Posted on 02/24/2005 6:33:13 PM PST by SmithL
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter warned on Thursday that an impending showdown over President Bush (news - web sites)'s judicial nominees could lead to turmoil in the Republican-led Senate.
Specter said if fellow Republicans invoke the "nuclear option" by changing the Senate's rules to ban procedural hurdles against the nominees, Democrats could as promised retaliate with other moves of their own to "screw things up."
"If we have a 'nuclear option,' the Senate will be in turmoil and the Judiciary Committee will be hell," Specter said. "We can take an extended foreign trip, all of us."
Specter, a moderate, drew fire from conservatives last year when he suggested opponents of abortion rights might have difficulty winning Senate confirmation to the Supreme Court. He eased their concerns by promising to ensure Bush's nominees got a quick Senate vote.
Bush put Senate Republicans and Democrats on a collision course last week when he renominated 20 judicial nominees who failed to win Senate confirmation during his first term. In addition, the president may soon have the opportunity to make his first nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites).
"I'm going to exercise every last ounce of my energy to solve this problem (of stalled judicial nominees) without 'the nuclear option,"' Specter of Pennsylvania told a news conference.
A number of Senate Republicans have voiced support for "the nuclear option," saying minority Democrats cannot be allowed to stop Bush's nominees.
CHANGING THE RULES
Yet some Republicans have expressed concerns that changing the rules could prevent action on other legislation and come back to haunt them in a future Democratic-led Senate. It is unclear whether Republicans could muster the 51 votes needed in the 100-member Senate to change the rules.
Specter, asked his position on "the nuclear option," said, "I have not made a judgment on it. As I've said before, I'd prefer not to come to that bridge. I'm certainly not going to jump off the bridge until I come to it."
Democrats were encouraged by Specter's comments, saying he recognized the role the Constitution envisions for Senate in providing advice on lifetime judicial nominations.
Yet some Republicans privately voiced concerns, with one Senate aide saying Specter "provided the enemy aid and comfort."
Democrats had denounced many of Bush's failed judicial candidates as "right-wing extremists." They blocked 10 nominees with procedural hurdles known as filibusters. More than a dozen others were left hanging when Congress came to a close last year. Democrats did, however, help confirm 204 of Bush's judicial nominees.
Specter intends to hold hearings next week on four of the renominated judicial candidates -- circuit court nominees William Myers and Terrence Boyle and district court nominees Robert Conrad and James Dever.
All four seem certain to win the approval of Specter's Judiciary Committee. But confirmation by the full Senate is uncertain. Republicans hold the Senate with 55 seats, yet 60 votes are needed to end the extended debate of a filibuster.
Specter's news conference came a week after he announced that he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, a treatable cancer of the lymph system. The 75-year-old senator reiterated that he expects to carry out his duties between treatments.
Translation: "I basically have nothing new to say, but I thought I would make these comments to get myself in the news. It has been too long."
Yet some Republicans have expressed concerns that changing the rules could prevent action on other legislation and come back to haunt them in a future Democratic-led Senate.
Sick, lame and inexcusable reasoning.
This is why conservatives are piss'd at our "Republican Controlled" Senate.
If the RATs were in control they wouldn't think twice about torching ANY rule that would further their agenda, including the Constitution.
For the idiot Repubs who think this would be changing the rules........where have you been? The stinking dems changed the rules on advise and consent of judges!!!!!! It has always been 51 votes, THEY-THE DEMONCRAPTS changed the rule in the last years. REPUBS IT IS TIME TO TAKE IT BACK, GET RID OF THEIR STUPID CHANGES FOR SOME LAME fillabuster, fillabuster them right out of the Senate!
No, he meant if the Republicans took the nuclear option, he'd be leaving to research on his extended foreign trip to discover new theories of law that might somehow extend to the U.S. Constitution, Scotland being old news.
You make a good point. I swear, if Hillary runs in '08 with an "R" after her name, half the people, or more, around here will vote for her.
I hate the overuse of the term RINO but in this case it is well placed.....what the hell does Spector think he is doing???????
You were warned.
FReegards
The Doc
I saw part of it.......and Spector seems to always take one step forward and an escalator backwards.....
Specter the defector, behaving exactly as we all knew he would. Pro-abortionists will always try to block confirmation of any Judge that does not pass their litmus test of being pro-abortion like themselves.
Is anything more sickening than those wimpy, whiney, timid, chicken sh*t, Republicans in the senate, who are too timid to stand up to the overbearing minority democrats, and do the right thing for fear that the dems may regain the majority someday and seek revenge?
I am beginning to get the impression that Republican politicians are just as pro-abortion as the Democrats and have no intention of ever allowing another Conservative Judge on the Supreme Court. They pretend to be pro-life because they would never be elected otherwise.
Did you ever notice you never see balls on the Republican Elephant. It's very symbolic.
Do we ever see the balls on the demoncraptic arse? I don't think so. I suppose that they have both been castrated. That is how most of the act anyway. Both sides of the aile.
This opportunity only comes around very rarely, if the Republicans don't get us back on track now, next time may be too late. It goes without saying that the Democrats are going to scream bloody murder and do everything they can to block the Republicans. They have been for four years.
BUMP
Considerably more rope needs to played out and handed to the Dems, before the nuke option is employed. The federal courts need to be rendered substantially more dysfunctional first, with the vacancies piling up. The Pubbies need to be careful that public opinion supports such a move.
Note to Sen. Specter: The judiciary committee IS in hell, and it's because you are the chairman
The man is a worthless POS, and the Republican Leadership is dumber than a damn brick.
Hell, NUKE em now....
If they can't handle it, F'em.
Semper Fi
Specter is only there because W anointed him to get there.
Makes me wonder whether perhaps W is only making a show with the names he has and will take up more liberal members as his Dad did when the Conservative names are denied.
I thought it was "power sharing" with Trent Lott.
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