THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VII, Issue # 98, April 29, 2005
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
BREAKING JUDICIAL FILIBUSTERS: HIGH NOON FOR CONSERVATIVES
By Christopher G. Adamo
JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS & PARTISAN POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE: HOW LIBERAL DEMOCRATS IN THE
U.S. SENATE WORK TO BLOCK APPOINTMENT OF FEDERAL JUDGES WHO WILL UPHOLD THE INTERGITY & TRUE MEANING OF
THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION -- WHY CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS NEED TO MAKE CLEAR THAT THE SENATE FIGHT
OVER JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS IS ABOUT PROTECTING & PRESERVING THE BASIC FEATURES OF THE AMERICAN
CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM, INCLUDING JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE, SEPARATION OF POWERS, CHECKS & BALANCES, INDIVIDUAL
LIBERTY, & POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY
FULL STORY:
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is in big trouble. At least that is what
one might believe from the Liberal press accounts of his participation in a
Family Research Council sponsored event last Sunday.
By appearing at the gathering (albeit in a videotaped speech), Frist
ostensibly violated the “separation of Church and State” rule. According to the
latest Liberal Constitutional interpretations, political office holders are
forbidden to address public issues in churches, unless they happen to be
Democrats on the campaign trail.
As with the Tom Delay and John Bolton controversies, whatever charges
Democrats can concoct are asserted as defining factors of an individual’s
propriety and fitness for office. Yet identical charges suddenly evaporate
into irrelevance the moment any Democrat becomes suspect. Nevertheless, it
is not the Democrats' hypocrisy but the Republicans' acquiescence that enables these
outrages to continue.
Liberal Democrats will say anything, on any occasion, in order to claim the
“moral high ground.” The entire Anita Hill “sexual harassment” controversy
was never about protecting the rights and dignity of women. Rather it was
about undermining the confirmation of Clarence Thomas. But, when very real
cases of harassment and intimidation threatened to derail Bill Clinton’s
Presidency, the matter was suddenly relegated to his “private life.”
Unfortunately, Republicans continue their vain attempts to gain traction
with the public by considering or intellectually refuting each ensuing
argument put forth by the political Left. It is imperative that they recognize the
futility of this critically flawed “strategy,” and simply stay on message,
particularly in relation to matters regarding the United States Constitution.
Democrats will take any side of an issue of constitutional law, any side that suits
their purposes. Usually, they are all for trashing the Constitution (the true interpretation of
their term “living document”). Yet when such sanctimony suits them, they
suddenly become the Constitution's champions and guardians by way of filibustering judicial
nominations.
The Democrats support judicial supremacy and activism (under the auspices of an
“independent judiciary”), but condemn the “activism” of pro-Constitution
judges. They oppose any pro-life “litmus tests,” while insisting that they
will prohibit any judge from being confirmed who does not support “a woman’s
right to choose.”
The truly appalling aspect of this situation is not that they will tell any
lie, reverse any stance, and level any accusation as the circumstances
require (and regardless of how hypocritically they contradict their former
assertions). Rather, it is that, all too often, Republicans allow the Democrats to get
away with doing so.
Worse yet, Republicans not only treat each ensuing statement as legitimate,
they frequently attempt to abide by such absurdities. Thus they continually
lose political fights because they fight like losers.
In his April 22 piece, columnist David Limbaugh properly characterized the
filibuster battle by stating that “What is at stake in this ongoing fight
over judicial nominations is nothing less than the integrity of the
Constitution, the independence of the judiciary, the separation of powers,
and ultimately, the preservation of popular sovereignty.”
Clearly, the Democrats know this, which is why they persevere with such
resolve and venom. The side that triumphs will thus be positioned to
determine the future direction of the country. So, why are few, if any, among
Republican Senators making this case in these stark, yet entirely accurate
terms?
Not wanting to sound “extreme,” they revert instead to some insipid
bilgewater about how “The President should be allowed his choice of
appointees.” That is what Liberals claimed when Clinton was President .
Sadly, too many on the Republican side of the aisle accepted the premise.
Back then, the entire debate ought to have been about the U.S Constitution
(meaning that Republicans should have rejected a good percentage of Clinton
nominees), and now the debate should again be about the Constitution. Currently making
the true meaning and integrity of the Constitution the fundamental issue would result in a
no-holds barred fight to get this President’s nominees confirmed.
Were Republicans to unwaveringly explain the situation in such terms,
regardless of the latest Democratic Party accusations against them, the message
would eventually get out that Republicans fight for the Constitution, while
Democrats are fighting to get around it. This is absolutely the case. So why
doesn’t anybody on our side have the courage to simply say so?
It was through massive grassroots efforts last Fall that Republicans were
able to enjoy overwhelming victories, including those in the United States
Senate. If Republican political operatives hope to benefit from any similar
level of support in 2006, 2008, and beyond, now is the time for GOP Senators
to prove that those efforts were not in vain.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Appointment of U.S. Federal Judges
Legal Issues, Lawyers, & America's Judiciary
American Politics & Political Competition
American Government & the U.S. Congress
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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