Via NBC’s “First Read“:
I visited the Des Moines Register site, and found the article. Cross-posted at DailyKos. More below:
From today’s Des Moines Register, “GOP leaders tie filibuster to caucuses”:
The letter puts Senators John McCain of Arizona and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska on notice.
The document was signed by Steve Scheffler, director of the Christian Coalition of Iowa; Chuck Hurley, president of the Iowa Family Policy Center; Edward D. Failor Sr., president of Iowans for Tax Relief; and Maxine K. Sieleman, host of KWKY radio’s “Update Today” program, which is popular with religious conservatives.
Also signing the letter were Marlys Popma, a respected former executive director of the Iowa GOP; David M. Stanley, chairman of the Tax Education Foundation; and Kim Lehman, executive director of the Iowa Right to Life Committee.
“The group thanked Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and Senators George Allen of Virginia, Sam Brownback of Kansas and Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania ‘for their courage’ on the issue,” writes columnist David Yepsen.
The letter continues:
The group thanked GOP senators willing to do that but said “it is important that Senators Hagel and McCain understand that our organizations will continue to keep our statewide memberships fully informed and educated on how each of the potential presidential candidates in the Senate stood on this important issue. Now is not the time to stand by silently while a band of partisan extremists abuse the Senate rules and twist Senate history in order to obstruct President Bush’s qualified nominees.”
The Des Moines Register columnist weighs in:
[……………..]
We don’t have political bosses in Iowa, but in the GOP the signers of this letter come close. Their decision to take a hard-line stance on this could deny their party the sort of centrist nominee who might fare well in a general election. But, then, centrism seems out these days in campaigns, replaced by the politics of “firing up the base” of your most zealous followers.
At a minimum, the signers and their organizations could make life quite miserable in Iowa for a Republican presidential candidate unwilling to back Bush on the filibuster question.
I have one question: Is there any doubt that the GOP powers-that-be are playing for keeps?
By that, I’m asking: Is there any doubt that they do not foresee that — down the road, in the future — they’ll need the filibuster themselves because they plan on locking up the Senate for decades to come?
Dare we hold out hope that the tide will turn? Or is the GOP’s game plan so in place that we’re just kidding ourselves?
Note: These are questions to stimulate discussion, not to reflect a fatalism on my part. I’ll never give up!
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P.S. On an equally ominous note, “DNC chair Howard Dean told Tim Russert yesterday that he doesn’t trust Republicans to apply an elimination of the filibuster, if there is one, only to judicial nominees.” (First Read)
From First Read:
— Frist will raise a “point of order” to the presiding officer — most likely Cheney. He’ll make the case the Owen’s nomination has been debated long enough and that only a simple majority of 51, rather than a filibuster-proof 60 votes should be needed to confirm a nominee.
— As the presiding officer, Cheney will rule in Frist’s favor (potentially against the judgment of the Senate parliamentarian, with whom First has made it known they will not be consulting; Senate Democrats have argued that the parliamentarian opposes the move).
— Democrats will “appeal” Cheney’s ruling.
— Republicans will ask for a vote to “table” or kill the Democrats’ appeal. This is the vote that would change the rules
— the so-called nuclear option. Fifty-one votes are needed to kill the appeal; Cheney would break a tie in Frist’s favor.
— If Frist has enough votes to kill the Democrats’ appeal, he would then call for a vote on Owen’s confirmation. With the new rule in place, Strickland says, filibusters on judicial nominees would be prohibited; only 51 votes would be required for her confirmation. And with 55 Republican Senators, all of Bush’s nominees would then most likely be confirmed.
Strickland adds that it’s unclear if there would then be additional votes on other previously blocked judges. Frist has said that after dealing with this matter, he wants to move to the Bolton nomination.
McCain at least has already come out against the rules change. Part of the dozen working behind the scenes for a compromise, he’ll still vote in the long term interests of the Senate. (I don’t think for a minute he’s forgotten the Bush smear campaign calling him a traitor.)
With BushCo et. al. clearly heading for “lame duck land” in the next two years, this vote will likely make the religious right regret what they’ve wished for. I think their reach has finally exceeded their grasp.
If trends continue as they are now, the religious right in ’06 will look like the wicked witch: “I’m melting……I’m melting”. Hold on Toto, it’s going to be a very wild ride.
I would not be worried about these threats. Those groups are not endorsing them in a primary anyway.
The mood of the country will need to change significantly for either McCain or Hagel to have a chance to win the nomination.
It’s part of a larger whole range of threats. Look what the capital-T They did to Voinovich, running TV ads against him in his own state, simply for delaying a vote.
By that, I’m asking: Is there any doubt that they do not foresee that — down the road, in the future — they’ll need the filibuster themselves because they plan on locking up the Senate for decades to come?
The GOP (as it is now composed) has had forsight on only one narrow issue, keeping power in its hands. On everything else, it has failed to have vision towards the future. Kyoto Accords, why bother, our descendents don’t need clean air, pure water, etc. Foreign policy, just invade (or spread democracy, if you prefer.) and f*ck others that might have an interest, including those invaded. Social programs, bankruptcy protections, no, we don’t need those either. Repugs will just pull themselves up by their bootstraps and f*ck you if you can’t do the same. Long range vision, we certainly don’t need that, what is that anyway? Filibuster, we don’t need no stinkin’ filibuster!
So their long-range vision is more of the same, with impunity and without challenge, since they’ll have the White House, Congress and judiciary locked up.
I think they are playing for keeps, or planning on it, but I also think they have an overinflated view of their own power. The only wildcard (and even that one is not all that wild) is the controlling of the voting machines, and I think even that will backfire on them.
The Evangelican Nutbars aren’t going to support Senator McCain anyway so he looses nothing by telling them to shove it. I’m not familiar enough with Senator Hagel to comment.
I am beginning to think we are going to win either way.
If the GOP eliminates fillibusters then they open themselves up to Senator Reid initiating his own legislative agenda AND we can use this to beat-up on candidates in 2006 AND there is precendent for bypassing comity should we take the majority in 2006.
IF the GOP doesn’t eliminate fillibusters then the GOP is going to implode as the Nutbars froth all over themselves.
And what about the true conservatives, moderates, and libertarian wings of the GOP? What about women?
This is going to be both interesting and fun.
sigh
“Evangelicals”