Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo has a good entry on the Republicans using the “nuclear option” to stop the Democratic filibuster of 5% of Bush’s judicial nominees.
(Just to be crystal clear, what the senate is about to do is not changing their rules. They are about to find that their existing rules are unconstitutional, thus getting around the established procedures by which senate rules can be changed.)
Their reasoning will be that the federal constitution requires that the president makes such nominations “by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate” and that that means an up or down vote by the full senate.
Nobody believes that.
Also, David Brock’s Media Matters has The Top 10 Filibuster Falsehoods. It’s a good guide to deconstructing claims that Democrats are acting in an “unprecedented” manner by denying Bush’s judicial nominees an “up or down vote” on the Senate floor.
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