After the GOP's endless promotion of the poll-tested "up-or-down vote" meme, I suggest this antidote:
Each and every one of these Bush judges has already received an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor, and they all lost.
What Bush is asking for now is a do-over. But even with the do-over, he still doesn't have enough votes, so he wants to change the rules in the middle of the game and then hold a do-over vote. As others have said, it's the "cry baby option" - the "do-over option."
See the vote counts after the break...
This info is from
THOMAS and recycled from a previous diary. But I think it's important for us to refer to when Republicans talk about up-or-down votes. I don't have the records, but I don't believe many if any of Clinton's 60 or so blocked nominees ever got the floor vote that these 7 have already received.
Priscilla Owen
PN11-108, January 07, 2003
May 01, 2003 - Cloture not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 52 - 44.
May 08, 2003 - Second cloture not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 52 - 45.
July 29, 2003 - Third cloture motion not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 53 - 43.
November 14, 2003 - 4th Motion on cloture not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 53 - 42.
Willam Pryor
PN512-108, April 09, 2003
July 31, 2003 - 1st cloture vote not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 53 - 44.
November 06, 2003 - 2nd cloture not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 51 - 43.
William Myers
PN658-108, May 15, 2003
July 20, 2004 - Cloture not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 53 - 44.
Janice Rodgers Brown
PN839-108, July 25, 2003
November 14, 2003 - Cloture not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 53 - 43.
Henry Saad
PN14-108, January 07, 2003
July 22, 2004 - Cloture not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 52 - 46.
Richard Griffin
PN7-108, January 07, 2003
July 22, 2004 - Cloture not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 54 - 44.
David McKeague
PN9-108, January 07, 2003
July 22, 2004 - Cloture not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 53 - 44.