SENATORS FRIST AND REID: A TALE OF TWO BAD DECISIONS

Those who have better things to do with their lives are not even aware of the battle going on in the United States Senate. The one and half parties are really having at it. I refer to the Democrats and Republicans. So many opinions are becoming the same, and the results are always the same, so I now refer to them as one and a half parties. Neither wants to stray to far from the middle, so ever so cautiously they reach out, either to the left or the right, trying to convince voters they want to represent their views.

Even within the halls of government, the disappearance of the two parties is evident. Turn to your favorite news channel or pick up the newspaper. Before long you see both parties reaching out to either lure or pacify legislators that are labeled "moderate Republicans" or "conservative Democrats." The practical translation is this: the parties get closer and closer.

The dumbfounding part of this is the fact that the closer Senators Frist and Reid come to the center, the fiercer the combat. More and more these gentleman are not debating ideas, they are simply debating who should wield power.

In the latest version of this struggle hostilities started when the Democrat wing of the one and half parties in the Senate broke with tradition and filibustered President Bush's judicial nominees. The filibuster is a procedural tactic designed to protect minority rights within the Senate. Never in the 200 plus years has this procedure been used to block appointments to the judiciary.

The story takes a turn from bad to worse with Senator Frist's response, eliminate the filibuster. What a wonderful example of duplicity. Senator Frist takes one bad decision by Reid and raises the stakes with an even worse idea. If the Democrats break one tradition, then the Republicans will break yet another. Is this what has become of what was once called the greatest deliberative body in the world?

The truth that underlies this problem is not one that pits liberals against conservatives. This is not a struggle to uphold Senate tradition or improve senatorial procedure. This most certainly is not about principled people deliberating whether or not President Bush has appointed qualified jurists to the bench. This is a struggle for power.

Neither party cares for what is right, they care about who will hold power. None of these leaders are evil or diabolical in there intent. Each side has been blinded by the allure of power. Until enough principled people stand up to lead all are endangered, “were there is no vision the people perish.” Neither of the one and a half parties have any clear vision of what these two leader’s bad decisions will do to our nation. Until clear and decisive leadership choices emerge the battle for power will be intense.

THE FOLLOWING WAS TAKEN FROM AN ARTICLE ON CNN.COM

A meeting of centrist senators lasted late into the night Thursday, with no agreement and talks are to resume by phone Friday. 05-20-2005

The merger of the Democrats and the Republicans continues!