Marathon Debate Over Judges Set in Senate

[shawn703]

Prodded anew by President Bush, the Senate plunged into marathon debate Monday over the administration's conservative judicial nominees and the rights of Democrats to deny them final votes on confirmation.

"People ought to have a fair hearing and they ought to get an up-or-down vote on the floor," Bush said at a White House news conference.

He spoke as Republican and Democratic leaders steered the Senate toward an all-night session culminating in a Tuesday showdown -- and as centrists from both parties struggled to defuse the controversy.

At immediate issue was the nomination of Priscilla Owen, a member of the Texas Supreme Court, nominated to a seat on the federal appeals court. But the stakes were far broader than that, with Republicans seeking to strip Democrats of their right to filibuster nominees to the appeals court and Supreme Court.


more...
http://www.heraldsun.com/nationworld/washington/15-605152.html

[jojo54]

1. great cartoon from Jack Ohman of The Oregonian

[forgethell]

10. Probably not, n/t

[Freddie Stubbs]

14. Anyone who saw Revenge of the Sith

knows that R2-D2 is one bad-ass droid who should not be messed with.

[tridim]

2. Up-or-down vote...

Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote.

Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote. Up-or-down vote.

Blah blah, fucking blah.. Lockstep much repukes?

[The Stranger]

6. And did you catch this nice turn of phrase?

" . . . the rights of Democrats to deny them final votes on confirmation."

[shawn703]

3. Frist schedules Senate ‘all-nighter’ on judges

Cots were brought into the Capitol Monday as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist scheduled an all-night session stretching into Tuesday to dramatize the debate over President Bush’s judicial nominees and the filibusters that Democrats have used to block votes on 10 of them.

The Senate debated the nomination of appeals court hopeful Priscilla Owen for four days last week and is set to vote on a motion to end the Owen debate on Tuesday.

The vote has larger implications than the fate of one nominee — it will likely determine what could be the most consequential battle of Bush's presidency. At stake: Bush's ability to steer the courts in a more conservative direction.


more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7953279/

[bunkerbuster1]

4. So the little girls are having a sleep-over?

Hair braiding and pillow-fights?

[Daphne08]

9. A little

Spin the Bottle? I mean, there will be boys there.

:rofl:

[bunkerbuster1]

11. Boys? Eww, gross!

[AnneD]

13. Well.....

You know how some of those repugs love boys. Wonder if Gannon will,uh er, cover the event.

[maxrandb]

5. Why

Do I Get the Mental Image of Clemensa in "The Godfather" saying "we're going to the mattresses."?

[Edgewater_Joe]

7. The Longer The Debate, The More You Know Frist Doesn't Have The Votes

These Repunks are ruthless -- if they had the votes they would've already had the vote and already killed the filibuster. If Frist is stringing this thing out, there can only be one reason for it: he doesn't have the votes. The longer it goes, the more likely it will be that Frist loses.

Of course, these are also the people who bribed a Congressman after stretching out the deadline of a bill three hours past the final vote in order to pass the Mediscam proposal, but I expect that we're going to be dusting off Roberts' Rules of Order during that meeting if it comes down to that.

[shawn703]

8. I may be wrong

But I thought there was a procedural reason for the vote on the nuclear option to have to wait until the debate has gone on for a certain length of time?

[Sgent]

12. Correct

3 legislative days ahve to pass before a cloture motion can be voted on. Apparently this all night session counts as one day (or part of one). The cloture motion was initiated on Friday, so apparently Tuesday is the earliest they can vote.

[Edgewater_Joe]

15. But The Majority Defines How Long The Debate Can Go

Frist could've decided three hours would've been enough - he chose three days with a weekend in between. Heck, Reid was goading him as much as the RepubliTaliban to get this thing done, and we've seen Reid knows what he's doing. You already know he's heads and shoulders better a Senate leader than Frist is; Frist has to depend on the Dobsons and the White House because (a) he's a puppet and (b) he needs them.

Come on, you know what these people do. At this moment, he doesn't have the votes -- and he knows it.

[Itsthetruth]

16. And If The Cloture Motion Fails To Get 60 Votes The Debate Continues?

If that's the case, let the filibuster begin!

You can watch the Senate debate on C-Span 2 on your TV or computer now.

http://www.c-span.org/