[diotima]

 

CONTACT YOUR SENATORS!

 

	Email	Phone	Fax
AL	Sen. Jeff Sessions (R)	202-224-4124	202-224-3149
	Sen Richard Shelby (R)	202-224-5744	202-224-3416
AK	Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R)	202-224-6665	202-224-5301
	Sen. Ted Stevens (R)	202-224-3004	202-224-2354
AZ	Sen John Kyl (R)	202-224-4521	202-224-2207
	Sen. John McCain (R)	202-224-2235	202-228-2862
AR	Sen. Blanche Lambert Lincoln (D)	202-224-4843	202-228-1371
	Sen. Mark Pryor (R)	202-224-2353	202-228-3973
CA	Sen. Barbara Boxer (D)	202-224-3553
	Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D)	202-224-3841	202-224-2501
CO	Sen. Wayne Allard (R)	202-224-5941	202-224-6471
	Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R)	202-224-5852	202-224-1933
CT	Sen. Christopher Dodd (D)	202-224-4041	202-224-9750
	Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D)	202-224-2823	202-224-1083
DE	Sen. Joseph Biden (D)	202-224-5042	202-224-0139
	Sen. Tom Carper (D)	202-224-2441	202-228-2190
FL	Sen. Bob Graham (D)	202-224-3041	202-224-2237
	Sen. Bill Nelson (D)	202-224-5274	202-228-2183
GA	Sen. Saxby Chambliss(R)	202-224-3521	202-224-0072
	Sen. Zell Miller (D)	202-224-3643	202-228-2090
HI	Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D)	202-224-6361	202-224-2126
	Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D)	202-224-3934	202-224-6747
ID	Sen. Larry Craig (R)	202-224-2752	202-228-1067
	Sen. Michael Crapo (R)	202-224-6142	202-228-1375
IL	Sen. Dick Durbin (D)	202-224-2152	202-228-0400
	Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R)	202-224-2854	202-228-1372
IN	Sen. Evan Bayh (D)	202-224-5623	202-228-1377
	Sen. Richard Lugar (R)	202-224-4814	202-228-0360
IA	Sen. Chuck Grassley (R)	202-224-3744	202-224-6020
	Sen. Tom Harken (D)	202-224-3254	202-224-9369
KS	Sen. Sam Brownback (R)	202-224-6521	202-228-1265
	Sen. Pat Roberts (R)	202-224-4774	202-224-3514
KY	Sen. Jim Bunning (R)	202-224-4343	202-228-1373
	Sen. Mitch McConnell (R)	202-224-2541	202-224-2499
LA	Sen. John B. Breaux (D)	202-224-4623	202-228-2577
	Sen. Mary Landrieu (D)	202-224-5824	202-224-9735
ME	Sen. Susan Collins (R)	202-224-2523	202-224-2693
	Sen. Olympia Snowe (R)	202-224-5344	202-224-1946
MD	Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D)	202-224-4654	202-224-8858
	Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D)	202-224-4524	202-224-1651
MA	Sen. Edward Kennedy (D)	202-224-4543	202-224-2417
	Sen. John Kerry (D)	202-224-2742	202-224-8525
MI	Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D)	202-224-4822	202-228-0325
	Sen. Carl Levin (D)	202-224-6221	202-224-1388
MN	Sen. Mark Dayton (D)	202-224-3244	202-228-2186
	Sen. Norm Coleman (R)	202-224-5641	202-224-8438
MS	Sen. Thad Cochran (R)	202-224-5054	202-224-9450
	Sen. Trent Lott (R)	202-224-6253	202-224-2262
MO	Sen James Talent (R)	202-224-6154	202-228-0998
	Sen. Christopher S. Bond (R)	202-224-5721	202-224-8149
MT	Sen. Max Baucus (D)	202-224-2651	202-224-3687
	Sen. Conrad Burns (R)	202-224-2644	202-224-8594
NE	Sen. Chuck Hagel (R)	202-224-4224	202-224-5213
	Sen. Ben Nelson (D)	202-224-6551	202-228-0012
NV	Sen. John Ensign (R)	202-224-6244	202-228-2139
	Sen. Harry Reid (D)	202-224-3542	202-224-7327
NH	Sen. Judd Gregg (R)	202-224-3324	202-224-4952
	Sen. John Sununu (R)	202-224-2841	202-224-1353
NM	Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D)	202-224-5521	202-224-2852
	Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R)	202-224-6621	202-228-0900
NJ	Sen. John Corzine (D)	202-224-4744	202-228-2197
	Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D)	202-224-3224	202-224-8567
NY	Sen. Charles Schumer (D)	202-224-6542	202-228-3027
	Sen. Hillary Clinton (D)	202-224-4451	202-228-0282
NC	Sen. John Edwarrds (D)	202-224-3154	202-228-1374
	Sen. Jesse Helms (R)	202-224-6342	202-228-1339
ND	Sen. Kent Conrad (D)	202-224-2043	202-224-7776
	Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D)	202-224-2551	202-224-1193
OH	Sen. Mike DeWine (R)	202-224-2315	202-224-6519
	Sen. George Voinovich (R)	202-224-3353	202-228-1382
OK	Sen. James Inhofe (R)	202-224-4721	202-228-0380
	Sen. Don Nickles (R)	202-224-5754	202-224-6008
OR	Sen. Gordon Smith (R)	202-224-3753	202-228-3997
	Sen. Ron Wyden (D)	202-224-5244	202-228-2717
PA	Sen. Rick Santorum (R)	202-224-6324	202-228-0604
	Sen. Arlen Specter (R)	202-224-4254	202-228-1229
RI	Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R)	202-224-2921	202-228-1232
	Sen. Jack Reed (D)	202-224-4642	202-224-4680
SC	Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D)	202-224-6121	202-224-4293
	Sen. Lindsey Graham (R)	202-224-5972	202-224-1300
SD	Sen. Thomas A. Daschle (D)	202-224-2321	202-224-7895
	Sen. Tim Johnson (D)	202-224-5842	202-228-5765
TN	Sen. William H. First (R)	202-224-3344	202-228-1264
	Sen. LaMar Alexander (R)	202-224-4944	202-228-3679
TX	Sen. John Cornyn (R)	202-224-2934	202-228-2856
	Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R)	202-224-5922	202-224-0776
UT	Sen. Robert F. Bennett (R)	202-224-5444	202-224-4908
	Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R)	202-224-5251	202-224-6331
VT	Sen. James Jeffords (I)	202-224-5141	202-228-0776
	Sen. Patrick Leahy (D)	202-224-4242	202-224-3479
VA	Sen. George Allen (R)	202-224-4024	202-224-5432
	Sen. John W. Warner (R)	202-224-2023	202-224-6295
WA	Sen. Maria Cantwell (D)	202-224-3441	202-228-0514
	Sen. Patty Murray (D)	202-224-2621	202-224-0238
WV	Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D)	202-224-3954	202-228-0002
	Sen. John Rockefeller, IV (D)	202-224-6472	202-224-7665
WI	Sen. Russell Finegold (D)	202-224-5323	202-224-2725
	Sen. Herb Kohl (D)	202-224-5653	202-224-9787
WY	Sen. Mike Enzi (R)	202-224-3424	202-228-0359
	Sen. Craig Thomas (R)	202-224-6441	202-224-1724

