Frist LIED - "Unprecedented" - GOP Judicial Nominee Filibuster in 1968

[NAO]

In his message to the religious reich, Frist said that while the filibustering of legislation was a time honored tradition, it was unprecedented to filibuster Judaical nominees.

GOP Judicial Nominee Filibuster in 1968 - link to video at Crooks and Liars:
http://movies.crooksandliars.com/CBS1968-09-25.wmv

[mhr]

1. Thanks For The Link!

eom

[ellenfl]

2. can we get keith o. or jon stewart to air this? btw,

did abe fortas survive the filibuster?

good link. pass it on.

ellen fl

[ohioan]

3. My latest favorite Republican lie - never in history has a filibuster

been mounted when there has been a majority in support of a nominee.

Excuse me? The ONLY time you would ever have a filibuster is when the majority supports a nominee. Otherwise, why filibuster if you have enough votes to defeat a nomination?

Now, notice the Republicans are qualifying this claim by saying there has never been a SUCCESSFUL filibuster of a judicial nominee. So, in other words, they launched filibusters in the past, they just didn't succeed at them, so they're pissed off that Democratic filibusters are actually successful.

[ohioan]

4. Filibusters unprecedented? I dont think so . . .

Several other federal nominations died Wednesday, however, including the bid by U.S. District Judge Richard Paez to move up to the U.S. 9th Circuit of Appeals. Paez's nomination has been pending for 33 months and was not brought to the Senate floor after Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), a staunch conservative, made it clear that he would mount a filibuster against Paez, who in 1994 became the first Mexican American to serve as a federal trial judge in Los Angeles.

Sessions considered Paez an "unacceptable" nominee, his spokesman, John Cox, said. Some conservative legal advocates have complained that as a law teacher, Paez told his students he considered Proposition 209--the state's anti-affirmative action ballot measure--an "anti-civil rights initiative."

---Los Angeles Times, October 22, 1998

Senate Republicans made a last-ditch attempt Tuesday to block the confirmation of federal appellate judge nominee Richard A. Paez, including questioning Paez's role in granting immunity to a fund-raiser who solicited $1 million in illegal contributions to the Democratic Party four years ago . . . Moving to that vote was further complicated Tuesday when conservative Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H., began a filibuster against both Paez, currently a U.S. District Court judge in Los Angeles, and Marsha Berzon, a San Francisco lawyer. President Clinton has nominated both to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California and wide areas of the West.

Paez was first nominated four years ago and has been waiting for confirmation longer than any nominee in modern history. Opponents accuse both Paez and Berzon of being too liberal, but supporters say the delay on Paez, a Hispanic, is part of a Senate pattern of being slow to move on nominations of minorities and women.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., wrote to Lott on Tuesday seeking a delay on the Paez vote.

--- AP, March 7, 2000.