ConfirmThem

By Paul Zummo Posted in Fillibuster — Comments () / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Byron York has a column up today on National Review Online which details the heated rhetoric coming out of the Democratic camp that I alluded to yesterday. You know, I don't know whether to laugh or cry after reading stuff such as follows.

Other speakers - Byrd's fellow senators - seemed comfortable with the interruptions of their colleague, but still managed to occasionally mangle the message.

Kennedy, for example, referred to Barbara Boxer as Barbara Mikulski. He referred to William Myers, the Bush judicial nominee, as William Morris. And he kept telling the crowd to "speak truth to justice," apparently confusing that with the more common liberal exhortation to "speak truth to power."

Schumer, normally one of the more forceful advocates against the president's judicial nominees, suffered a terrible case of mixed metaphors when he brought up the Founders' hope that the Senate would be the "cooling saucer" for political passions. Not anymore, Schumer said, now that Republicans want to turn the saucer into "the rubber stamp of dictatorship" and the country into a "banana republic."

Even Mrs. Clinton seemed slightly off balance, managing to commingle Marx, the filibuster, and Jimmy Stewart when she charged that Republicans planned "to consign 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' to the dustbin of history."

Yes folks, these are members of the upper body of the legislature envisioned by our Framers to be the more enlightened quasi-aristocracy.

Aside from these comical statements, there was a moment of deep revelation as Barbara Boxer - perhaps inadvertently - spoke the truth about the Democrat's views on the filibuster.

The most substantive comments of the rally came from Boxer, who made a number of notable statements in her brief time at the microphone. First, she appeared to endorse the idea of the Senate creating a super-majority of 60 votes for judicial confirmations. Since federal judges enjoy a lifetime appointment, Boxer told the crowd, their confirmation is simply too important to be decided by a mere majority vote. "For such a super-important position, there ought to be a super vote," Boxer said.

Next, Boxer expressed a certain fundamental lack of respect for the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter. Referring to Leahy, who is the ranking Democrat on the committee, Boxer said, "I call him my chairman of the Judiciary Committee, because I don't recognize anyone else" - a remark that seemed to speak volumes about the effectiveness of Specter's efforts to reach out to Democrats.

Finally, Boxer made a strong effort to address the uncomfortable fact that she once, in 1994, opposed the filibuster, back when Democrats controlled the Senate and were less concerned about minority power. Now, like Byrd - whom she called "the love of my life" - she has had a change of heart and believes the filibuster is vitally important. "I thought I knew everything," Boxer confessed. "I didn't get it."

"I'm here to say I was wrong," she continued. "I'm here to say I was totally wrong."

Much like Senator Byrd, it seems that Senator Boxer approves of the filibuster only when convenient to her and her party.

York then closes with an observation that is both troubling and relieving at the same time.

During the rally, a number of senators paid tribute to MoveOn, none more enthusiastically then Durbin, who began and ended his remarks with a spirited "Right on, MoveOn!" The message - coming after some Democratic moderates had urged the party to separate itself from MoveOn - was clear: from now on, Senate Democrats and MoveOn are a team, no matter what anyone says.

It is troubling because it does not bode well for our country when one of the two major parties so closely aligns itself with an organization so outside of the mainstream. Moveon has contributed nothing but vitriol and demagoguery to the political scene, and yet Democratic leaders have now openly embraced their warped agenda. At least now we can stop pretending that Moveon represents the fringe of the party.

Which is why I am also relieved and comforted by this open display of insanity. As a partisan Republican I welcome the Democratic party's self-immolation. Sadly, as an American, I can only shake my head in disbelief.