The judicial God-squad

CFP ^ | May 30, 2005 | Henry Lamb

[MikeEdwards]

Once again, the U.S. Senate has trashed the U.S. Constitution. Judicial nominees require "advice and consent" of the U.S. Senate. Had the founders envisioned the need to require a super-majority for consent, they would have specified that requirement, as they did for treaty ratification and for constitutional amendments.

While the Constitution does authorize Congress to establish its own rules of procedure, this procedure must fall within requirements set forth within the Constitution.

Until 1917, there was no procedure for stopping Senate debate on any issue. The first "cloture" rule required two-thirds of the Senate to stop debate. In 1975, Senator Robert Byrd, as Majority Leader, used a simple majority procedure to change the requirement to three-fifths of the Senate to stop debate.

Byrd, and other Senate Democrats, demonized Bill Frist for threatening to use the same procedure they had used in 1975, calling the procedure "illegal," and "breaking the rules to change the rules."

Instead, seven Democrats and seven Republicans have appointed themselves to be the "judicial god-squad," further removing the Senate procedure away from the clear language of the Constitution.

Republicans need 50 Senators, and the tie-breaking vote of the Vice President, to change the Senate rule to allow an up or down vote on every judicial nominee. The seven Republicans who signed the judicial god-squad agreement, promise not to vote for a rule change, so long as the Democrats do not use the filibuster to block votes on judicial nominees - except in "extraordinary circumstances." . . . .