G.O.P. Loses Filibuster Vote on Judicial Nominee

New York Times ^ | Friday, March 7, 2003 | By NEIL A. LEWIS

[JohnHuang2]

March 7, 2003

G.O.P. Loses Filibuster Vote on Judicial Nominee

By NEIL A. LEWIS

ASHINGTON, March 6 — Senate Republicans lost a crucial test vote today over President Bush's nomination of Miguel Estrada to the federal appeals court in Washington, gaining 55 votes, 5 short of the 60 needed to cut off debate.

Today's vote left only increased confusion over how the issue, with its complex brew of ethnic and judicial politics, will play out. Each side seemed increasingly obstinate, declaring that the other was trampling on the Constitution.

The Republicans hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate, enough to confirm Mr. Estrada. But the Democrats have been able to prevent a vote by or going into prolonged debate when the Republicans have sought to bring up his nomination.

The only way to break a filibuster is a parliamentary procedure requiring at least 60 votes, meaning the Republicans would need to persuade nine Democrats to join them.

Today, only four Democrats voted to end the filibuster, leaving the Republicans five votes short.

President Bush called the Democrats' action today a disgrace and said, "I will stand by Miguel Estrada's side until he is sworn in as a judge."

Just how long that will take was unclear. Republican leaders promised an unending string of efforts to break the filibuster, and Democrats said they would continue to block such efforts.

The Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, Republican of Tennessee, said that today's defeat was only the beginning of his party's efforts to see Mr. Estrada become the first Hispanic judge on the the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, widely regarded as second in importance only to the United States Supreme Court.

Usually, the failure of a motion to invoke cloture — breaking the filibuster with 60 votes — means the underlying issue or nomination is dead. But Dr. Frist and his fellow Republicans had expected to lose today, and they said they would continue to seek cloture votes.

"As long as it takes," Dr. Frist said.

This who-will-blink-first partisan showdown has come in the first few months of Dr. Frist's tenure as Republican leader. "I've tried to be reasonable and patient," he said, adding that "if we need to, we will have a cloture vote again and again."

His Democratic counterpart, Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota, told reporters he was confident that no matter how many times the Republicans sought to break the filibuster, the Democrats' support would not erode further. The four Democrats — Senators John B. Breaux of Louisiana, Zell Miller of Georgia, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Bill Nelson of Florida — who voted today with the Republicans had already announced their intentions to let a vote proceed.

Mr. Estrada, 42, a Washington lawyer, has extensive experience in arguing cases before the Supreme Court but has done little that would disclose his philosophical leanings.

But in the small world of elite Washington lawyers, Mr. Estrada is seen as a staunch conservative, and Democrats have asserted that he was chosen as part of what they say is President Bush's plan to pack the courts with conservatives.

The Estrada battle is part of a war between the White House and Democrats in the Senate over the authority for choosing federal judges.

When the Democrats controlled the Senate, in Mr. Bush's first two years in office, they moved slowly on approving his nominees in an effort to persuade him to choose fewer stalwart conservatives. But since the Republicans regained control of the Senate in January, they have tried to push through Mr. Bush's choices.

In a session of the Judiciary Committee today, for example, the Republicans used their majority to approve the nomination of Timothy M. Tymkovich to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, based in Denver.

Mr. Tymkovich has been aggressively opposed by liberal advocacy groups, notably the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization that said he had opposed laws that outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Most nominees deflect questions about their views when they are questioned by the Judiciary Committee, but Mr. Estrada may have been even more reticent and cautious. Democrats have asked the Bush administration to provide legal memorandums he wrote while a Justice Department official.

Alberto R. Gonzales, the White House counsel, said in a letter this week to Senator Daschle that he was disappointed the Democrats had not responded to his offer to have Mr. Estrada visit any senator who wanted to ask further questions. Senator Daschle today said the Democrats would settle for nothing less than Mr. Estrada's legal memorandums.

[Cboldt]

You said, at "4" above The "filibuster" is a sham unless the GOP makes the Rats physically DO a filibuster instead of this "gentlemen's agreement" BS.

I replied that I would like to hear the process that the GOP would use to make the DEMs "do a filibuster" (whatever that means, I assume it means 24/7, but I am not content with that explanation because it doesn't describe the process from start to finish, it only describes one quality of a certain process, that property being continuous Senate sessions until . . . what?)

Your comment then was The main problem seems to be this: "There is no motion by which a simple majority of the Senate can stop a debate and allow the Senate to vote in favor of an amendment, a bill or resolution, or any other debatable question."

Now, I don't see how the fact that there is no motion by which a simple majority (the GOP) can stop a debate is relevant to your original contention that the GOP should somehow make the DEM "physically DO a filibuster." Plus, as noted above, even given a method for the GOP to invoke the property of a continuous Senate session, one should not embark on the path without understanding the process from start to finish.

[TLBSHOW]

what a 24 7 would do is get national attention to the fact that the democrats are nothing but racist and holding up the business of the United States in a time of war,

the other option is the democrats have now taken control of the senate from the GOP and no one knows it...

[deport]

Would it be possible for the President to use this vote as moral authority for a recess appointment?

---

The appt is good only for the remainder of the 108th Congress after which time it becomes null and void unless the appointee is finally confirmed sometime during the remainder of the session.

[TLBSHOW]

I believe at this point it would be better than letting the democrats gain control of the Senate as they now have.

the goal of the rats is to have the 108th Congress not do a thing just like the 107th did nothing.

