Revenge Of The Moderate

Lots of winners and losers from yesterdays late breaking deal on judicial filibusters.

The big winner obviously is the American people. This deal finally saw the clouds part and allowed the return of the American moderate...who has long been dormant through extremist dialouge from both sides of the political spectrum. Most surprising is the fact that the moderate Republicans finally took their stand against the extreme right wing of the Republican party. Will it cost them eventually? Maybe. We will see how vast and powerful the Talibaptists actually are as they are sure to target these seven moderate Republicans who used common sense and respect for the rules of government to avert a disaster.

The Big Winners
Democrats: The avoid having to resort to slowing down the government and still maintain the ability to filibuster an extremist for the Supreme Court, which was their biggest concern all along.

Janice Rogers Brown and Pricilla Owens: They will now receive their appointments to the appeals courts they have been waiting on for four years.

Harry Reid: He stood up to a clear majority of Republicans in the house and drew a line in the sand that challenged them. I think this worked out great for him and keeps establishing his reputation as a strong minority leader.

The Big Losers
Bill Frist: This whole manuever was a gamble for Frist. He needs the support of the extreme right to run for President in '08, but this move was not favored by the majority of Americans. He gambled on the side of the fundamentalists and was stood up by members of his own party. It makes him look weak in controlling his majority and have have seriously hobbled his chances in '08.

James Dobson and the Right: Dobson threw a lot of weight into this matter, seeing it as the most important issue for the right. He was hoping to use the change in rule to stack the judiciary with judges likely to strike down abortion and to continue to deny civil rights to homosexuals. He and his cronies invested lots of time and money into the Bush '04 campaign and have not seen the payoff. They will not easily forget the 7 who made this happen and will increase their jihad against the moderate Republicans even more than they have in the past.

Could be a Winner, Could be a Loser
John McCain: McCain stood up again to the extremist right and continues to look more and more like a true centrist moderate. Not only that, he continues to show his ability to be a coalition builder and someone that can reach out successfully to compromise with Democrats. This helps build his resume for '08 with moderates and independents. However, McCain has surely pissed off the extreme right for sure. They will work tirelessly now to not only destroy his chances in '08 (much like Rove did in '00), but they will be working overtime to unseat him in Arizona. My gut tells me that true courage like McCain shows will triumph in the end...he is the strongest candidate the Republicans have for '08 and is someone that will help guide the GOP back toward the middle ground.

George Bush: Most of his nominees will get a vote. Only 4 seem to be stuck in limbo. This still showcases his ineffectiveness in working to use his Republican majority in the Congress, but still has to feel good as he gets some of his judges in. The bigger test will come this summer when he has to appoint a Supreme Court replacement. Will he go for an acceptable conservative, or will he pander to Dobson and the right and pick a "judicial activist"?

Stem cells are up today.

Because the People Demand It!!!

The long overdue of the Iowawineguy from his pre-summer, post-residence hall closing phase is over!

I return to you (hopefully) at the turn of the tide, to borrow a line from Gandalf in The Two Towers. The Congress is poised on Tuesday to deal in some big time issues that could smack Bush and the Talibaptisits down to the fundamentalist hole they crawled out of.

The first of these issues is the judicial filibuster fight. All signs point to the big vote coming on Tuesday this week. Frist has scheduled an all night debate and they are setting up cots at the Capitol for the big showdown. How will it turn out? No one really knows. There is a key group of 12 Senators (6 Dems, and 6 sane Republicans) that are trying to avert the "nuclear option" of killing the filibuster on judicial nominees. I think either a compromise will occur or the filibuster will stay in place...if Frist had the votes for sure he would have done this a month ago...but they must do it now because all signs point to a Supreme Court vacancy this summer. As readers of this blog know, protecting the filibuster is a key provision to keep in place for both parties to prevent the tyranny of the majority and the politicizing of the judicial branch of the government. Without this check, one party can impose it's will in the judiciary...which merely uphold the Constitution, even though it may upset some folks.

The second issue is a bill that would allow federal dollars for stem cell research and for all purposes repeal Bush's ban of federal funding from 2001. Bushy has threatened to veto this bill, but it currently has much bi-partisan support from Dems and sane Republicans and they will try to pass the bill at a large enough majority that the veto cannot be used. This would be a bid slap to Bush and the fundamentalist caveman that want to ban scientific progress. Stem cells are pre-embryonic and thus are not a desecration of a new life.

Keep an eye out on Tuesday. It is a big day with lots of implications for years to come, and more importantly will determine if Bush is a lame duck now, or still has some clout. The Iowawineguy will be here tommorrow night, cracking open a quality bottle of wine and providing insights into the events of the day.

The Rebuilding Illini?

Could this be the new nickname of the Fighting Illini men's basketball team we have grown to love this year. It certainly seems like it.

Dee Brown announced yesterday that he will enter his name into the NBA Draft without hiring an agent. The surprising part of his announcement was that he will likely leave even if he is not a first round draft pick. Sad news for sure, but probably the best decision for Dee. I think it would be difficult for him to improve his stock any more next year considering the depleted talent the team will have and the move to PG he would have to make. Still, it seems so risky for a guy that was born to play college basketball to give up one more year in order to try and make an NBA roster with no guarantee. On Mark Tupper's blog he echoes my concern, that Dee will be scrambling trying to make a roster spot in Turkey before it is all over. I surely hope Dee changes his mind and decides to come back. Maybe he is just saying the obvious, if you are going to put your name out there for the draft, you better try like hell to make a good impression and prove you belong there. You wouldn't want to enter workouts with the mindset that you are just there to show off before going back to school.

So what does this mean for next year if Dee leaves? The recruiting class coming in is marginal at best according to recruiting analysts. Chet Frazier would have to play point, and it is very hard for freshman to play the point and be successful. All you have to do is look at the struggles of Kiwane Garris and Frank Williams in their frehsman seasons. There has been a chance that we could land Brandon Rush, a 6'6 wing man who is in prep school and is down to either picking Illinois, Oklahoma, or the NBA. If Dee jumps, kiss Rush good bye. That will leave us with James Augustine, a pretty good stable of forwards, a shaky Rich McBride at SG, and an unproven Brian Randle on the wing. Ouch.

I do have faith in Bruce Weber's ability to get extrordinary effort from his players, but I guess part of me was hoping that fate would allow Dee and Deron to come back and let our magic keep flowing. It looks more ane more like a rebuilding year as the days tick by.

Last Tuesday I went to see my favorite band Guster and had front row seats. This is the last encore when they played "Jesus on the Radio" accoustic to the crowd. Great band. www.guster.com