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The GrandDaddy of them all!
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i did a random search and i found one.
sorry i cant post the links, since the stories are taken from houston chroncile archives, avaliable only for members and the links wont work w/o cookies.
Quote:
GOP filibuster kills Foster nomination
06/23/95
WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Thursday shelved the nomination of Dr. Henry Foster, the embattled surgeon general candidate, after Republicans led by Texas Sen. Phil Gramm blocked a confirmation vote for the second day.
But the 57-43 vote, three shy of the 60 needed to break a filibuster and permit a confirmation vote, left all sides claiming victory. The debate once again thrust the divisive issue of abortion into the political forefront.
Foster, a Tennessee obstetrician-gynecologist, admitted, after some dispute over the actual numbers, to performing 39 abortions, all legal, during a 38 year career. Though he delivered 10,500 babies, mainly for poor women, he was labeled an abortionist by opponents.
"Today, 43 Republicans in the Senate failed the fundamental test of fairness," President Clinton said. "By choosing to side with extremists who would do anything to block a woman's right to choose, those senators have done a disservice to a good man, done a disservice to the nominating process, and sent a chilling message to the rest of the country.
"This is not a good day for the Senate," Clinton said. Foster was the first Clinton nominee to be rejected by the new Republican -led Senate. The vote was identical to Wednesday's 57-43 outcome. Eleven Republicans joined all 46 Democrats in voting to break the filibuster .
Foster, rumored to become Clinton 's adviser on combating teen-age pregnancy, appeared with Senate Democrats immediately after the vote to thank his supporters.
"I greatly appreciate your vote of fairness but fairness didn't prevail," Foster said. "I am disappointed by today's outcome, certainly. Would I have liked a different outcome? Absolutely. But I remain strong and honored by being the president's choice for surgeon general."
Only three presidential nominees, including Foster, in the past 24 years have been stopped by filibusters. All were Democratic candidates stymied by Republicans. Counting Foster, only 25 presidential nominees, including Chief Justice William Rehnquist in 1986, have faced filibuster threats.
"I believe if four months ago I had not stood up and said that I would filibuster this nomination I believe that Dr. Foster would be at the tailor's today getting fitted for his uniform," Gramm said after the vote. "I think there would have been a deal cut and I think he would have been confirmed."
Gramm's comments were a shot at Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, his rival for the GOP presidential nomination. Democrats and some Republicans complained that presidential ambitions were at play in the nomination as the two vied for support from Christian conservatives.
Dave Mason, a political analyst with the conservative Heritage Foundation, said Dole may have come out ahead even though Gramm initiated the filibuster . "Gramm certainly gets more credit from social conservatives for having come out early and strong against Foster but in the end Dole delivered and effectively killed the nomination," Mason said.
He also suggested Foster's defeat would have little lasting political import. "Failed nominees are quickly forgotten," he said. But he added that the anti-abortion legislation making its way through the House "may end up being a more significant factor."
The House has passed a measure barring women from receiving abortions at military bases overseas. A House subcommittee has adopted another measure barring doctors from performing a medical procedure for late-term abortions used, according to abortion-rights advocates, in rare cases to save the lives of the mothers.
"I think the most important result of the whole debate of Dr. Foster's nomination is that the right-wing has had to show its cards," Kim Gandy, vice president of the National Organization for Women, said. "They are out to abolish abortion, period."
And the medical procedure was the dominating issue as Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H., demonstrated. He held up a plastic fetus during Senate debate and displayed graphic charts of late-term abortions for a little-used procedure that has gained increasing attention among anti-abortion forces.
"He's tolerating and condoning this," Smith charged of Foster, bringing Democrats out of their chairs. Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, D-Ill., called the props and accusations the most "outrageous" she'd seen on the Senate floor.
A senior White House official maintained the Foster defeat does not hurt Clinton politically.
"Basically, he pressed Foster on the merits. But ironically, the Republicans choose to make an issue out of abortion. I'm not sure that helps their cause," the official said.
Dole accused Clinton of using the nomination to score political points on abortion.
"That's all this (Foster) nomination is about, trying to divide the American people for political purposes," Dole said. But he also hinted that old political scores were being settled by Republicans as well. "What goes around comes around," Dole said, noting that Massachusetts Democrat Edward Kennedy had tried to block Rehnquist's appointment as chief justice with a filibuster that failed.
Technically, Foster's nomination will remain on the Senate calendar but has little hope of being brought to the floor again. It was unclear if the White House would submit another nominee .
Foster initially was considered a safe nomination. He was recommended by Dr. Louis Sullivan, the secretary of Health and Human Services under President Bush. The "I Have a Future" program founded by Foster was recognized by Bush as a "point of light" for combating teen pregnancy.
But Senate support weakened when it was reported that Foster had performed abortions. He initially said he had performed one, then less than a dozen before a records check confirmed 39. Conservatives also seized on accusations that he should have known about the infamous Tuskegee syphilis experiments in which black men were left untreated, and that he performed sterilizations on three mentally retarded women, with their parents' permission.
Many opponents said Foster's credibility was the issue. Foster, however, said his credibility has never been challenged. He admitted, however, to being naive
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EDIT : does that mean you are a hypocrite?
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"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Darrel K Royal
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