I Revise My Earlier Statement
Atrios provides a great reason to filibuster Alito- one that I hadn’t even thought of:
Cruising into Tuesday evening next week there will be two possible storylines:
1) The Democrats are a bunch of losers, as are all of their supporters. Bush and his giant codpiece looked magnificent at the state of the union, and Mrs. Alito was very happy and smiling sitting next to Mrs. Bush safe and content now that the magnificent and mighty President Bush made that bad Ted Kennedy go away.
2) The Democrats shocked Washington today by holding together, dropping a mighty turd in the punchbowl of the Bush administration, dealing a deadly blow to his nomination of Alito. The president won’t be too happy tonight as he gives the 2006 state of the union speech.
Those are the choices.
That’s actually a very good idea. Even if the filibuster has no shot of working for very long, it’d be a great way to foul up Bush’s SOTU address. Go for it.
Yay- Spite!
As fair a reason as any, I guess, given the potential/probable “big uh-oh” Alito would be on the court for the future.
We’re gonna get Alito on the court. There’s no way to block that. But to block it for at least one night to piss off the Shrub- yeah, it’d be worth it.
Let me try to summarize the plan: When all else fails, resort to desperate, childish, sadistic games.
Let me try to summarize the plan: When all else fails, resort to desperate, childish, sadistic games.
Honestly, yes. I’m willing to admit it.
Such bold honesty! Honestly, Brad, though I am once again, loath to admit it, it’s refreshing!
I hadly think putting on a political show of futilely attempting to block a court appointee qualifies as “sadistic”.
Desperate and childish? Perhaps, but you gotta fight fire with fire eh?
Desperate and childish? Perhaps, but you gotta fight fire with fire eh?
Pretty much. You ever read the Starr Report. That was the ultimate in childishness.
And the “presidential” behavior that made such a report possible? What would you call that, the paragon of mature, adult behavior?
The whole issue was childish, from the first report to the impeachment.
I mean, really, faced with the immense superchunk of brutal shit that has come out of Bush’s One and a half terms, I think even conservatives are starting to realize how silly that all was.
how will doing this screw up bush’s SOTU speech again? to me this just seems desperate. this isn’t a winner for the democrats. they have a horrible track record in choosing their battles. this won’t help.
What would you call that, the paragon of mature, adult behavior?
Well, I can’t speak for anyone else, but I never wanted a beejer when I was a little kid. In fact, I’m sure if someone had explained to me the mechanics of it I would have been disgusted.
It may have been a bit excessive, Timmah, but Clinton totally set himself up for that one.
What would you call that, the paragon of mature, adult behavior?
Well, the films that show it are called adult films, and are meant for mature adiences.
a bit excessive = tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer money
how will doing this screw up bush’s SOTU speech again? to me this just seems desperate. this isn’t a winner for the democrats. they have a horrible track record in choosing their battles. this won’t help.
As Brad (and I, kind of) said- this will prevent Bush from gloating about Alito during the speech, something he is no doubt wanting to do.
We’re doing this for spite- childish? Sure, but since it’s futile, it’s not as if the Republicans can claim it’s hurting the process any, and it’s technically not desperation if you know it’s a loser!
It will make us feel a little better, which is probably worth it.
The worst thing about the SOTU this year is that it comes just a couple of weeks before the USA PATRIOT act renewal vote comes up.
And this is the new and improved renewal, with the extra special clause creating a federal police department in it. You know, the department empowered to arrest people without warrants anywhere, anytime, as long as they believe a crime was committed or was about to be committed?
If something doesn’t fuck up his speech, he’s going to get that numbers bounce a preznit always gets after SOTU, because people always assume that all those people clapping must mean something good.
And if he gets the numbers bounce, he gets USA PATRIOT. And if he gets that, he gets his own Geheime Staatspolizei.
What more reason to we need to piss in his cornflakes?
And the “presidential” behavior that made such a report possible? What would you call that, the paragon of mature, adult behavior?
It certainly doesn’t rival this classic Bush moment described by Tucker Carlson:
While driving back from the speech later that day, Bush mentions Karla Faye Tucker, a double murderer who was executed in Texas last year. In the weeks before the execution, Bush says, Bianca Jagger and a number of other protesters came to Austin to demand clemency for Tucker. ‘Did you meet with any of them?’ I ask.
