Yes, there are a bunch of other diaries. But give me a minute.
I'm extremely disappointed in the deal. Are you?
Disappointed because the Democrats have proved, again, they lack courage. Let me explain.
(1)This deal implicitly presumes that one can trust the Republicans. Have we not learned anything from the last five years?
(2) This only delays the war against minority rights. The GOP has been trying to rid the filibuster of judicial nominees for years; they'll wait a while, wait until they have a stronger majority, then just pull the same shit again.
(3) Most importantly, we either are the party of principle, or we are nothing. Either we take a stand against unqualified judges like Owen, or we may as well give the rest of the judiciary to the Republicans. I don't understand this wishy-washy approach to constitutional issues. All the talk, the 40 hours of debate over separation of powers and all that, all that just evaporated away. Why? Because Bush will get his nominees. The right-wing will be satisfied. And the Dems will be left with quivering lip saying "But...but...you said...you promised!"
We either stand fast in our convictions, or we relinquish any right to label ourselves the party of principle.
The deal allows for filibustering judges in "extraordinary circumstances." Is there a more extraordinary circumstance than a judge nominated with a F rating from the local bar? Is there a more extraordinary circumstance than a judge who wants to dismantle the New Deal? Is there a more extraordinary circumstance than a judge who values corporations more than real people?
This is dangerous territory, my friends. Don't let the hysteria in Freeperville fool you. Once the sandstorm dies down and the right realizes that it still has the power to silence our opposition, it will look back on this day and thank the GOP senators who made the compromise.
Where is the courage? Where is the courage to stand up and refuse to be bullied--yes, bullied--into a false compromise? Where is the strength to forge forward in the face of danger? Where is the spirit that calls out "a check on absolute power is an absolute value, which cannot be diluted"?
Dangerous territory,my friends. Because it is no longer a filibuster which will force compromise in the Senate. It will be the threat of removing the filibuster that will spark compromises like this--false compromises in which both sides lose in the short term, and the minority loses in the long term.
As I said, I'm disappointed. Just once, I want to feel like my party will follow through its rhetoric with real action. Just once, I want the Democratic Party to be one that fights for us out of principle, not just convenience.
Update [2005-5-24 8:9:1 by georgia10]:: Morning after. Well, I still feel disappointed, because I still believe we could have won this thing. Even if the nuclear option was successful, the aftermath I think would have benefitted us more than the GOP.
Reading other diaries this morning, including some excellent ones on the rec. list, I can see how positive things can be milked out from this deal. Namely, it serves to create a fissure in the GOP.
However, along with that fissure come more obstacles for us. A stronger McCain candidacy to work against in 2008. And an possible campaign by the radical right to remove moderates from the senate in 2006.
I'd like to see how things develop today. If the Owen & Brown votes go down, then we've won in the short term. But, like Feingold, I still think the deal sets an extremely dangerous precedent for bullying tactics by the majority.
So, in short, I still think we should have gone through with the showdown, because I feel this deal waters down our stance on the right to filibuster. But I'm not going to be 100% Eeyore on this, and realistically, I can see some benefits to it. Whether those benefits outweigh the disadvantages, only time will tell.