Bush to discuss (over breakfast) court vacancy with Senate leaders

[truthpusher]

http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/news/politics/12109406.htm

Posted on Mon, Jul. 11, 2005
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Bush to discuss court vacancy with Senate leaders of both parties
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BY JILL ZUCKMAN AND JAN CRAWFORD GREENBURG
Chicago Tribune
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WASHINGTON - (KRT) - President Bush will meet early Tuesday over breakfast with Republican and Democratic Senate leaders to discuss a Supreme Court replacement for retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

But the four lawmakers - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.; Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa.; and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary panel - will arrive at the White House not knowing whether Bush will float specific names for their reaction, or just generally hear them out.

The meeting comes after much agitation from Democrats that the advice-and-consent clause of the Constitution compels the president to discuss the nomination with members of the Senate before he makes a final decision.

"I'm ready to start talking names," said Reid, who has already suggested that U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and several Republican senators would meet with his approval. "I think it's important the names come from him, not from us."

(snip)

"I expect the president to give a name when he's ready," Specter said, describing the get-together as "very salutary" of the president toward Reid and Leahy.

complete story: http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/news/politics/12109406.htm

[Rose Siding]

1. Senator Reid will brief us on a conf call after that meeting

Here's a link for signing up- They'll send the phone number tomorrow morning-

http://www.democrats.org/page/s/reidcall

Join Senator Harry Reid for a Supreme Court Briefing
Sign up below to join our Supreme Court briefing with Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday, July 12 at 4:30 ET. Senator Reid will share the latest news on the high court vacancy and discuss how you can get involved.

Senator Reid will also answer your questions on the call.

[truthpusher]

2. Thanks

[msongs]

3. wonder "what else" they will..........discuss hehehe n/t

[Erika]

4. Reid & Leahy have the guts to shut down government

if Bush tries to satisfy his hard right-wing base by nominating some wild eyed neocon.

[TaleWgnDg]

5. I wonder . . .

.
Hhhhmmmmmm, I wonder what the word "discuss" means to George Walker Bush. Does it mean as I think Bush intends it to mean . . . that "F.U., I've already made up my mind. I'm only here to 'discuss' this with you libruls so's it looks good in the press."

I can hear Bush now over this breakfast: "Dear, Jesus, we are drawn here together today in YOUR NAME so that I may call upon you to direct us in putting forth ONLY those jurists who acknowledge that our laws are derived from you, dear Jesus. Amen."



.

[Erika]

6. Bush is desperately trying to establish a legacy

and it's going nowhere. He may go down in history as being the sole being to establish a world corporatism philosophy favoring the rich and developing a permanent caste system for everyone else. He has hurt the American worker harder than any president in history when it comes to health benefits, college tuition, or decent wages.

He's cast our military in a war without cause and cost the lives of over 1,700 of our men and women. He is the definition of obscene.

See www.icasualties.org

[Hissyspit]

7. AP: Bush Conferring W/ Senators Over Supreme Court Nomination

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBOGFRR1BE.html

Jul 12, 2005

Bush Conferring With Senators Over Supreme Court Nomination
By Deb Riechmann
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush is consulting face-to-face with four top senators about the Supreme Court vacancy, but the lawmakers suspect they'll leave without learning the names on Bush's short list. While the president has held telephone conversations with the four senators before, Bush's breakfast with the four Tuesday is their first meeting in person about the vacancy.

- snip -

Bush is meeting with Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee; Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the committee; Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.; and Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

Reid and Leahy say they appreciate the conversations that they've had with Bush, but they say the onus is on the president to smooth the way for a nominee by alerting Democrats to his thinking.

"I won't consider it a disappointment if he doesn't give us names," Reid said. "But we've got to have some idea of what he expects from us, and give us some idea of what we can expect to see from him."

MORE AT LINK

[Solly Mack]

8. I trust everyone who deals with Bush keeps this in mind: Bush Lies.

To do otherwise is sheer stupidity.

[applegrove]

9. Bush is such a even-handed sober guy - don't ya think!

:shrug:

[autorank]

10. Here's a prediction.

You ever hear the story of the scorpion and the ox. Seems they were both by the river side and the ox started to cross the river with assurance. The scorpion said, "May I have a ride on your back. I need to cross and I will surely drown without your help." The ox paused and said, "You will just sting me and we will both die." The scorpion argued no, never, I'm not crazy. So the ox relented and the scorpion hopped on. Somewhere near the middle of the river, all of a sudden, the scorpion stung the ox with his lethal tail and poison. As he was going down, which would assure the scorpions death as well, the ox said, "But why?" to which the scorpion responded, "Because it is my nature."

Bush won't change. He'll nominate a marginally acceptable candidate, or he thinks the Democrats will have trouble opposing. The prediction is that his first nominee will have some utterly factual and disgusting piece of history that will disgust everyone. This WH crew can't do anything right, they are bumblers at governing (although brilliant at stealing elections). When the dust settles, Bush will be largely crippled and will have real trouble whomever he nominates.

Why won't Bush just play ball? Because it's his nature to be a difficult, nasty, petty, vicious, little man who hates everything this country fought for.