[diotima]

Why Not Go 24/7 on Judges?


The Issue: Republicans are permitting Democrats to get away with a “gentlemen’s filibuster” on the judicial confirmations. But to win, Republicans must force Democrats to talk 24/7 until they break.

Response: Despite conventional wisdom “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” a “bring-in-the-cots” counter-measure has never been successful in breaking a filibuster. This is true even in their hey-day, when Democrat Majority Leaders fought southern Democrats. Only compromise has stopped a filibuster, and, in other cases, those who filibustered prevailed. Moreover, the 24/7 counter-measure is not what many think it would be under the Senate rules. It is impossible to force Democrats to “talk till they drop” or “read from the phone book.”

1. It’s impossible to force Democrats to talk about a nominee beyond the first three hours of the legislative day. After that, they can talk about the war, the economy, or anything they want.

2. If Democrats tire of talking, they can simply suggest the absence of a quorum, which requires 51 Senators to show up to continue conducting business. If a quorum does not appear, the Senate must adjourn or at least suspend its proceedings until a quorum is established.

Consider this scenario: Democrats run out of things to say about a judge at 11 p.m. The Minority Leader suggests the absence of a quorum:

• Option A: Not enough Senators respond. The Senate is "stuck," and it must adjourn. Under this scenario, both parties sleep soundly through the night.
• Option B: A quorum is produced because all Republicans show up (Democrats can keep sleeping) and then debate on judges resumes. Under this scenario, Republicans are awake, and Democrats sleep. This works to the advantage of the filibustering Senators, so the burden rests on the Majority to ensure that the constitutional quorum requirement always can be met.
• Option C: Not enough Senators respond and the Sergeant At Arms is dispatched to bring absent Senators to the Chamber to vote. Once the quorum is produced, debate resumes. But at 2 a.m., the Democrats again note the absence of a quorum and once again the Republicans are back to Options A, B, or C.

According to Stan Bach of the Congressional Research Service (Filibusters and Cloture in the Senate, 1/17/01):

“… late-night or all-night sessions put as much or more of a burden on the proponents of the question being debated than on its opponents. The Senators participating in the filibuster need only ensure that at least one of their number always is present on the floor to speak. The proponents of the question, however, need to ensure that a majority of the Senate is present or at least available to respond to a quorum call or roll call vote. . . . This works to the advantage of the filibustering Senators, so the burden rests on their opponents to ensure that the constitutional quorum requirement always can be met.”

Therefore, all-night counter-filibuster measures, while possibly great drama, are, in truth, maintained by the Majority, not the filibustering minority. Democrats may not show up for quorum calls, but Republicans need to stay up for nights on end to keep the Senate in session around the clock. Additionally, there may be long, drawn-out quorum calls in the middle of the night rather than Democratic Senators reading from the phone book and laboring to stay on their feet. So it doesn’t look as dramatic as what Hollywood did with “Mr. Smith.”

