Redstate

Quintus: "People should know when they are conquered."

Maximus: "Would you, Quintus? Would I?"

I think this is not a battle the Dems will fight, not because they are conquered but because Roberts does not seem to be the extreme nominee they feared.

As far as the analogy goes, I wanna be Maximus! But if you've already claimed the side of Rome, don't forget the power struggle and corruption that come next in the story. Rome lasted so long because it actually did give the people it conquered quite a bit of freedom.

But enough politics; thanks for choosing this frame for your diary. My favorite quote: "What we do in life echoes in eternity."

that the Democrats are going to try and thwart this nomination.

But I think your analogy is ill-chosen in at least one regard: Gibbon marks the beginning of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire with the death of Marcus Aurelius and the ascention of Commodus - a historical context underutilized in the movie.

Anyhow, not the best omen under which to join battle, forsooth! ;)

and the motivational value of the scene.  It's what we old Army types call a "hooah" moment.

I'll confess to knowing little of Roman Empire history.  And, I certainly wasn't trying to draw a parallel between Roman fortunes after Marcus Aurelius and GOP fortunes after John Roberts.

To be honest, I was just going for the shallow-but-satisfying hooah moment.

The light-heartedness of your post was evident and I was just having a little fun. And besides, I have a pedantic streak that despite my best efforts, gets the best of me once in a while. heh.

Anyhow, though the 3rd century was a little rough, Rome still had another 250 years left in it after Aurelius.

And, as a GOP partisan, it would be nice if the GOP Empire has even a tiny bit of the staying power of Rome's.  No need for a 250-year run...50-100 is OK with me.

From the AP (Hat Tip to Captain Ed; emphasis added).

On Thursday, the House approved a Bush-backed energy bill loaded with $14.5 billion in tax breaks, designed to boost U.S. production. The Senate was expected to approve it on Friday and the White House said Bush -- who has been urging a major change in U.S. energy policy for five years -- will sign it.

The House also moved toward expected approval of a Bush-backed $286.4 billion highway and transit bill, hailed by Republicans as capable of creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.

In his hardest-fought victory, Bush won House approval of the Central American Free Trade Agreement -- previously passed by the Senate -- late Wednesday night, on a 217-215 vote, overcoming heavy Democratic opposition and some GOP defections. The win was achieved only after last minute dealmaking and arm twisting by Republican leaders, and a roll call held open for an hour.

While the economic impact of the pact is expected to be relatively small, the political symbolism was large. Bush lobbied vigorously, including last-minute in-person appeals on Wednesday, and portrayed the measure as central to his goal of spreading democracy and freedom to combat terrorism.

Democrats remained combative -- but outmaneuvered.

People should know when they're conquered...Quintus, lieutenant to Maximus Meridius.

It's a good day in Redstate.

:)

Professor Steven Calabresi of Northwestern University is a professor I'd bet Maximus would like.  The professor is not thinking defensively, or of compromise, on the Roberts fight.

SENATOR CHARLES SCHUMER of New York has led the charge for Senate Democrats over the last several days in demanding the release of thousands of pages of highly confidential internal executive branch memos written by Supreme Court nominee John Roberts when he worked as a deputy solicitor general in the first Bush administration. These document requests are unprecedented in their nature and scope and call on the Bush administration to waive executive privilege and attorney-client privilege to a degree that no other administration has ever previously been asked to do.

Republicans are skeptical of the Schumer request and suspect the senator is on a fishing expedition to try to dig up something with which to oppose the hitherto unassailable Roberts nomination. Republicans have solid reason to suspect Schumer of this, since he was overheard saying on a cell phone that he was going to go to war against whoever the president nominated before Roberts was even nominated.

Evaluation of whether Schumer is or is not on a fishing expedition is impossible given the public record as it stands now. Accordingly, Senate Republicans and the administration should call on Senator Schumer to immediately release and make public all conversations and emails between the senator and his staff, between Schumer staffers and outside left-wing advocacy groups, and between Schumer staffers themselves relating to the Roberts nomination. Schumer should also be required to release phone records of all telephone and cell phone calls that were placed between his office and outside advocacy groups since the Roberts nomination.

It is critically important that these internal Schumer-office documents be made public to determine whether the senator's demand for the Roberts's solicitor general's office memos is a good faith demand based on a genuine concern about positions Roberts may have taken as an executive branch lawyer or whether the senator is on a fishing expedition, as his cell phone declaration of war leads many on the right to suspect. There is simply no way given the public record as it currently stands to determine whether Schumer's request even meets the threshold for deserving serious consideration. {/satire off}

(Emphasis added)

THERE!!!  Wasn't that so much better than having a GOP Senator or talking head go on a Sunday talk show to simply protest that Senator Schumer's requests were unfairly broad in their scope and smacked of clear intent to damage the nominee, instead of an innocent effort to fully exploring his views?

When the GOP does that, they're the batter at home plate, ducking the beanballs the other pitcher is throwing.  Sure, you can protest to the umpire, and grit your teeth and keep ducking as the beanballs keep coming.  The other team will keep throwing them if they suspect that the umpire (in this case, the MSM's political reporters) won't raise a stink.

Any Nats fan who's not obsessed with idealism can tell you how your team really responds in a situation like this.  In kind.  You have a pitcher, too.  And, the other team has to bat...including the other pitcher, Captain Beanball himself.  So, you throw a few brushback pitches HIS way.  Maybe the umpire tosses your pitcher.  OR, maybe the umpire decides he's more concerned with keeping some veneer of impartiality and personal respectability.  In which case, he decides to let All Beanballs Flourish. Now, BOTH sides are ducking.

I see Calabresi's WS article as a brushback pitch.  He admits that much of it is satire...but satire's effectiveness as humor comes from its having some grounding in reality. Schumer's ability to levy charges (or, throw brushback pitches) will be fettered to some extent if his teammates (or, fellow activists on the Left or in the Democratic Party) feel his actions might make them more vulnerable to fielding tough questions about their own partisanship and activities on the Roberts nomination.  If you feel the flow of the game makes it an obvious necessity to tighten down your batters helmet while settling in the batter's box, instead of a standard precaution, you might think twice about starting or perpetuating Beanball Wars in the first place.

Maybe, then, you have some pointed words with your own pitcher.  Words that take some of the sting off his fastballs.

It's important that Team Schumer not feel they can bombard Team Roberts from a bastion of security.  They need to feel incoming rounds, too.  I fear that most of the GOP leaders who, by dint of position or seniority will take the public lead in defending Judge Roberts, are too concerned about Senate comity to engage in this fight.  I expect they'll prefer to do their battles on the Sunday talk shows, by simply protesting the excesses of the Democratic attack instead of trying to thwart them.  Or, if we stick with the baseball analogy, they'll be content playing the manager who confines his response to incoming beanballs by vigorously protesting to the umpire, instead of winking/nodding to his own pitcher.

Sorry, Senator McCain.  This is the major leagues, and we're in the World Series.  If the other guy plays for keeps, so should we.  We need pitchers like Professor Calabresi.  Smart thinkers and writers who will point out the one-sidedness of the other team's arguments, and then press them vigorously.  We have Fox News, the WSJ, talk radio and the blogosphere--all of whom can bring heat.  So, let's bring it!

I'd bet that Maximus, if he was sitting in the dugout and calling the signs, would agree.

(From Rome to RFK in one sentence...how's THAT for a leap of the written word!  OK; time to take the dog to the vet).