WP: Party Leaders Seek Showdown Over Bush's Judicial Nominees

[Pirate Smile]

Party Leaders Seek Showdown Over Bush's Judicial Nominees

By Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 11, 2005; Page A04

The Senate's Republican and Democratic leaders called yesterday for a prompt showdown in the impasse over judicial nominations, a move that would undercut moderates' efforts to find a compromise to the long-running dispute.

Both parties' leaderships are wary of a bipartisan bid by a few centrists to find a middle ground that would force GOP and Democratic leaders to accept options they have called intolerable.

-snip-
Neither man could claim victory under compromises being promoted by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), among others. Nelson said that the details of his plan remain fluid, but that it would leave the filibuster rules intact while confirming more of Bush's nominees than Reid has said his party can accept. Nelson said senators would have to pledge to use filibusters only in "extreme or extraordinary cases." But Republicans said Democrats have a history of labeling mainstream conservatives as extremists.

-snip-
Reid and Frist said they remain open to a possible compromise. But both men rejected elements of Nelson's plan yesterday and signaled that they want a showdown vote on the filibuster issue -- often called "the nuclear option" -- as early as next week, if not Friday.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/10/AR2005051001183.html

[bemildred]

1. Bullshit and lies. What are these criminal swine up to? nt

[BillZBubb]

2. The Democrats should never back down on this.

If they do, they can forget winning the White House for a long, long time.

They need to tell the Republicans exactly what will happen if they vote to throw out the filibuster rule. Then once the Repugs go through with it, the Democrats need to do EXACTLY what they said they would do, no matter what the polls say.

That's how you win people's respect that you will actually stand up for what you believe in. The Repugs understand this implicitly. The Democrats never have.

[Democat]

3. You're right, you get respect by standing for something no matter what

Democrats can not back down, if they do, they will just show Americans that they don't really stand for anything.

[Judi Lynn]

4. 'Big fight' over filibusters could begin next week

May 10, 2005, 10:27PM

'Big fight' over filibusters could begin next week
Republicans are expected to pave the way for stalled judicial nominees
By STEPHEN G. SMITH and BENNETT ROTH
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

Boyden Gray has been working with conservatives on judicial nominees.
WASHINGTON - Republicans will move as early as next week to block any Democratic Senate filibusters of President Bush's judicial nominees in anticipation of a struggle over a Supreme Court vacancy in a few months, strategists said Tuesday.

Majority Leader Bill Frist, D-Tenn., said the Senate would vote highway funding and emergency spending bills, then turn to "the issue surrounding judges."

Four nominees for appeals court seats have cleared the Judiciary Committee, and at least two of them, including Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen, would likely provoke Democratic filibusters.

"It is a simple matter of fairness somebody like Priscilla Owen, who has waited four years and one day for the up-or-down vote," Frist said.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/3176500
(Free registration is rquired)

[BR_Parkway]

5. Isn't this the headline we've been reading for the past few weeks? It's

always "next week".

I think they're trying to buy time to get a compromise worked out, since they don't have the polls to back it.