Nuclear Disarmament ; Filibuster Fight Fizzles As Spineless Join Forces

Summary

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We weren't ducking or covering over the prospect that Senate Republicans might turn to the so-called nuclear option to break the judicial nominee logjam created by the minority's obnoxious misuse of the filibuster rule. So we aren't breathing a sigh of relief in response to a "compromise" negotiated by centrists, including Colorado's freshman Sen. Ken Salazar, that will finally allow a number of the president's stalled nominees a vote (good) but does little to avert similar showdowns in the future (bad).

A long dispute that badly needed resolution is thus left to simmer, because 14 self-styled "centrists" would rather straddle than take a stand. This wishy-washiness will undoubtedly earn the Coalition of the Wafflers hero status among liberal pundits and the mainstream media, who are constantly grumbling about the supposed extinction of political "moderates." But some principles are worth going to the mat for and this was one of them.

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Nuclear Disarmament ; Filibuster Fight Fizzles As Spineless Join Forces

The Senate would have gotten along just fine without a judicial filibuster (which might also be called the lazy's filibuster, since rule changes have made actual filibusters a thing of the past). Checks and balances weren't seriously imperiled by...

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