Showdown Over Filibusters Appears Imminent (AP)

[Mike Niendorff]

Showdown Over Filibusters Appears Imminent
By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent 23 minutes ago
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050517/ap_on_go_co/filibuster_fight

WASHINGTON - The Senate's top leaders have ended their attempt to find a compromise on President Bush's stalled judicial nominees, but other members continued to work on a possible deal to clear five blocked appeals court appointees and end threats to change the long-standing filibuster rules.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said Tuesday his negotiations with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist failed because he refused to give up Democrats' ability to block Supreme Court and lower court nominees they consider too extreme. Court watchers think a Supreme Court vacancy could happen sometime this year.

"The goal of the Republican leadership and their allies in the White House is to pave the way for a Supreme Court nominee who would only need 50 votes for confirmation rather than 60," the number of senators needed to maintain a filibuster blocking a confirmation vote, Reid said.

(...)

The standoff between the two parties "has a great deal to do with anticipation of upcoming vacancies in the United States Supreme Court," McCain said.


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MDN

[starmaker]

1. Within hours or days

Durbin just stated on senate floor
In a short period of time he sayw

[Az_lefty]

2. Frist was squakin that they were going to force a vote this week...

now it's next week or the week after. I think he knows he doesn't have the votes and is just blowing hot air.

[Bok_Tukalo]

3. The Republican Party owes their Evangelical base, bigtime

They are just trying to pay off that debt.

[endarkenment]

4. like SS they are playing chicken with the demopublicans

in the senate. They keep make blustery threats and hope that idiots across the isle, in their desperate efforts to be fair and reasonable and meet intolerance and fascism half way, will shoot themselves in the foot and offer themselves up for slaughter. As I have near-zero confidence in the demopublican senate leadership, I keep expecting the rollover and invite anyday.

[Teaser]

6. Demopublicans=Tired Bullshit Label

Thanks for playing though.

[truthisfreedom]

5. *yawn* wake me when the revolution is over.

*turns over*

[carnie_sf]

7. I hope they go for it

and show themselves for the partisan reactionary hacks they truly are.