THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VII, Issue # 59, March 23, 2005
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
PARTISAN POLITICS, JUDICIAL NOMINEES, & THE SENATE FILIBUSTER:
GOP SENATORS ARE BEYOND THE POINT OF NO RETURN
By Christopher G. Adamo
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS IN THE U.S. SENATE & THEIR FILIBUSTER OF THE PRESIDENT'S JUDICIAL NOMINEES: THE
DETERMINATION OF THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC MINORITY IN THE SENATE TO PREVENT THE APPOINTMENT OF FEDERAL
JUDGES WHO ARE DEDICATED TO UPHOLDING THE INTEGRITY OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION & PRESERVING THE
ORIGINAL INTENT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL DOCUMENT -- CONSERVATISM VERSUS LIBERALISM, JUDICIAL RESTRAINT VERSUS
JUDICIAL ACTIVISM: WHETHER THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC, AS ENVISIONED BY THE FOUNDERS, WILL
PREVAIL OR FADE INTO OBLIVION -- REPUBLICANS MUST STAND FIRM & UNITED IN COUNTERING LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC
OBSTRUCTIONISM & IN FIGHTING FOR SENATE CONFIRMATION OF PRO-CONSTITUTION JUDGES
FULL STORY:
A grave and, as yet, unrecognized danger presently looms for Senate Republicans with respect to the upcoming battle over the
President’s judicial nominees. The Democrats' reaction to the possibility of a Senate rules change has been nearly hysterical, which
might seem to offer Republican political strategists reason to rejoice. Yet, if they are not careful, the situation can be suddenly
turned on them.
Despite the Democrats' caterwauling to the contrary, this situation is not, in their minds, about preserving the United States
Constitution, and it is not about finding some mythical “common ground” between the Liberal view of constitutional law and a
Conservative effort towards the same end.
Rather, it is all about preventing the appointment of individuals who are dedicated to the preservation of the original intent of the
constitutional document. The present philosophical war being waged here is not intended to decide the nature of our constitutional
republic as being Liberal or Conservative, but will instead determine whether our constitutional republic, as envisioned by the
Founders, will prevail or fade into oblivion.
In the midst of all of this, a more immediate alarm should be sounding among the Republicans. Along with their efforts to define the
federal judiciary, Democrats are pursuing a political agenda that could potentially inflict extreme collateral damage on GOP Senators,
if they are so inept and unprincipled as to be ensnared, as they have done in the past. And with each ensuing outrage from the
federal judiciary, the stakes are raised for both sides.
Liberal political operatives have set the stage for a dramatic “win/win” scenario, which will eventuate in the immediate aftermath of a
Republican capitulation at this crucial juncture. And such a scenario is not without precedent.
Though Republicans had successfully gained majority status in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate during
the dramatic 1994 elections, and though they went into the 1995 budget battle with optimistic expectations of redefining the scope of
federal spending policy, a massive public relations offensive by the Clinton administration completely thwarted their efforts.
Rather than standing fast on the principle of reigning in an obviously out-of-control federal budget, they took their eyes off of their
real purpose in Washington and became preoccupied with public opinion, as expressed by the major media.
Eventually, as a result of incessant criticism on the nightly news, the entire issue was reframed, not as one of irresponsible spending
by a bloated government bureaucracy, but as an endless series of hardships suffered by the “little people” and caused by the
“Republican government shutdown.” Ultimately, the Republicans caved.
The Democrats' strategy yielded an unprecedented surge in momentum. As a result, they, not only resumed their dominant role in
shaping the federal budget, but also were also able to blame Republicans for the entire debacle. The feat was truly amazing, especially
in consideration of the fact that it was Bill Clinton who, by his veto of the budget, actually caused the shutdown.
Once Republicans retreated from the fight to control spending, and allowed the issue to be framed as a matter of returning the
government to full and proper operation, they were unable to escape culpability for the original problem.
The Democrats' refusal to allow an up or down vote on President Bush’s judicial nominees has amounted to an escalation of recent
Liberal attacks on the U.S. Constitution. Republican efforts to counter this obstructionism and allow for the confirmation of
pro-Constitution judges should therefore have been loudly portrayed as a fight over the very integrity of the Constitution.
Unfortunately, Republicans failed to spotlight the controversy in such terms. Liberals, always ready to manipulate any situation to
their political advantage, now assert that it is they who are fighting to protect and preserve the Constitution. This preposterous
deception is spearheaded by that standard-bearer of shameless Liberal hypocrisy, Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia.
Undoubtedly, certain faint-hearted individuals within Senate Republican ranks would like to simply back away from the tumult, in
hopes of avoiding criticism. But that option no longer exists, if it ever did.
A Republican retreat at this juncture would henceforth cement the notion of absolute Democratic Party dominance over the makeup
of the judiciary. And doing so in the face of such fraudulent accusations would not soften their effects, but would instead validate
them.
Ultimately, it will be up to the Republicans to determine whether this situation eventuates into the last dying gasp of Liberal
dominance, or if it becomes the greatest rout of Conservatives ever achieved by the American political Left.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
American Government & the U.S. Congress
American Politics & Political Competition
Appointment of U.S. Federal Judges
Legal Issues, Lawyers, & America's Judiciary
Liberals, Statists, Socialists, & Other Leftists
Christopher G. Adamo is a freelance writer who lives in southeastern Wyoming and works in the field of industrial instrumentation.
He is actively involved in Wyoming's political process, serving as a delegate to successive Wyoming State Republican Conventions
and as a member of the Wyoming State Republican Central Committee. He has assisted Republican candidates for local and state
legislatures and for the United States Congress. His articles, which appear regularly in The Progressive Conservative, U.S.A.,
and on a number of other websites, reflect a major concern with the damage being done to Conservatism and Conservative causes by
the Liberal Leftist faction in the Republican Party as well as by the much larger and more powerful Liberal Leftist faction in the
Democratic Party. During the early and middle 1990s, Adamo was Editor of the Wyoming Christian Coalition's official news organ,
The Wyoming Christian. Adamo maintains his own Internet website, which is located at
www.chrisadamo.com.
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