Renegade GOP senators may be key on nominees

[Judi Lynn]

08/2005 01:19:50 AM

Renegade GOP senators may be key on nominees
Judicial votes: As confrontation looms over court candidates, some Republicans worry that their leaders' strategies could cause lasting harm
By James Kuhnhenn
Knight Ridder News Service

WASHINGTON - The outcome of a looming Senate confrontation over judicial nominees rests with a small band of uneasy Republicans who are reluctant to follow their leaders and force up-or-down votes on President Bush's contested federal court candidates.
They number fewer than a dozen and comprise an odd coalition that is part moderate, part maverick and part traditionalist. They include Senate veterans and relative newcomers, all worried that a clash that has come to be called the ''nuclear option'' would cause lasting damage to the Senate.

They also share a tepid if not frigid relationship with religious conservatives, an influential Republican bloc that is itching for a showdown with Democrats over Bush's judicial nominees.

The mavericks: Among this band of renegade Senate Republicans are northeasterners Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Nonconformists John McCain of Arizona and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska also are included, as is 27-year Senate veteran John Warner of Virginia, who reveres the chamber's traditions.

Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Gordon Smith of Oregon also are counted because they have voiced reservations about the showdown, though only McCain, Chafee and Snowe are considered sure votes against the Republican leadership.
(snip/...)

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2721970

[ck4829]

1. And to think, Specter, McCain, etc. aren't just Renegades...

They are moderates.

Moderates = Renegades OR Maverics :scared:

[dsc]

2. McCain is no moderate

Aside from a very few issues he is quite conservative.

[Warren Stupidity]

6. yup

mccain is a nuck fut. Screw mccain. He'll line up with the fascists when they put the pressure on him.

[MarianJack]

3. As A Mainer,...

...I hope and cautiously believe, that at least Snowe will vote right.

Collins is too willing to talk moderation but vote the cheney/bush line anyway.

McCain is out for McCain. kkkarl will offer him something, get his vote, stab McCain in the back, and McCain will come back to kiss his ass again. I have NO IDEA why so many here hold McCain in such high regard.

BTW, why is being a "moderate" republican make them a "renegade"? Damn liberal media!

[chaumont58]

4. I also questioned the word 'renegade'

Toe the line, or, by god, be labeled renegade, or unAmerican, or disloyal, or.......

The fuhrer would be proud. Not to mention Stalin.

[AndyTiedye]

9. I Hope That You and Your Friends Are CALLING Her

You are her consituants.

[MarianJack]

11. HELL YES!

I'm VERY GOOD at being a pain in the ass to my senators!

[Warren Stupidity]

5. So when the vote on official one party majoritarian rule

is taken in the senate, which 'Democrats' will vote for the abolition of the Republic?

Any guesses? My guess is that there will be just enough to give the president of the senate the deciding vote.

[electricray]

7. Gordon Smith has been getting a lot of phone calls

I called his office and one of his staffers said that he was working on a compromise, but when I pressed her for a position on the fifty-one vote majority, she said that Smith does favor changing the Senate rules. So I called Thom Hartmann on his local show in Oregon and he put the word out. Within 15 minutes his voice mailbox in Washington was full. Later on in the day his position had shifted to strongly favoring a compromise over the rules change. I don't know if I had anything to do with it, but the order of events suggested enough that I felt justified in feeling effective.

[drm604]

8. electricray, Good for you!

This shows that ONE person can make the difference. This is a lesson for all of us!

:bounce: :yourock: :bounce:

[Judi Lynn]

10. I hope a lot of DU'ers read your post. It's excellent.

You went beyond a step most Americans never take. Getting it on the radio to be heard by other people who are concerned no doubt triggered those calls.

Welcome to D.U. :hi: :hi: :hi: