In the aftermath of the fillibuster finagle, the most common theme seems to be to say one side or the other “blinked.” Here’s one of the more twisted analyses so far, excerpted from an e-blast from that paragon of hyperconservative hyperbole, Richard Viguerie:
There is no question that, over the last 40 years, the federal courts have been the greatest threat to conservative values. And last night, the Republicans cancelled a vote to reign in the liberal judiciary.
The vote in the US Senate to abolish the filibuster for judicial appointments if successful, would have been the closest America has ever come to having a vote on the direction for one third of our federal government.
The so-called “compromise” on judicial nominations is nothing more than the liberal Democrats getting most everything they wanted, namely the right to filibuster conservative judges with impunity.
For the better part of a year, the Republicans talked and talked, promised and promised, threatened and threatened, and then in the final minutes of the battle blinked and called off the vote, allowing liberals to live and fight again.
This “deal” proves the weakness of the Republican leadership and a lack of respect for the grassroots conservatives and the “values voters” that put Republicans in power. For decades, conservatives have carried the water in the Republican Party while that same party ignores our issues. Its conservative issues, work, and money that elect Republicans.
But conservatives also must remember that we also live and will fight again – and that there is a political solution available to remedy Republicans failure to get control of the judiciary – GOP primary challenges and the November 2006 congressional elections.