24/7 is a tactic for a sprint strategy, not a long distance run. Of course, a sprint sometimes has its purposes in the middle or at the end of even the longest races…

[abner]

Bumping.

[diotima]

A Brief History of the Cloture Vote
on Presidential Nominations

Prepared by the office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D.

The cloture rule has been applicable to nominations since 1949.

From 1949 until 2002, cloture had been filed on 35 nominations – 17 judicial nominees and 18 executive nominees.

Of the 17 judicial nominations, cloture was successful on the first attempt in 11 cases. All these nominees were confirmed.

On the remaining 6 judicial nominations where cloture was not invoked on the first attempt, all were nevertheless confirmed, except for Abe Fortas to the position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1968. Fortas was blocked because of ethical allegations, not judicial philosophy.
• Fortas had one unsuccessful cloture vote.
• In addition, J. Harvie Wilkinson was confirmed in 1984 to the Circuit Court of Appeals following a successful cloture attempt on the second try.
• A 1971 cloture vote on William Rehnquist to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court failed. A second cloture motion was filed, but was rendered moot because the nominee was confirmed before the second cloture motion ripened.
As to Executive nominations, cloture has been invoked 10 times in 18 attempts. All nominees on whom cloture was invoked (6 on multiple attempts) were confirmed. Of the 8 nominees on whom cloture failed, only two were not confirmed:
• Sam Brown, Ambassador 1994 (3 cloture attempts)
• Henry Foster, Surgeon General 1995 (2 cloture attempts)

Note: No filibuster has ever been broken by forcing opponents to continuously debate a measure.

[anniegetyourgun]

Allow me to supply a little additional info here. Best to use these on the day of the blitz.

Majority Senate Judiciary room phone: 1-202-224-5225 or fax at 1-202-224-9102

Minority Senate Judiciary room phone: 1-202-224-7703 or fax at 1-202-224-9516

[Bob J]

Sample Letter/Fax/Email to Democrats

Dear Senator__________________ ,

I have been watching the slow, painful deterioration of our judicial nomination process for the past several years. It is time for certain Senators, particularly those on the Senate Judiciary Committee, to stop obstructing a fair up and down vote on the President’s judicial nominees. Men and women of outstanding character and experience are being unjustly held hostage to what amounts to a narrow ideological litmus test imposed on the majority by a few.

Unless it stops immediately, I will be talking to my voting friends, neighbors and relatives and letting them know that this important Constitutional process is being abused and we as Americans shortchanged for partisan political reasons.

Stop the insanity. Allow these nominees a clean and fair vote on the Senate floor.

Sincerely,

[Bob J]

ping

[Bob J]

ping

[MeekOneGOP]

Thread 2 !

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my General Interest ping list!. . .don't be shy.

[sauropod]

I am planning on being in the Senate Gallery toward the end of the week.

[Flyer]

Stop the Democrat obstruction of Bush's Judicial Nominees!!

*PING* *PING!*

As always, a FReep mail will get you on or off this Houston topics ping list.

[nutmeg]

ping!

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.

[michigander]

Dear senator $,

Please find it in your heart to give up on the judicial filibusters and play nice with Republicans.

michigander

P.S. Also convince your handmaiden Stabenow to do same.

[MinuteGal]

Filabump!

Leni

[mhking]

Project 21 will be releasing a speech supporting the Majority and their efforts in the Senate either tomorrow or Wednesday (and I'll probably be quoted in the piece).

In addition, P21 Executive Director David Almasi & P21 National Advisory Board member Mychal Massie will be present at the scheduled 3AM press conference outside the Senate Chambers on Thursday morning.

Everyone's support by way of contacting their legislators is greatly appreciated, and I thank you in advance for your help.

Black conservative ping

If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)

Extra warning: this is a high-volume ping list.

[Rabid Dog]

Ventura County Freepers and Lurkers,

Please read the suggestions of the original post and take a moment to freep Boxer and Feinstein and the Ventura Star. And then contact Frist and let him know you are supporting his efforts. Phone calls are best but please send an e-mail if nothing else. Will only take a moment.

[Jim Robinson]

This is going to be good! Bump!!

[pinz-n-needlez]

You have freepmail

Pinz

[pulaskibush]

AR Sen. Blanche Lambert Lincoln

(D) 202-224-4843 202-228-1371

Sen. Mark Pryor

(R) 202-224-2353 202-228-3973

Bump/Ping

[southern bale]

The list needs to be updated, at least for North Carolina...Jesse Helms, alas, is no longer the senior senator from N.C.

We now have Elizabeth Dole, an empty vessel compared to "Uncle Jesse."

[hatfieldmccoy]

What in the Bloddy Hell is this Republican circle jerk supposed to accomplish. The filibuster should be the Democrats trying to stop a floor vote on the judges. The limp spine Republican leadership has cooked up this weak kneed PR event to avoid actually taking serious action. They are filibustering their own initiative. It's the Twilight Zone. And to add insult to injury we got the go* *amn freeper nation cheerleading. This is Bill Frist and the girls kissing Donkey butt.