[Newspoetry] Fox News Filibuster

[gavroche at gavroche.org]

Fox News Filibuster

With Senate conservatives complaining that only 98% of the Bush
Administration's judicial nominees have been confirmed, the 30-hour
vigil over the four most conservative nominees continues on the Senate
floor. The stunt, which is billed by Sen. Rick Santorum
(http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/13/politics/13MARA.html) (R-PA) (its
principal architect) as an effort to "do what is best for this country
and what is best for the Constitution," turns out to be little more than
a spectacle for Fox News, at a cost to taxpayers of over $100,000
(http://www.rollcall.com/issues/49_53/news/3603-1.html) . Conservatives
rebuffed efforts to delay the dog-and-pony show until 8pm to complete
work on appropriations for the Veterans Affairs
(http://www.thehill.com/story.asp\?id=139) and HUD. A memo written by a
staffer for Majority Leader Bill Frist reveals why: "It is important to
double efforts to get your boss to S-230 on time ... Fox News Channel is
really excited about this marathon and Brit Hume at 6 would love to open
with all our 51 senators walking onto the floor -- the producer wants to
know will we walk in exactly at 6:02
<http://www.thehill.com/story.asp\?id=139> when the show starts so they
get it live to open Brit Hume's show? Or if not, can we give them an
exact time for the walk-in start?" Once the self-inflicted "filibuster"
began, Frist criticized opponents of a handful of President Bush's most
radically ideological nominees for breaking " dangerous new ground
(http://www.thehill.com/story.asp\?id=139) " by blocking full-senate
votes in a handful of cases. But, in 2000, Frist himself voted against
cloture (http://www.nwlc.org/pdf/FilibusterFactSheet2003.pdf) (and a
full Senate vote) for Clinton nominee Richard Paez.