Some good comments from "Betsy's page."
This deal in the Senate to avoid a showdown on filibusters demonstrates the real weakness of both party leaders. Neither Reid nor Frist are getting what they wanted. They were helpless when it became clear that there were enough moderates to sign on to the deal. Frist appears so very weak that he couldn't hold his caucus together and is having to give control of the judicial nominations to the moderates in his party. Reid is losing out on blocking the "extreme" judges that the Democrats had labored so hard to prevent getting a seat.
Overall, I think the Democrats gain more since they preserve the right of filibusters and they're the ones that get to control when this will all begin over again.
The part of the deal that really bothers me is that a group of Democrats and Republicans got together and made deals over which judges would get approved and which wouldn't. Instead of a minority of 45 Democrats determining who wouldn't get approved, we now have a rump group of 12-14 senators making those decisions. It is even worse to have this small group trading judicial nominees as if they were baseball cards. "I'll give you a Saad for an Owen and a Rogers Brown."
This is not the way these decisions should be made.
And if these moderates think that they will usher in an age of comity and cooperation, they're delusional.
And, I'll go out on a limb with a wacky prediction today. William Rehnquist will not retire this summer. I have no information on his health and perhaps he is even sicker than he seems to be. But, it must be terrible to read almost every day speculation about when you're going to retire or even die. And he loves this job. His wife has passed away and the major part of his life is devoted to the Court. He has spent his time researching and writing about the Court. I wouldn't be surprised if he just decided to grit his teeth and keep going doing the job he loves so much.
While eyes have been focused on the filibuster debates, a very important issue has been getting short shrift. That is the approval of CAFTA. Michael Barone thinks that CAFTA is a win win for the U.S. and from what I've read, I agree. 80% of our imports from these nations is already duty-free. What CAFTA does is help our exports TO these nations. The groups that oppose CAFTA are just acting reflexively as if they hear the words "free trade" and get the heebe-jeebies.
Yet it appears that most Democrats and not a few Republicans are set to oppose CAFTA. Why? Well, the AFL-CIO opposes it, as it has almost all free-trade agreements -- even the one with Australia, a huge market for U.S. manufacturers, whose labor laws are arguably more protective than those in the United States. And the sugar lobby, protected by tariffs of more than 100 percent and import quotas, opposes even CAFTA's small increase in imports. Big Sugar is listened to by members from states that produce sugar cane (Louisiana, Florida) and sugar beets (North Dakota, Michigan). CAFTA has also been opposed by Reps. Ellen Tauscher, Ron Kind, Adam Smith and Artur Davis of the House New Democrat Coalition. They complain about the labor provisions, even though they largely meet International Labor Organization (ILO) standards and are similar to Morocco's, for whose FTA all four voted. They add that the federal budget voted by congressional Republicans reduces funding for trade adjustment assistance and job training.
This is pretty thin gruel. The labor standards Zoellick negotiated provide for stronger enforcement of ILO standards. Over the past 20 years, most CAFTA countries have moved from dictatorship and, in some cases, civil war to democracy and the rule of law; their economies, with help from the CBI, have moved from subsistence to manufacturing. But the CBI expires in 2008, and unless it is replaced by CAFTA, the United States will have shoved its neighbors backward. The Democratic Party was historically the party of free trade, and House Democrats provided between 75 and 120 votes for previous FTAs. The Democrats' rage against Bush and the Republicans is understandable. But do they really want to turn their back on their history and our neighbors?
Bush needs to get out in front of this one and start pulling in some votes or this will go down as a major loss for the administration.
I'll say one other thing about the deal on filibusters. If this deal kills off Frist's hopes to run for president, that will be a good thing. The GOP needs a candidate who doesn't come from the Senate. We also need to get some of the potential candidates out of there to clear out the brush, so to speak. And Frist hasn't impressed me at all since he became leader. Being a Senate leader, as Bob Dole learned, is not a stepping stone to president.
posted by Betsy Newmark 6:52 AM
Brendan Miniter is calling on the President to pick up his veto pen. The highway bill is a good place to start.
posted by Betsy Newmark 6:52 AM
Gerry Daly has his usual perceptive comments on the latest Gallup poll on how people think about the judicial debates.
What I would wish is that they would ask people up front how much they have been following an issue and when people say "not at all" then the pollster hangs up and goes on to question someone who knows something about the issue.
betsyspage.blogspot.com |
