The real intent of the "Nuclear Option"

[mikelewis]

It seems inevitable the the filibuster is gone. Frist wouldn't have brought up the nominees to lose the debate. Bar some miracle, the filibuster is gone. On the surface, this is a means to stack the Supreme Court with judges who will repeal many of the rulings that have protected many of us from tyrrany and injustice. But actually, there is no need to stack the supreme court to gain a much larger prize. There are more immediate and far-reaching implications than simply over-turning Roe V. Wade. It is a means to create a dictatorship.

But is this a reason to panic? No, it is not. It's actually a reason for hope and here's why. The Senate has been drowned in partisan politics for too long. In fact, one of the reasons for the success of the Contract with America, our Senators have been bickering back and forth on partisan issues and ignoring the people's work. In the mean time, the people have suffered from a declining spirit, a declining inquisitiveness in our collective governance and a declining standard of living. Now, it would be easy to blame the Republicans solely for this malaise but they don't bear all the blame. All members of Congress have lost sight of the true principles of our Republic. The Contract for America was so successful because the people were honestly dissatisfied with the actions and more importantly, the corruption that runs rampant in our Government. They came to power because of a promise to reform, to resurrect the fading pride of our country. They promised that if they were given power they would restore honesty and instill conservative values into the laws the Congress enacted. Well, we now know they have fallen short on that promise. They have failed in thier promise but many those who believed in those principles have been either replaced or corrupted in their mad dash for power. They have now been usurped by a group who have learned how to sieze total power in this country.

Today, the Senate has come to the point that they are contemplating restricting their own power in order to turn it over to the Executive Branch. They, as a majority, are voting to remove the advice and consent power of the Senate. They are voting to instill a consent power that only benefits the Executive Branch. Now, this is not about Republicans versus Democrats. It runs deeper than this. The purpose of this maneuver is transfer power into the hands of the Executive Branch in order to make some fundamental changes in our Democracy.

The believed goal of this option is to move the country toward increased Republican ideals. Many of the Republicans who are agreeing with this plan believe they are making a move that will further one of their fundamental concepts of Federalism. They believe in increased states rights and a limiting federal government. In spite of the fact that increased state rights is one of their goals, to achieve this would empower their political competition on the state level and threaten to reduce their individual powers. The moderates believe they are holding true to their principles but they are being conned.

To shift this country back to the Federalist ideals that these hard-liners support requires the Judiciary to restrict the powers of the Legislative Branch and turn that power over to the states. Issues such as "Gay Marriage" and "Right to Life" have forced the moderates to support an agenda that is diametrically opposed to their political future because it appeals to their voting base. By installing Federalists into the Judiciary, they are almost guaranteeing a weakened Legislative Branch. Unfortunately, they assume that the President can't seize the powers of the Legislature denied by the Judiciary. What they are forgetting is the power of Executive Review. The power of Executive Review grants the President power over the agencies that he has appointed. Now he is supposed to follow his Constitutional authority in his Review powers but unfortunately, there is no check or balance on the powers of Executive Review. The President can essentially use this power to direct his different agencies to dramtically alter how funds are allocated, how agencies resources are allocated and how the entire system of government is distributed between the state and federal levels of government.

Now, how does this benefit the President? By installing people in the judiciary who believe in a weak Federal Government, the new laws passed by the House and Senate will either meet the requirements of increased states rights or face rulings of unconstitutionality. The Senate will essentially lose many of the powers that it currently holds. Now, since the President has the power of Executive Review, he can essentially dictate the allocation of certain funds to the individual states without consulting the Senate or even concerning himself with oversight issues. The Senate will be unable or unwilling to counter this because they will fear the retaliation from the Judiciary. The President will now have the power to manipulate the Governors of the states through means of a system of bribes and coercion. The States have become so reliant upon the Federal Government that many programs that keep the state government in power would force the state legislatures to bow to the will of the Governors and the President.

So why shouldn't we panic? Because some of them know this is happening. I have watched and listened very carefully to the statements made by the Senators on the floor from both sides. It appears evident that a few of them realize the true implications of this scenario. I forget who it was who mentioned the Federalist Society but that was a clear indication to me of what was at stake. They know this is the scenario but they also know the people won't understand it fully and will fail to rally to thier cause if it is explained in this manner.

On the surface, they are challenging these judges for a variety of reasons but the only common thread is the ideology of the judges and their belief in the rights of the States over the rights of the Federal government. They realize how easy it is to control Governors and State Legislatures through corporate pressure and funding blackmail. They realize that this is a direct attack on the powers of the Legislative Branch and they realize the abuses of power the President and the Corporations who control this regime can inflict on the country. This is why we keep hearing that this is a fundamental threat to our democracy. The fact that they realize this and are fighting it gives us hope that they will wake up and start fighting the good fight. We are seeing some of that now. The fight over the Filibuster is bringing out the closet Democrats we never hear from and putting fire in their words. It is clear they understand that they are the ones targeted in this attack and they are going to fight it. They may lose this battle but I believe they are finally committed to the war. I also believe this will force them to turn to the people to set things right and this will result in leaders who trust in Democracy and are dedicated in upholding Constitution.