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Saturday, April 09, 2005

Republican absolute power

From the AP:

WASHINGTON - Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said Saturday that the fight over President Bush's judicial nominees is really a battle between Democrats who believe in checks and balances and Republicans who want everything their way. [...]

"When it comes down to it, stripping away these important checks and balances is about the arrogance of those in power who want to rewrite the rules so that they can get their way," Reid, D-Nev., said in his party's weekly radio address.

The Republican plan has been dubbed the "nuclear option" because some say it would blow up Senate relations.

If the GOP goes forward with their plan for absolute power, it will shut down the Senate:

Reid has threatened to retaliate by slowing down or stopping Senate business through procedural maneuvers.

While the fight is technically over the internal rules of the Senate, Reid said it is still important. "This isn't about some arcane procedures of the Senate. It is about protecting liberty and our limited government," he said.

Without the judicial filibuster, "the U.S. Senate becomes merely a rubber stamp for the president," Reid said. "It would mean that one political party — be it Republicans today or Democrats tomorrow — gets to have all the say over our nation's highest courts."

Reid also targeted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay in his remarks. While not identifying him by name, Reid said there was a "Republican leader threatening judges who protect our rights and corrupting our government by running roughshod over the ethics committee to protect himself."

Listening to Tom DeLay or the Constitution...Democrats are 100% right. There are no two sides to this story.

Posted at 06:54 PM in 2006 Elections, 2006 Elections - Senate, Nuclear Option, Republicans | Technorati