In the NYtimes article today about the filibuster of the judicial nominees I came across the following quote:
"Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, who is a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, dared Democrats to change the rules, saying it would come back to haunt them if they lost the majority.
“Go ahead,” Mr. Grassley said. “There are a lot more Scalias and Thomases that we’d love to put on the bench,” referring to Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court."
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/13/us/politics/senate-blocks-judicial-nominee-with-filibuster.html?hp
Now it is hard to know what to make of this but if taken at face value this means - whoever has the power to nominate judges is no longer bound by any criteria except said nominees further their political interests. This means that might makes right and the gloves are off. It means mob rule.
Of course the threat is stupid because these are exactly the people republicans nominate anyway. Perhaps republicans talk this way because they are afraid democrats will actually get rid of the filibuster. At any rate, this growing war in which all civility is swept aside and animosity escalates is very dangerous. Without civility you settle disputes violently. Those acting so cavalierly should remember that civilization is a very flimsy thing, hard to build but easy to dismantle.
I hope I'm wrong about all this and perhaps moderate republicans will unite with democrats, not to give us European socialism--in other words the kind of countries where people are happiest--but at least to avoid potential civil war.
