If you haven’t already, take a gander at Media Matters for America’s list of filibuster falsehoods — falsehoods bandied about by filibuster opponents and blithely repeated by reporters who should know better. Here’s the no-frills list. More detail at the always useful MMA site.
1. Democrats’ filibuster of Bush nominees is “unprecedented”
2. Bush’s filibustered nominees have all been rated well-qualified by the ABA; blocking such highly rated nominees is unprecedented
3. Democratic obstructionism has led to far more judicial vacancies during Republican administrations than Democratic administrations
4. “Nuclear Option” is a Democratic term
5. Democrats oppose Bush nominees because of their faith, race, ethnicity, gender, stance on abortion, stance on parental notification …
6. Public opinion polling shows clear opposition to judicial filibusters, support for “nuclear option”
7. Filibustering judicial nominees is unconstitutional
8. Clinton’s appellate confirmation rate was far better than Bush’s rate
9. Sen. Byrd’s alterations to filibuster rules set precedent for “nuclear option”
10. Democrats have opposed “all” or “most” of Bush’s judicial nominees
