the13thfloor

I am going to assume for the sake of argument that the information contained in this Center for American progress story is correct. Lets assume the republicans did try to mount a filibuster against Judge Paez.Frist's Hypocritical and Dishonest Attack on Democracy - Center for American Progress The first thing that jumps out, by looking at the data ,is the number of republicans who voted for clouture and gave the man a chance at an up or down vote. But what if the republicans could have mustered the 41 votes necessary to keep debate going. What would the press have said. Would republicans be portrayed as the minority protecting the sacred checks and balance intended by the constitution (by the way this is not what the constitution had in mind when it was written... A diferent subject for a different time.). Hell no! The republicans would have been lambasted as the obstructionist, thwarting the will and right of a sitting president to choose his judicial nominees. How long would it have taken for the democrats, who were in power at the time, to change the rules to stop the filibuster. I'll tell you how long. A NEW YORK MINUTE! So get over it and get on with the vote. The Republicans, and Bill Frist in particular, need to show some leadership and force the dems hand.