US Cheif Justice Rehnquist has thiroid cancer

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

You can delay as long as you want.

Republicans wouldn't be hurt by it in the least.

If anything, it will bolster their support in the 30-or-so states in which pro-life politics rules the day.

If Kerry wins this thing, there is going to be a nationwide grassroots movement to prop up Senators who refuse to confirm pro-abortion judges.  States with Senate elections in 2006, and incumbent party:

Republican incumbent:
IN, TN, MS, UT, TX, MO, PA, MT, OH, VA, ME, RI, AZ, NV, WY

Democrat incumbent:
CA, MA, WV, WI, NM, MN, FL, MI, NY, NE, WA, NJ, ND, MD, CT, DE, HI

Independent: VT

Republicans in "liberal' states include:
Olympia Snowe (ME),
Rick Santorum (PA),
and Linclon Chafee (RI) - who isn't really a Republican, so we won't count him. 
Snowe is probably safe, and I have a feeling Santorum is going to scrape through.

Democrats in pro-life states include:
Robert Byrd (WV) who is getting old,
Herb Kohl (WI) who is invulnerable but could retire OR face Tommy Thompson,
Mark Dayton (MN) who will face a strong challenge from Mark Kennedy,
Bill Nelson (FL) who could be facing Katherine Harris,
Ben Nelson (NE),
Kent Conrad (ND)

So, we have two GOP Senate seats that could be threatened by this, but at least two and as many as five Democrat seats where this could be a problem.

Anyway, all they need to block Kerry's liberal appointees is 41 total. :-)

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

You can delay as long as you want.

Republicans wouldn't be hurt by it in the least.

It is possible to block one or two nominees.  But eventually it would become blatantly clear that they are behaving like petulant children.

You mean, like the Democrats in the 106th and 108th Senate?

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

You mean, like the Democrats in the 106th and 108th Senate?

Umm ... the Dems held up 6 nominees but confirmed the majority of Bush's judicial nominees.  We're talking here about what would be 1 very important appointment.  It would be possible to block 1 or 2 or even 6 different nominees for this one position, but eventually it would reflect poorly on the GOP.

BTW, if you want to rehash those 6 nominees that were held up we can.  Personally I was ok with the nominations of Kuhl, Rogers Brown, and Estrada but had HUGE HUGE problems with Owen, Pryor, and Pickering.

The whole Pickering thing was one of the most blatant distortions of fact and shameless character assassinations I have ever seen.