Jon Kyle is not reaching across the aisle

Repugnicans like to talk a good game.

That's all they do, though, talk!

John Amato at Crooks and Liars tells how Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) has already threatened to fight Obama on his Supreme Court nominees. Talk about jumping the gun.

But Kyl, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, is a right-wing blowhard who has walked pretty much lock-step with Bush and his cronies for years. He is partisan to the extreme. Amato puts that partisanship in perspective by commenting on a speech made by Kyl to the Federalist Society a few days ago.

Kyl "...warned president-elect Barack Obama that he would filibuster U.S. Supreme Court appointments if those nominees were too liberal. Kyl, Arizona's junior senator, expects Obama to appoint judges in the mold of U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter and Stephen Breyer. Those justices take a liberal view on cases related to social, law and order and business issues, Kyl said. 'He believes in justices that have empathy,' said Kyl. ... Kyl said if Obama goes with empathetic judges who do not base their decisions on the rule of law and legal precedents but instead the factors in each case, he would try to block those picks via filibuster."


Wait, wasn't it the Republicans who were damning the Democrats for not immediately approving Bush's judicial appointments, no matter how ultra-conservative or unqualified those persons were?

Or as "Steve" says, "Think about that [what Kyl said]. The second highest ranking Republican in the Senate, just a few days after the election, is already talking about blocking Supreme Court nominations that haven't been named, in response to Supreme Court vacancies that don't exist."

What a bunch of maroons!

John McCain - MIA

Our thanks for Pam's House Blend and Open Left for the following:

John McCain has missed 63.8% of the votes in the 110th Congress. John McCain was not only a POW, he was MIA.

What follows is from Daniel de Groot at Open Left.

"I've looked through all the rejected cloture votes of the 110th Senate where the cloture motion got a majority. So this is where a bill would have passed, if not for the Republican minority blocking it. Here's a representative chunk of them:

* McCain skips a vote on a bill to create energy independence. Which he just promised to achieve in his Nomination Acceptance speech. McCain's vote would have been decisive as the measure failed cloture 59-40. But McCain hates partisanship. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skipped the vote on cloture for the economic stimulus package. Cloture failed 58-41. If McCain had voted yea, Reid would also have and cloture would be invoked. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skipped the vote on cloture for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Cloture failed 56-42. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skipped the vote on the Medicare Improvements Act. Cloture failed again 58-40, with McCain's potential "yea" being decisive. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skipped the vote on the bill to increase the minimum wage. It failed cloture 54-43. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skips a vote on cloture for a sense of the Senate on Iraq. It fails 49-47. I thought McCain had strong opinions on Iraq? Obama voted yea.

* McCain skips another vote on cloture for a sense of the Senate on Iraq. Cloture fails 56-34. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skips a vote on cloture for a bill to fund the Iraq war and compel redeployment. It fails 53-45. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skips a vote on cloture for an energy conservation bill. No opinion on the energy crisis I guess. Cloture fails 50-44. Obama missed this one.

* McCain skips a bill on cloture for an energy bill. Fortunately energy is not an issue the American people care about. It fails 57-36. Obama missed this one.

* McCain skips a vote on another Energy cloture vote. It fails 53-42. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skips a vote on cloture for the Intelligence Authorization spending bill. Fails 50-45. Obama missed this one.

* McCain skips a vote on cloture for a bill to allow the government to negotiate over drug prices. Cloture fails 55-42. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skips a vote on cloture for the motion of non-confidence in AG Gonzales. It fails 53-38. Obama missed this one.

* McCain skips a vote on the Farm bill. Cloture fails 55-42. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skips vote on cloture for an Immigration reform bill. I'm sure the nativist base is glad to know McCain didn't have their back. Luckily 44 of his colleagues were able to block the Hispanic Horde. Obama voted yea.


Pam continues: "Daniel notes that it's even more egregious that McCain did show up to vote 'nay' on many cloture votes -- thus not facilitating working across the aisle in a bipartisan manner -- the Arizona Senator reveled in blocking legislation."


'Nuff said!