Steve Rodich – 4/20/05

This page was last updated on April 21, 2005.

‘Nuclear’ option and Santorum; Steve Rodich; Beaver County Times; April 20, 2005.

Mr. Rodich appears to have a thing for Sen. Santorum. This is his third anti-Santorum letter in a row, and the second in three weeks. The previous letters were entitled “Santorum flip flops” and “It’s Santorum’s turn to lose.”

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Heaven help us!

“I read on Monday that Rick Santorum has a road map for re-election to the Senate next year and possibly the presidency in 2009.

“This is how calculating and career driven this man has been all his adult life. Every governmental position he has held has been a step toward the future with a look to moving up.”

[RWC] Let me get this straight. Mr. Rodich believes having a career plan is bad thing? I hate to break it to Mr. Rodich, but you don’t get anywhere – either in the private or public sectors – if you don’t have a plan and execute it.

I guess this means Mr. Rodich will not support Hillary Clinton should she run for president. After all, it’s clear Ms. Clinton has been planning to run since at least the early days of her husband’s presidency? Why do you think she had her husband appoint her to head the nationalized healthcare study, a.k.a. Hillarycare?

“He is in step with the president, his administration and the Republican hierarchy and seldom, if ever, wavers from their policies and edicts.”

[RWC] So what? Did it occur to Mr. Rodich that Sen. Santorum’s principles are in sync “with the president, his administration …?” Is he surprised Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) is in lockstep with the Democrat Party hierarchy?

“While on the subject of the administration and the Republican Party, they are about to explode a ‘nuclear option’ in the U.S. Senate. The only means of any minority faction in the Senate to force some bipartisan cooperation has been the ability to filibuster.

[RWC] As most liberals, Mr. Rodich fails to note the glorious history of the filibuster includes Democrats filibustering the 1964 Civil Rights Acts. It took Republicans to force cloture so senators could vote on and pass the act.

“Both Democrats and Republicans for more than 200 years have done it. Now, the Republicans are not satisfied with holding the presidency and majority in the House and Senate. They want to take away any possibility of bipartisanship. They want to dictate instead of negotiating.”

[RWC] Mr. Rodich is trying to mislead us. The proposal is to eliminate the filibuster only for judicial nominations. The filibuster would remain an option for everything else it’s currently allowed for.

The reason Republicans are considering the rule change is that Democrats have threatened to filibuster fully 20% of President Bush’s appellate court nominees.

I wonder if Mr. Rodich was concerned about bipartisanship when Democrats controlled the executive and legislative branches.

Remember, when most partisans say they want “bipartisanship,” they really mean complete capitulation by the opponent.

“This will forever change the way business is conducted in the Senate. When the Democrats become the majority, what do you think they will do? Is this the way to run a government?”

[RWC] Let me get this straight. Mr. Rodich expects us to believe Democrats didn’t constantly steamroller Republicans when Democrats controlled Congress for the vast majority of 60 years?

If the filibuster is so important, why doesn’t the House have its equivalent? For the record, the House eliminated its filibuster equivalent in the mid-1800s.

“Who does this hurt? Not those in their soft-leather, high-back chairs. It’s us, the little people, who suffer as a result of their constant bickering.

“When the vote comes up for this nuclear option I’m willing to bet U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter votes against it. Sen. John McCain, a Republican from Arizona, indicated he would vote against it.”

[RWC] I hope Mr. Rodich doesn’t believe this surprises anyone.

“I’m also willing to bet Santorum remains in step and votes for it. And he wants to be president?”

[RWC] Actually, voting to eliminate the filibuster for judicial nominees would show some spine. Sen. Santorum and most Republicans in Congress still behave as if they are the minority party. We elected them to lead and get things done, not to get pushed around by a shrinking minority.