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: Dignan
Re: Ashcroft Likely to Leave AG Post - 04/11/2004 17:13
A ray of sunshine in an otherwise terrible week.
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: 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: 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: 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.