Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post

Posted by: wfaulk

Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 04/11/2004 16:06

Woo-hoo!

Usually, people say "better the devil you do know than the devil you don't", but I just can't imagine that it could get any worse than Ashcroft.
Posted by: loren

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 04/11/2004 16:44

*dancing a jig*
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 04/11/2004 17:13

A ray of sunshine in an otherwise terrible week.
Posted by: genixia

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 04/11/2004 18:10

Quote:
but I just can't imagine that it could get any worse than Ashcroft.


Call me a cynic, but 4 years ago I couldn't have imagined a lot of things that have happened since.

What's the chance that he gets nominated to the Supreme Court?
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 04/11/2004 18:15

Quote:
Call me a cynic, but 4 years ago I couldn't have imagined a lot of things that have happened since.

True. Who would have thought that a man, who's state disliked him so much they voted for a dead guy, could get promoted to the AG position.
Posted by: kayakjazz

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 04/11/2004 18:31



Quote:
What's the chance that he gets nominated to the Supreme Court?


My first reaction was that this was a tiny ray of sunshine; my second: I'd lay money you're right, probably as soon as Rehnquist resigns, which he's held off doing 'til after election day.
Posted by: mlord

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 04/11/2004 19:19

Oh crap.. that means he's headed for the Supreme Rulers ...er.. Supreme Court, that is.
Posted by: Daria

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 04/11/2004 19:27

Quote:
Oh crap.. that means he's headed for the Supreme Rulers ...er.. Supreme Court, that is.


http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04309/406471.stm
Posted by: siberia37

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 04/11/2004 19:35

Quote:
Quote:
Call me a cynic, but 4 years ago I couldn't have imagined a lot of things that have happened since.

True. Who would have thought that a man, who's state disliked him so much they voted for a dead guy, could get promoted to the AG position.


This is the only intelligent thing my state (Missouri) has done in the last two elections. I just hope he doesn't decide to run for statewide office again now.
Posted by: ricin

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 09/11/2004 21:56

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/11/09/cabinet.resignations/index.html
Posted by: JeffS

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 09/11/2004 22:21

OK, something about US politics I've never really gotten, despite being educated about it multiple times in the public school system, what exactly is "Filibustering"? I know it has something to do with the minority wasting a ton of time so the majority can't get its way, but a more precise explanation would be welcome.
Posted by: andy

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 09/11/2004 23:17

http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20010125.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/06/26/national2325EDT0904.DTL
Posted by: kayakjazz

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 10/11/2004 01:32

Quote:
What's the chance that he gets nominated to the Supreme Court?


We must have similarly diabolical minds; that was my first thought...!
Posted by: JeffS

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 10/11/2004 02:22

Ok, well that's kind of what I thought. Maybe I'm missing something, but doesn't it seem a bit . . . childish?
Posted by: ricin

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 10/11/2004 02:34

Politics, childish? Never!
Posted by: Daria

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 10/11/2004 02:53

Quote:
Ok, well that's kind of what I thought. Maybe I'm missing something, but doesn't it seem a bit . . . childish?


It's part of those checks and balances. The side in power seems to rail against it but no procedural change will be made because the other side would filibuster it
Posted by: gbeer

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 10/11/2004 05:05

I didn't notice in those write ups but the Senator doesn't even have to talk On Topic. Just stand up and speak. I seem to remember my PolySci professor saying that the Bible has been read into the congressional record by filibusterers more times than any thing else.

What makes it effective, is that all progress is stalled, eventually the leadership has to cave, so congress may deal with more pressing buisness. edit (presuming the 60 votes necessary to end debate cannot be had.)
Posted by: DWallach

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 10/11/2004 12:23

My understanding is that, in modern times, they have something of a protocol to threathen to perform a filibuster and thereby avoid actually needing to do the deed. Of course, they can't make the threats too often, or perhaps, the leadership party may choose to violate the tradition of letting the minority leader run for re-election unopposed, and then manage to bump him out of office. Which, more or less, is what happened to Tom Daschle.
Posted by: jmwking

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 10/11/2004 12:24

Quote:
I didn't notice in those write ups but the Senator doesn't even have to talk On Topic.

And Senator Byrd can quote hours of Shakespeare from memory.

-jk
Posted by: JeffS

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 10/11/2004 12:48

Quote:
It's pasrt of those checks and balances.
Yeah, but you think they could have come up with some more civilized way of accomplishing the same thing.

I suppose this practice just seems grating to me because the one personality I can't stand to work with is the person who just tries to delay progress. I don't mind working with someone who has different ideas, and while there are times I have to give in and do something another person's way, I never try to be a wrench in the machine and bring things to a grinding halt, no matter how bad an idea I think something is.

At work I have a reputation as being someone who's willing to work with others and a solid team player. However, this perception comes crashing down whenever I have to work with individuals who are willing to bring the whole project to a halt just because they don't get their way. Other people in the company are able to deal with these individuals and work with (around actually) them, but I get so furious I become a liability in these situations: it's a personality weakness and something I'm working on. But I think I'd just implode if I had to sit through a fillibuster.
Posted by: jmwking

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 10/11/2004 13:03

Quote:
I suppose this practice just seems grating to me because the one personality I can't stand to work with is the person who just tries to delay progress.

I think sometimes "progress" needs to be slowed down and issues thoughtfully (or at least extensively) discussed. Think of the 18th amendment, Prohibition, followed shortly by the 21st amendment, Repeal of Prohibition.

Passions get inflamed (the debates around marriage being a curent example), and having a brake on the system can be helpful.

-jk
Posted by: Daria

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 10/11/2004 15:05

Quote:
I suppose this practice just seems grating to me because the one personality I can't stand to work with is the person who just tries to delay progress. I don't mind working with someone who has different ideas, and while there are times I have to give in and do something another person's way, I never try to be a wrench in the machine and bring things to a grinding halt, no matter how bad an idea I think something is.


Well, at this point I've gotten tired of the stupid decisions which lead to inferior "solutions" we get to deal with for years, so if I can't put them on course I record my objections (I'm a prick, remember. "I told you so" is very definitely part of my lexicon) and then I walk away. Do what you're doing, but leave me out of it. Need my help? Do it right, or I'm going on vacation.

Quote:

At work I have a reputation as being someone who's willing to work with others and a solid team player.


I have a reputation as hard to work with. Of course, the amusing thing is that several new hires have heard that and don't see a justification for it. None of them have tried pushing double signon, or told me they needed one thing and then complained after I implemented it that secretly they meant something else.
As to being hard to work with, well, after you have to live with enough of those aforementioned bad decisions, eventually it's a drag. How many pieces of mail server software are there? So why, when you evaluate them, would you pick the one that I told you "I've run it for years, the user experience is unpleasant, pick anything but that", and then fail to aadmit defeat when you find that the user experience is horrible?
Posted by: DWallach

Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 10/11/2004 15:16

Quote:
Yeah, but you think they could have come up with some more civilized way of accomplishing the same thing.


Sure, requiring a 60-vote super-majority to pass any bill rather than the standard 51-vote majority would be an entirely civilized way to deal with it. But, many feel that such a rule would bad for the Senate's ability to ever get any work done. The filibuster, in practice, serves to allow the minority party, in limited circumstances, to require a 60-vote super-majority.