a thing passing within the existing rules of the Senate are now as hopeless as they were prior to the Presidential election. Without this as an achievable goal, all that remains are a series of far less significant initiatives, judicial nominations and a dangerously corrosive issue of obstructing stem cell research in the name of preserving life. Only the gay marriage amendment provided the religious right the chance to back a law that actually matched up with the public opinion. Besides this issue, they’ll be holding up religion versus the poll numbers, and that type of a dynamic can sometimes mean ‘game over’.
With social security reform, military realignment and reworking of the tax code and on the second term agenda, the battle over stem cells could tip the scales. Should a bill pass the Senate and land on the President’s desk, the first veto of his presidency would not be used on a spending bill, but instead one that aims to cure disease. With this in mind, the sudden calm that’s come over DC seems more like the eye of a storm than a sign of things to come. Too many players have high hopes unwisely dipped in anticipation, and before it unravels and everyone’s sole focus becomes reelection, expect those windows to rattle cold like winter yet a few more times this spring.
Bush seems to have achieved lame duckhood at the earliest stage ever in a second term. Part of this has to do with the presidents lack of a work ethic and part of it has to do with the failures of his first term.
Another proble for the repubs is their lack of a clear successor to Bush, right now Frist, Allen and Mccaine all think they have what it takes to be president and all their fighting is leaving them all with santorum on their face.(sorry that was forced, but I have been trying to use that word for awhile now)
As far as the compromise hat averted the nuclear option, the more I think about it the more credit I have to give the Dems. Not only did they avert some the bad judges, but they managed to piss off the religous right at the same time. plus they retained the right to fillibuster whatever french poodle Bush trys to appoint.
I’ve felt like he avoids having to speak to the country. On the issues that matter most to me, he’s silent: recruiting shortfalls, rising medical costs, increasing amount of people on Medicare, corporations defaulting on pensions. The country deserves a press conference or two and some answers to these questions. He’s got to take these thing seriously.
I credit the Republicans and the Democrats who made it happen. Watching CSPAN yesterday was a real treat as there was a lot of discussion on the federalist papers and the historical reasoning for the Senate to function the way it does, and the importance of the legislative branch not existing as a rubber stamp for the executive branch. Good stuff.
The seven republicans deserve credit as well, they took a pretty substntial risk going against the religous right.
Seems like Bush avoids the tough issues, probably with good reason, the debates showed a man who cannot articulate his views very well, especially when the solution might require sacrifice. I cannot remember a newsconference where Bush has dealt with an unpleasant issue. Maybe during the Abu Graibe incident, and don’t think he handled that well.
Personally I think the republicans should eliminate the middleman and just appoint Dobson as president.
Yea, that’s the rub. Bush is about as close to Dobson as you can get, and they couldn’t fundamentally change our form of government. This gives me a great feeling of comfort. On both sides of the aisle there exists an understanding that the country belongs to all of us, and without the Senate existing as a seperate entity – independent of the Executive Branch, that can no longer be said.
Pingback: You Go Bike!