Hugh Hewitt offers a reasonable assessment of winners and losers in this recent deal struck by the 14 Senators to avoid a showdown on filibusters.
Hewitt argues that the biggest loser is John McCain. McCain has angered conservative Republican activists and that will cost him in 2008. Other big losers are Lindsay Graham of South Carolina and Mike DeWine of Ohio.
Winners, according to Hewitt, are George Allen, John Thune, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney.
Of course, the biggest winners are Priscilla Owen and the other judges who will soon be confirmed. Frist will be a loser in all of this, if he doesn’t bring all of the judges up for a vote and, if necessary, put the Constitutional/Nuclear option on the table
Peggy Noonan offers some caustic comments on the narcissism of the 14 Senators. It was nauseating to listen to these fourteen talk about how they had saved the Republic. I’ve always found Lindsay Graham charming in a blow-dried Huey Long kind of way.
Ohio distinguished itself in the 2004 election by delivering the Electoral College majority to President Bush by 60,000 votes. Since the election, Ohio’s two Senators have embarassed the state, Voinovich on the Bolton nomination (Does Voinovich really believe that Bolton will endanger his grandchildren?)and DeWine on the Seante deal. Hewitt points out that DeWine has probably cost his son, Patrick the upcoming primary election in Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District.
Going after DeWine’s son is pretty classy.
If DeWine’s son were classy, going after him would not be. He is not. And having him in Congress would be the perpetuation of an insult to the conservative base to which Mikey has pandered and which he has now entirely deserted.
I do wonder why Senator DeWine would do this to his son.
I just heard the audio of Voinovich. Are senators (not just the 14 but all senators) this arrogant? John Bolton will endanger grandchildren? WTF?
A decade ago, we concluded the cold war which was a difficult 45+ years struggle and now we have two bit politicans saying that our Represenative to the U.N. (the U.N. for heaven’s sake) may endanger us? Odd.
Mickey, Bush won Ohio by roughly twice the margin you cite.
pchuck, I have a different take on Voinovich’s arrogance. His tears were prompted by his belief that when his colleages to to vote on Bolton, too many of them "will not understand the importance of this vote" to the country. George understands its importance, of course, but he is smarter than the peons back home and even his colleagues. Very odd.
Cut Voinovich some slack. Afterall, he and DeWine have to do something to get their names in the papers. Neither one has been heard of since they got elected. I’m sick of seeing guys from Vermont and Delaware deciding national issues while Ohio sits in the back of the bus because we have do-nothing sops for Senators. It’s too bad they chose this issue to distinguish themselves.