GOP Senators Are Beyond Point Of No Return
By Christopher G. Adamo
A grave and as yet unrecognized danger presently looms for Senate Republicans with respect to the upcoming battle over the President’s judicial nominees. Democrat reaction to the possibility of a Senate rules change has been nearly hysterical, which might seem to offer Republican political strategists reason to rejoice. Yet if they are not careful, the situation can be suddenly turned on them.
Despite Democrat caterwauling to the contrary, this situation is not, in their minds, about preserving the Constitution, and it is not about finding some mythical “common ground” between the liberal view of constitutional law and a conservative effort towards the same end.
Rather, it is all about preventing the appointment of individuals who are dedicated to the preservation of the original intent of the document. The present philosophical war being waged here is not intended to decide the nature of our constitutional republic as being liberal or conservative, but will instead determine whether our constitutional republic, as envisioned by the founders, will prevail or fade into oblivion.
In the midst of all of this, a more immediate alarm should be sounding among the Republicans. Along with their efforts to define the judiciary, Democrats are pursuing a political agenda that could potentially inflict extreme collateral damage on GOP Senators, if they are so inept and unprincipled as to be ensnared as they have done in the past. And with each ensuing outrage from the judiciary, the stakes are raised for both sides.
Liberal political operatives have set the stage for a dramatic “win/win” scenario, which will eventuate in the immediate aftermath of a Republican capitulation at this crucial juncture. And such a scenario is not without precedent.
Though Republicans had successfully gained majority status in both the House and Senate during the dramatic 1994 elections, and though they went into the ‘95 budget battle with optimistic expectations of redefining the scope of federal spending policy, a massive public relations offensive by the Clinton Administration completely thwarted their efforts.
Rather than standing fast on the principle of reigning in an obviously out-of-control federal budget, they took their eyes off of their real purpose in Washington and became preoccupied with public opinion as expressed by the major media.
Eventually, as a result of incessant criticism on the nightly news, the entire issue was reframed, not as one of irresponsible spending by a bloated government bureaucracy, but as an endless series of hardships suffered by the “little people” and caused by the “Republican government shutdown.” Ultimately, the Republicans caved.
The Democrat strategy yielded an unprecedented surge in momentum. As a result, they not only resumed their dominant role in shaping the federal budget, but also were also able to blame Republicans for the entire debacle. The feat was truly amazing, especially in consideration of the fact that it was Bill Clinton who, by his veto of the budget, actually caused the shutdown.
Once Republicans retreated from the fight to control spending, and allowed the issue to be framed as a matter of returning the government to full and proper operation, they were unable to escape culpability for theoriginal problem.
Democrat refusal to allow an up or down vote on President Bush’s judicial nominees has amounted to an escalation of recent liberal attacks on the Constitution. Republican efforts to counter this obstructionism and allow for the confirmation of pro-Constitution judges should therefore have been loudly portrayed as a fight over the very integrity of the Constitution.
Unfortunately, Republicans failed to spotlight the controversy in such terms. Liberals, always ready to manipulate any situation to their political advantage, now assert that it is they who are fighting to protect and preserve the Constitution. This preposterous deception is spearheaded by that standard-bearer of shameless liberal hypocrisy, Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia.
Undoubtedly, certain faint-hearted individuals within Senate Republican ranks would like to simply back away from the tumult, in hopes of avoiding criticism. But that option no longer exists, if it ever did.
Republican retreat at this juncture would henceforth cement the notion of absolute Democrat dominance over the makeup of the judiciary. And doing so in the face of such fraudulent accusations would not soften their effects, but would instead validate them.
Ultimately, it will be up to the Republicans to determine whether this situation eventuates into the last dying gasp of liberal dominance, or if it becomes the greatest rout of conservatives ever achieved by the American left.
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