HR hits an HR

Harry Reid's speech on the Senate floor yesterday, found here (May 16, S5197, beginning on page 2), was filled with righteous truths and incredibly well-written phrases. While no one would argue that Reid is not playing politics, I also hope no one will argue that it's about time that somebody for the Democrats began doing just that in opposition to the 11 years of politics that the right wing has been subjecting the American public to. Reid stressed the truly revolutionary aspects of the Republican "nuclear option", making it quite clear that getting rid of any impediments to the current Administration's power to appoint lifetime judges lays behind this move. And not just any judges, since Reid has persisted in approaching Majority Leader Frist with futile compromises allowing for "up-or-down votes" on some of the less obnoxious nominees--it's clear that Frist is simply the hatchet man for Smirky and company's desires to pack the entire judicial system with far right-wing nutcases.
Reid also points out the lies that Smirky and the boys have been spreading about their behavior in this matter, stating that although "[s]everal weeks ago the President assured me that he would play no role in this debate[,] [s]hortly after that, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove was quoted as discouraging any middle ground. Then Vice President Cheney gave a speech in which he encouraged the nuclear option. On Friday the Washington Times said that White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan 'flatly rejected any talk of a compromise that would confirm only some of the president's seven blocked nominees.'" Rarely has anyone in the media noted these kinds of slick inconsistencies (to put it extraordinarily mildly!); it's gratifying to see someone in office finally do so.
Reid noted the fact that 95% of Smirky's nominees have been approved, giving the lie to the oft-stated Republican complaint that Democrats are being in any conceivable way "obstructionist", and also stressed that the Dems weren't doing anything new or against the rules. "As the Majority Leader admitted during his debate with Senator Byrd last week, there is no constitutional right to an up-down vote on judicial nominees. If there were, more than 60 of President Clinton's nominees had their rights violated. In fact, the Senate has rejected hundreds of judicial nominations over the years, some by up-down votes, some by filibuster, and some by simple inaction. In each case, the Senate was acting within its authority under the Advice and Consent Clause of the Constitution." Yeehah! Someone is getting all the points down on paper correctly!
Reid couched his speech not in anger, though, which could have made him seem shrill, but rather in terms of patriotic fervor, showing his political skills off to good effect. The Democrats aren't seeking to overthrow the government, but instead are simply trying to maintain the time-honored and Constitution-blessed system of checks and balances, hoping that there are enough "responsible Republicans" out there who wish to do the right thing as well. Reid concluded by making the claim that "[t]he eyes of the Nation are upon the Senate. There have been few moments of truth like this one. The American people will see whether the Senate passes this historic test." Here's hoping that the press and the public are indeed paying attention . . .