If it Comes to a Filibuster

November 07, 2005

If it Comes to a Filibuster

In writing about Judge Samuel Alito's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, Hendrick Hertzberg says Democrats should not worry about Republicans exercising the "nuclear option" and ending the filibuster for judicial nominations.

"Barring some surprising revelation, a filibuster seems unlikely. But, if the Democrats find cause to decide otherwise, they should not feel they are betraying their small-ìdî principles. The filibuster is an affront to commonly understood democratic norms, but then so is the Senate. In the three elections that produced the current lineup -- those of 2000, 2002, and 2004 -- all Republican candidates received about ninety-five million votes, while all Democratic candidates got almost ninety-eight million. The perverse result is a ten-seat Republican majority. The worst that could happen is that the Republicans would abolish the filibuster for judicial nominations, a big first step toward abolishing it altogether. In the long run, or maybe not so long, that would be good for liberal governance. What goes up must come down."

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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November 07, 2005