IN MEMORIAM

This post is dedicated in Memoriam to those stalwart Senators who aided and abetted the Democrats in keeping President Bush from appointing his choice for judges to the bench.  Elections have consequences, but to these Republican-in-Name-Only Senators, their collegiate camaraderie is more important than the will of the people.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI)

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

Sen. Mike Dewine (R-OH)

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)

Sen. John Warner (R-VA)

Lets explore the history of the Gang of 14. Not a rock group or punk band, the Gang of 14 was a “bipartisan” group of senators who aimed to stop the use of the “dreaded” Republican nuclear option during the Democrat filibuster of President Bush’s judicial nominations.  A 60 vote majority is needed to call for cloture on a filibuster by Senate Rules.  However, the “Nuclear Option” is an attempt by the President of the Senate to end a filibuster by only a majority.  Republicans at that time had a 55 vote majority which could have removed the filibuster and allowed each nominee an up or down vote according to the Constitution and to tradition. Senate tradition has been to give every nomination an up or down vote.  By filibustering, the Senate Democrats gave a new artificial threshold for the nomination process, a 60 vote majority instead of a simple majority.  The subsequent “bipartisan” counter offensive to the Republican Nuclear Option ended debate and only allowed certain nominees a vote, while refusing to “advise” the rest of the President’s choices.  This Gang of 14 changed the understanding of “advise” in the Constitution’s Provisions for the Executive Branch. Even more troubling is the language at the end of the official statement which supposes some quasi-permanent agreement to institutionalize this agreement for judicial nominations.  This is an incredibly unconstitutional and dangerous precedent in Senate rules.

FUN FACTS ON THE FILIBUSTER

The record for longest filibuster is held by the oldest person to serve in the Senate,Sen.J. Strom Thurmond (D-SC), and his filibuster clocks in at 24 hours and 18 minutes.  Sen. Thurmond was filibustering in opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

The corrupt, populist politician, Sen. Huey Long (D-LA), held the Senate floor once for 15 hours and 30 minutes on June 12, 1935, the second longest filibuster in Senate history.  He filibustered in order to “prevent his political enemies in Louisiana from obtaining lucrative NRA jobs”.  Sen. Huey Long was shot and killed a year later.

The arduous 57 day filibuster of the Civil rights Act of 1964 was broken by a cloture vote after a 14 hour and 13 minute filibuster by Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-WV).  During the cloture vote, the clerk reached a slient Sen. Clair Engle (D-CA) who, suffering from brain cancer, lifted his arm to point to his eye signalling his aggrement.  The Civil Rights Act of 1964 later passed by a margin of 71 to 29 due in no small measure by the efforts of the miniority party, the Republicans.