Bush whips around and stares at me. ‘No, I didn’t meet with any of them,’ he snaps, as though I’ve just asked the dumbest, most offensive question ever posed. ‘I didn’t meet with Larry King either when he came down for it. I watched his interview with [Tucker], though. He asked her real difficult questions, like ‘What would you say to Governor Bush?’ ‘What was her answer?’ I wonder.
‘Please,’ Bush whimpers, his lips pursed in mock desperation, ‘don’t kill me.’
Yes. Very mature.
if he can’t gloat over alito he’ll gloat over roberts. and if everyone knows that alito is in anyway, who cares? i guess i don’t have a horse in this race really, but it just seems like with the NSA issue, the economy stumbling, Iraq continuting to suck, etc. this might be a distraction.
No, the political effectiveness of Roberts is aged too much- no, if he wants to gloat about a judge, it’d have to be Sammy.
Alito on abortion? Not my concern; but Alito on executive power is a big “fuck you!” to the legislative branch and could potentially pose some major problems down the road for the stability of our government.
So this is at least worthy of a nose-thumbing by the Dems.
What would you call that, the paragon of mature, adult behavior?
Suitably scolded, Dr. Priss, The Blog Prig.
I think hot ‘n sloppies in the Oval Office between two consenting adults are positively Solomon-like in terms of wise and measured behaviour compared to what Hitler-lite’s been up to.
Yeah I think if Bush had himself a nice blowjob, he might be able to think clearly for a few minutes.
Quick, call VBen! Oral doesen’t count!
Even Sister Joan Chittister of the National Catholic Reporter agrees Bush needs a Monica:
One woman put it this way: “Where is Monica Lewinsky when we need her?” Nobody laughed. The comment made the point: There are scandals and then there are scandals.
It’s one kind of scandal when a president cannot control a need for sexual satisfaction. What the moral theologians have traditionally called “the sins of the flesh” — as in “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” — most often carries an overtone of human weakness, a lack of personal discipline or emotional maturity or psychological control of sexual impulses.
It’s another kind of scandal when a president cannot control a need for power. Deceit, spuriousness, pride and calculated dishonesty fall into the category of “sins of the spirit.” These are not confined to private or personal sexual behaviors. “Sins of the spirit” have to do with intellectual malice, with the cultivation of behavior and attitudes that attack the very ideals of the human community and pollute a whole way of being alive.
Ha- she sounds like more than a few nuns I know. Wonderful woman, those I’ve known (can’t speak for more than a score or so).
But she’s right- if I might quote St. John Chrysostom, a favorite theologian of mine (he’s right after Aquinas and Basil): “The desire to rule is the mother of all heresies.”
Mal de mer, your characterization of me as priggish and prissy is a transparent attempt to marginalize me and discredit me in order to bolster your point of view. But some of your other points are actually not too bad.
While I believe the Republicans, and a few Democrats, went too far in punishing Clinton, let’s face it, he excercised profoundly poor judgment and set himself up for the whole ordeal. I exercise poor judgment all the time, but that’s one reason I’m not running for public office.
If you asked Clinton himself about it, he’d probably be the first to tell you that. The argument that Bush’s sins are worse than Clinton’s is weak, it’s a diversion, and it creates an arbitrary dichotomy between arenas of behavior that may not be mutually exclusive.
Y’know, the only people to whom Clinton’s infidelity was their business were himself, Hillary, Ms. Lewinski, and, possibly, Chelsea. I didn’t want to know about that any more than I wanted to know about Bush I’s affair, or Kennedy’s dalliances, or Ike’s, or Roosevelt’s, or… well, you get my drift.People have problems, thye often get into regrettable situations when sex is involved. As long as I’m not one of the involved people, I really don’t want to know. That question should never have been asked.
The argument that Bush’s sins are worse than Clinton’s is weak, it’s a diversion, and it creates an arbitrary dichotomy between arenas of behavior that may not be mutually exclusive.
Isn’t bring up Clinton a diversion anyway? Bush is the current president, not Clinton.
Mal de mer, your characterization of me as priggish and prissy is a transparent attempt to marginalize me and discredit me in order to bolster your point of view.
No. All I was doing was calling you a priss and a prig.
OK, Mal de mer, I’m glad you cleared that up for me. I was beginning to think your intentions were less than honorable. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt.
Great. Let that be a lesson to you: Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
Brad R! you get it!
Mal, i could go for a cigar.
ftetbb cuuoxkaklas