Hey, this recovery thing works after all.
(This post was lost when my computer egregiously crashed a few minutes ago. I brought things back up, and logged on to blogger, created a post, and hit the recover post link. What I had been writing before appeared in front of me. So this post was made possible by Blogger's recovery system, which I now love and endorse).
When my wife was blasting through TV channels this morning looking for something to watch, it seemed like every other channel featured someone saying the word "filibuster". They weren't just talking about the congressional filibuster, they were actually saying the word. It doesn't help that congress is consumed with the issue right now -- they are talking about nothing else. We're supposed to be heading for some sort of "showdown" or "cage match" this week where the republicans give up a few super-conservative nominations or something in exchange for the death of this filibuster. It's really sort of a nothing issue, and I don't know why so many talk show hosts and news outlets and blogs have been discussing it non-stop for a week. I don't even know why I'm discussing it now. Oh, wait, I know...I'm doing it to mock those other people.
The issue boils down to this...the liberal fan base and the conservative fan base hate each other so much that they've become obsessed with the idea of an "activist judiciary" on both sides. Many liberals think a conservative judiciary would end life as we know it -- the repealing of Roe v. Wade, a reinstituition of Alien and Sedition Laws, police busting into gay churches and busting up gay marriages, mandatory public school Bible readings, and so on. Many conservatives think a liberal judiciary would mean mandatory abortions, the saying of words like a__ and b___ on the radio, weed kiosks at every Starbucks, and a general move towards hell in a handbasket. Nobody is looking at this rationally because judges have become so activist in recent years...but for every Roe v. Wade overstepping there's a good decision, like getting rid of the "separate but equal" crap that was going on. So you see, it's not the power that's bad but the way the judges wield it.
This whole filibuster debate is good because we should be taking thse judicial nominations very seriously. The main check and balance we have for these judges is not appointing them in the first place. Having said that, it's very sad when the judges are being stopped for political reasons -- just because they happen to have a conservative or a liberal bent -- and not for professional reasons. Like I said, I understand that both sides have become obsessed with judges. My general rule is that when both sides are obsessed with an issue, it usually doesn't matter. conservative dudes are forced through when conservatives are in power, and liberal dudes are crammed down our throats under liberal rule. It's our two-party system. You'd think we would be used to it by now.
The system is breaking down in this case because conservatives own both the executive and the legislative branches, and the only thing liberals in congress can do is simply refuse to vote on things. It's the political version of passive aggression, and Democrats are using it for its proper purpose, which is to stop down congress until they can cut some sort of deal. People need to realize that this is how politics works and stop yelling about it on TV and the radio. We certainly don't need to panic here. In the end, some justice nominees will get through, some will not, and the Democrats will get some farm subsidies or something. Then we can move on to some other non-issue.
It also must be pointed out that if the majority of voters really wanted to kill this filibuster, it would be totally dead, because the Democrats wouldn't want to marginalize themselves. Moreso.
It also also must be pointed out that the filibuster is a particularly immature way of dealing with things, but it would be great if we could use it in real life. Instead of obeying the dictates of Papa John's, I could just start talking and not stop until they were more to my liking. Let me tell you, the first thing to be negotiated out would be that glowing deadly carsign.
The truth is you largely make your own way in this country, and that's what makes it great. As long as things continue to boil down to that, let's tone down the rhetoric a bit, shall we? Sheesh.
When my wife was blasting through TV channels this morning looking for something to watch, it seemed like every other channel featured someone saying the word "filibuster". They weren't just talking about the congressional filibuster, they were actually saying the word. It doesn't help that congress is consumed with the issue right now -- they are talking about nothing else. We're supposed to be heading for some sort of "showdown" or "cage match" this week where the republicans give up a few super-conservative nominations or something in exchange for the death of this filibuster. It's really sort of a nothing issue, and I don't know why so many talk show hosts and news outlets and blogs have been discussing it non-stop for a week. I don't even know why I'm discussing it now. Oh, wait, I know...I'm doing it to mock those other people.
The issue boils down to this...the liberal fan base and the conservative fan base hate each other so much that they've become obsessed with the idea of an "activist judiciary" on both sides. Many liberals think a conservative judiciary would end life as we know it -- the repealing of Roe v. Wade, a reinstituition of Alien and Sedition Laws, police busting into gay churches and busting up gay marriages, mandatory public school Bible readings, and so on. Many conservatives think a liberal judiciary would mean mandatory abortions, the saying of words like a__ and b___ on the radio, weed kiosks at every Starbucks, and a general move towards hell in a handbasket. Nobody is looking at this rationally because judges have become so activist in recent years...but for every Roe v. Wade overstepping there's a good decision, like getting rid of the "separate but equal" crap that was going on. So you see, it's not the power that's bad but the way the judges wield it.
This whole filibuster debate is good because we should be taking thse judicial nominations very seriously. The main check and balance we have for these judges is not appointing them in the first place. Having said that, it's very sad when the judges are being stopped for political reasons -- just because they happen to have a conservative or a liberal bent -- and not for professional reasons. Like I said, I understand that both sides have become obsessed with judges. My general rule is that when both sides are obsessed with an issue, it usually doesn't matter. conservative dudes are forced through when conservatives are in power, and liberal dudes are crammed down our throats under liberal rule. It's our two-party system. You'd think we would be used to it by now.
The system is breaking down in this case because conservatives own both the executive and the legislative branches, and the only thing liberals in congress can do is simply refuse to vote on things. It's the political version of passive aggression, and Democrats are using it for its proper purpose, which is to stop down congress until they can cut some sort of deal. People need to realize that this is how politics works and stop yelling about it on TV and the radio. We certainly don't need to panic here. In the end, some justice nominees will get through, some will not, and the Democrats will get some farm subsidies or something. Then we can move on to some other non-issue.
It also must be pointed out that if the majority of voters really wanted to kill this filibuster, it would be totally dead, because the Democrats wouldn't want to marginalize themselves. Moreso.
It also also must be pointed out that the filibuster is a particularly immature way of dealing with things, but it would be great if we could use it in real life. Instead of obeying the dictates of Papa John's, I could just start talking and not stop until they were more to my liking. Let me tell you, the first thing to be negotiated out would be that glowing deadly carsign.
The truth is you largely make your own way in this country, and that's what makes it great. As long as things continue to boil down to that, let's tone down the rhetoric a bit, shall we? Sheesh.
posted by Mike Pape @ 3:26 PM
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