THE FILIBUSTER FOLLIES

Everyone dance now to the rockin' filibuster follies presented by the Senate majority leader. His object is to bust the filibuster. "What's the fuss, tell me what's a-happenin' " -- [J.C. Superstar].

Senate Majority Leader Frist calls his proposed destruction of the filibuster the "Nuclear option." Frist must silent this Constitutional right of the Senate minority party in order to get ultra-Conservative Judges on the Federal and Supreme Courts.

This filibuster rule change is pushed by evangelical rychus ones who claim that Democrats are anti-Christian. Frist will appear on nationwide telecast sponsored by Christian conservatives who call them "filibusters on people of faith," http://www.nwanews.com/story.php?paper=adg&section=national&storyid=114091

Democrats have allowed most all of Bush's judicial appointments to go through but are fighting the confirmation of 10 re-nominated conservative ideologues to the bench that are pledged to destroy the reproductive rights of women by putting their religion over the Constitution.

"Two-hundred-and-five of Bush's judicial nominees have been confirmed. The Democrats have blocked exactly 10 [by filibuster.]" http://mediamatters.org/items/200 504130002

Republicans claim that the filibuster has never been used in judicial appointments -- a lie. It was last used by Republicans in1968 against Abe Fortas, Lyndon Johnson~Rs nominee for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Most minorities would also suffer under these Bush nominated judges, such as gays, because biblical rule would drive them back into the closet in fear of their lives.

In addition, the nuking of the filibuster would allow any and all of Bush's initiatives to pass Congress because the Democrats would lack this Constitutional arm of the minority party.

One way of understanding how very important it is that minority representatives in the Senate have the right to filibuster is to watch a movie. An old movie to be sure but a very exciting one is Mr. Smith Goes to Washington starring Jimmy Stewart. http://www.filmsite.org/mrsm.html

Democracy depends on checks and balances to prevent all the power from residing in one political Party. If the Republican Party takes over complete control, democracy cannot function and a theocratic dictatorship would be running the country.

The Frist "Nuclear Option" will not only curtail equality for all people under the law, it will also prevent Congressional opposition to Bush~Rs plans for his next war. Bush's first two judicial nominations are women, one of them is black, to challenge Democrat's support of women and minorities.

Priscilla Owen: Chooses special interests over average Americans.

Owen, nominated to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, has a long career as a conservative judicial activist, opposing reproductive rights, environmental protections, and workers' rights. As a lawyer in private practice, Owen did virtually nothing but represent big oil companies, and she continued to favor big business on the Texas Supreme Court. (Owen can thank Karl Rove for her election to the Texas Supreme Court; he received $228,000 for campaign services.) Owen has consistently opposed the claims of injured and harassed workers and voted in favor of corporations that sold defective products. Owen also voted against environmental regulations and abortion rights, and until she was nominated by Bush, never voted to allow a minor to bypass parental notification. When Bush White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales was a justice alongside Owen in Texas, he wrote that her dissent on an abortion-related case constituted "an unconscionable act of judicial activism." Owen was rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2002 but renominated by Bush in 2003.

Janice Rogers Brown: Nominated to Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; currently being filibustered.

She vigorously opposes affirmative action and reproductive rights, including the judicial bypass option to parental notification. Brown called the New Deal unconstitutional and called federal government "the opiate of the masses [and drug for] multinational corporations, single moms, and militant senior citizens."

gapperserve@peoplepc.com

2005-017

Copyright 2005 Renee T. Louise and Ruth M. Sprague, Ph.D. These articles may be republished for noncommercial use only, provided that they are copied intact, and that this copyright notice is attached. Address all queries to: gapperserve@peoplepc.com.