[itsahoot]

If Lott was a limp wimp, Frist is no better.

I predicted that at the time and said we needed Don Nichols, but was boo'd out of the park. Now Frist is only serving out the rest of his term and not running again, what a waste to put a leader in for 2 years. I am a great admirer of Rick Santorum as well, but remember he carried the water for Lott.

[jpl]

Would it be possible for the President to use this vote as moral authority for a recess appointment?

With the direction in which politics is rapidly heading, recess appointments may be the only way in which anyone ever actually gets appointed to the federal bench from now on.

[meadsjn]

Those racist democrats are still discriminating against hispanics. Shameful.

Bush should take a page from clinton's playbook and do recess appointments on a grand scale.

[deport]

Bush should take a page from clinton's playbook and do recess appointments on a grand scale.

---

Well there are certainly recent precedents for making recess appointments...

• President Carter ... 68
• President Bush,x41... 78
• President Reagan ... 239
• President Clinton ... 140

There are other numbers out there so who knows what the correct numbers are.

Click

[TLBSHOW]

so did frist call for a 24 7 today?

of course not! The democrats now have control of the Senate and I hear Frist is not going to stick around for another election in 2006, get him out of leadership now!

[Poohbah]

Todd...perchance you may have noticed that things are a little busy right now. Do you propose pushing the upcoming war off until the fall?

[TLBSHOW]

there is always an excuss isn't there? How busy was it a month ago? I will go back and see what excuss was used then for the heck of it,,,
........

Despite a few late-night sessions since Mr. Estrada's nomination hit the floor, Republicans have not forced their filibustering fellows to talk all night, allowing a gentleman's measure to serve in this less-than-genteel debate. Even a series of cloture votes won't have the same effect, since Senate business will still go on.

Republicans' reluctance seems to be based in the simple fact that filibusters are so inconvenient. Democrats would only need a few members to hold their place on the floor, while all 51 Republicans would have to be present, awaiting the first opportunity to force the vote. Unfortunately, during a lengthy filibuster, it's more likely that a few Republicans will take breaks than a few Democrats will break ranks.

Thus, the anticipated cloture vote represents not so much a failure of Republican Senate leadership as of followership. While some Republican leaders have expressed a desire to force a full-fledged filibuster, they really have rather small cudgels to hold their rank and file in place, much less penalize them if they break ranks. Besides, senators are notoriously independent, preferring to lead a glorious but doomed calvary charge than march along with their fellow foot soldiers in a crushing phalanx. The cloture vote is a tacit admission that Republicans have failed to coalesce into the disciplined fighting force needed to overcome obstructionism on judgeships.

washington times

[VRWC_minion]

I gave some thought about timing and with the war and all there Estrada is a back seat issue. The best timing will be after the Iraq war. It ought to be winding down significantly around July-August. This is a very slow news time and there aren't any prime time shows to bump.

Ad to the mix that Bush's ratings will be at all time high and this looks like an ideal time. In the meantime it would be great if the R's look somewhat patient and out the cloture votes out a couple of more times leading into a final showdown in the summer.

[timydnuc]

My brethern, this is a victory. The RATS have shown their weakness, and they can be brought down. The Republicans should force a vote a day.

Note to Republicans: I believe in you, I voted for you, I expect you to STAND AND DELIVER! NOW, YOU DO IT!

[TLBSHOW]

Are you saying all the things that Bush wants needs to take a back seat until summer or fall? That is what is happening with this you know.

[VRWC_minion]

News cycle, not Bush.

[TLBSHOW]

But while the lobbying reaches a fever pitch, Democrats are saying they want to move onto other things. They're tired of the Estrada nomination being on the Senate floor. Said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle: "I would hope that we could move on to issues of great import to this country."

http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/a0025032.html...
....


If we do not do it now Estrada does not get in and the rats will flip the script and try and blame us. In fact it maybe too late to turn this around but by summer it will be lost to us, we have to strike now not later, we should of done it a month ago.

[TLBSHOW]

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) called it "a very sad day for the United States Senate and a very dangerous day for our republic." Dangerous, he said, "because what we may have commenced here today [is] something unprecedented, which is the ideological filibustering of judges" and the "over-politicization" of the judicial process.

,,,,
So Bill do what you should of done and call for a 24 7 filibuster from the rats! Oh wait you won't do what needs to be done will you Bill?
TLBSHOW
.......
A Frist spokesman could not say just how often or when the majority leader will again force a cloture vote. But any future cloture votes will not crowd out bills on the Senate's regular legislative calendar, the spokesman said.

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=\Politics\archive\200303\POL20030307b.html

[Fred Mertz]

It's time for Republicans to march like the majority they are.

Thanks for reminding us who should be in charge. The Dims are in the driver's seat as far as I can tell. Bill Frists is like a soft, furry rabbit, from what I've seen.

[sarasmom]

Call me naieve, but I do not remember electing the "media" or ever having the opportunity to vote for or against them, barring my one time Nielson stint.

I know there are a lot of political junkies here who think the disgracefull activities of elected officials may somehow be "pardoned" due to thier exalted status as elected officials, but I would argue that is not the way the constitution of the USA outlined our government.

[TLBSHOW]

Thanks for reminding us who should be in charge. The Dims are in the driver's seat as far as I can tell. Bill Frists is like a soft, furry rabbit, from what I've seen.


As far as I am concerned he is worthless!