No Real Surprise As Dems Seek To Change Rules

For the record, on May 26, this site noted that the abandonment of the “filibuster deal” on the part of the Democrats was a question of if, not when. Over the past weekend, leading lights within the liberal party have made it clear that Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s retirement makes that abandonment imminent.

After initial comments made by Edward Kennedy on Friday that the deal may go out the window, depending on what President Bush does with his opportunity, Joseph Biden made it clear that, as usual, the Democrats are getting ready to change the rules of the game now that the rules as written don’t suit them.

Appearing on CBS’s Face The Nation, the Democrat from DC (by way of Delaware), after being asked about the possibility of a filibuster in light of the deal made by the “group of fourteen” in May, said that the question of a Supreme Court nominee “is a totally different ballgame.”

Then, on Wednesday, New York Senator Charles Schumer was overheard to say that “A Priscilla Owen or Janice Rogers Brown style appointment may not have been extraordinary to the appellate court but may be extraordinary to the Supreme Court.” Funny how this wasn’t mentioned at the time the deal averting the Republicans’ exercise of the Constitutional Option was drawn up, and agreed to by seven Republicans.

The fact is that anyone outside the Beltway who has been paying attention knows that this was to be expected all along. The Democrats tried to change the rules on the 2000 election after the election was over, they’ve tried to change the rules on confirming appellate judicial nominees ever since a Republican was elected President, and now they are even trying to change rules that they made themselves. More and more, it is becoming apparent that this is part of what Democrats do.

Recent history has repeatedly shown that Democrats are determined to alter the American political framework in such a way that they always win, regardless of what the will of the people, as expressed through the periodic elections, may be. Indeed, their desperate attempts to shape the courts in such a way as to take power from the representative branches of government – the only way, it seems, that they can get their agenda enacted – may be the clearest example of this mindset. Like the little boy who wants to change the rules of the backyard game when he realizes he’s losing, they refuse to engage in a fairly conducted contest of ideas.

Luckily for the republic, the adults are still in charge as of this writing. And as a result, it may yet turn out that Majority Leader Bill Frist ends up being a big winner, even as he scores a more important victory for the President and the nation.

By refusing to endorse the deal in May, Mr. Frist kept himself from being made to look like a patsy when the inevitable abandonment of the deal by the Democrats took place. At the same time, had he insisted on going ahead and holding the vote on the Constitutional Option back then, the vote would have certainly failed, and with it any chance of breaking the judicial filibusters in the near future. Despite the cries of many within the party for such a vote as a “statement,” his cooler head prevailed as he decided to bide his time until the day – that everyone knew was coming – when the leading Democrats would drop the façade and be who they truly are.

Now, Mr. Frist is in the perfect position to step up as the man in the Senate most ready to do battle on behalf of the will of the people at the very time that the stakes in such a battle are the highest. The Ted Kennedys, Charles Schumers, and Joe Bidens have shown the people of America who they are – as everyone knew they would. Now it is time for the Bill Frists, Mitch McConnells, and Rick Santorums to show the nation who they are. Hopefully, it will be a pleasant revelation for the nation and its constitution.