Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

In a move that I find incredibly disturbing and completely stupid the GOP, at the behest of new Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, is pushing the Senate to consider changes to the rules for judicial confirmations (update, technically they are considering changes to the rules for filibuters, but it is in direct response to filibusters being used to stop judicial nominations). The rules are currently two-thirds vote and you are in.

I first heard about this last week on NPR. I dont recall the exact dates but the original framers of the constitution made the judicial nomination approval something like 75%. Then it was changed in the early 20th century to the 66% two-thirds.

This entire issue stems because the Democrats have filibustered two nominations from President Bush out of 128. Thats correct, you read that right, they Republicans have gotten 126 out of 128 judges approved and yet they are so incensed (and so incredibly arrogant and ignorant) that they wish to change the rules of the game so that the minority in the Senate does not even count.

The chairman of the Senate rules committee happens to favor the change, that chairman happens to be none other than Trent Lott (draw your own conclusions about Lott and Frist making the rules).

I dont know if these Senators realize what the SENATE is. It was setup differently than the house PURPOSELY. It was created so that a MINORITY WOULD HAVE A VOICE, so that a minority had a real impact. It was framed with 2 members from each state to represent all views of the land BY DESIGN. It was NOT intended to be hijacked by a few zealots in the CURRENT majority party who are such crybabies they have to get 100% of what they want. I cant even believe a US Senator would PROPOSE such a rule change, much less it garner any actual support.

Well fortunately for the United States the rules OF THE SENATE also need two-thirds to be changed, and that aint gonna happen precisely BECAUSE of the minority. This is so over the top flagrantly subversive and tyrannical in nature its insane. Have the proposers of this crap even thought about the ramifications?

What if this DID pass? And hypothetically what if ten years from now Hillary Clinton was the President and there was a majority Democratic congress (Hillary aint gonna happen, I dislike her too, its just an example)? Would the GOP feel the same way about the majority Senate picking all the judges with the minority not having a say at all?

On NPR they pointed out that this would basically just make the Senate a "rubber stamp" for the President. The President would of course love this (as he doesnt seem to understand a diverse system where the minority matters either) but it would not serve the country well at all, quite the contrary.

On top of all the process crap to add to the judicial debacle that is our government President Bush has nominated Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor to an 11th circuit seat in Atlanta. Well the term "Alabama Attorney General" should be enough of an oxymoronic red flag but if you just forgive that title and examine the record of Pryor then you will see the incredible stupidity and ignorance of this person and this nomination.

Pryor is adamantly anti homosexual, he says there should be laws against homosexuality. Pryor is a "zealous advocate of relaxing the wall between church and state". He has worked with the illustrious Pat Robertson to advocate prayer in public schools (apparently he hasnt read the constitution, and thats reading is not a requirement for Bush nominees). Pryor has supported the Alabama Chief Justice (yeah another great title) in his display of the Ten Commandments in his courtroom. Pryor is against the voting rights act. Pryor is also of course a very vocal and staunch Pro-Lifer that calls Roe v. Wade an "abomination".

This list goes on and on. And to make matters worse Pryor is very politicized and bias in his views. His speeches reflect a person that is not only incredibly ignorant based on these views (discrimination against a person for sexual orientation or race is IGNORANCE, deal with it) and incredibly confused about the separation of Church and State but also not willing to be impartial and judge a case on its merits (quite the contrary he is open and adamant about his views).

Maybe the President should consider his nominations a bit more closely rather than pushing the GOP to change the Senate rules? I think it would do Mr. Bush and Mr. Pryor some good to look up the word: judge.
(Well, ok, maybe not, first off I DONT mean the "bible" versions, and the bias would not allow even the real definition to do any good, so that entire idea is out because that would just confuse them more.)

UPDATE
After some people took issue with me saying the Repubs where whining, I decided to see if the Repubs had themselves used a filibuster to block a Presidential federal judge nomination. I thought I had recalled that they had as recently as the Clinton presidency, and indeed they did, Richard Paez and Marsha Berzon. Dont get me wrong, this article is NOT intended to be pro democrat, I am not fond of democrats or republicans, but the suggestion that changing the majority-minority balance in the Senate and therefore the executive-legislative balance of power in the nation is needed because of some judicial crisis is based on specious arguments and completely asinine, it just HAPPENS to be republicans who want to change the rules as such and hence they get all the credit.
  Filibuster Rule Change: WashingtonPost