| Senate Talkfest Long on Drama, Short on Substance | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Wednesday, November 12, 2003 WASHINGTON — Capitol Hill staffers rolled out the cots and were preparing extra-strong coffee Wednesday night in preparation for a dramatic, 30-hour-long protest by Republican lawmakers of Democratic tactics to block four of President Bush's judicial nominees.
"For the next 30 hours Republicans and Democrats will debate the merits of three judicial nominees. We will be considering the meaning of our constitutional responsibilities to advise and consent on nominations. We will discuss whether there is a need to enact filibuster reform so that nominations taken to the floor can get a vote," the Tennessee lawmaker said. Democrats, some appearing amused by the pomp and circumstance, were already in the Senate chamber waiting for the beginning of the debates. The Senate had just finished a vote, and many of the GOP senators had to leave the chamber just to be in the group marching back in. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, held a sign he displayed for television cameras and passing Republican senators as they entered the chamber: "I'll be home watching 'The Bachelor.'" Another Democratic sign, a big purple sign with gold "168 to 4" written on it -- the number of judicial nominees confirmed by the Senate as opposed to the number blocked by Democrats -- upset Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H. "That is clearly against the Senate rules," said Gregg, who had Democrats remove it until their turn to speak. Republicans say the Democrats' filibusters against judicial nominees are also against the rules. "That's why we're standing here tonight, to let the American people know that an abuse is occurring," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., condemned the Republicans from leaving an appropriations bill to launch the debate. "I'm not participating in this, this marathon, talkathon, blameathon, whatever you want to call this," Byrd said. "I'm not interested in that right now. I'm interested in the appropriations bill." In a show of unity and determination, Republicans told the media they would take breaks on cots outside the chambers as the session wore on, despite having comfortable offices nearby. "There are 12 to 15 members who have requested cots and we've accommodated them. We'll make sure you get to take a great picture of someone in their pajamas," Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters early Wednesday.
"We're tougher than they are, we sleep on the floor," said Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. As the night grew late, fewer than 10 lawmakers were left on the floor as senators started preparing for the late night shifts. While most of the focus will be on the Senate floor, senators plan to buttress their cases by holding news conferences throughout the night condemning the opposing side for its tactics: Republicans on the Democratic filibusters, Democrats on the Republicans' "reverse filibuster." The four nominees would have passed with a simple majority of the Senate, but Democrats have threatened filibusters that have forced Republicans to come up with 60 votes to end the debate and move to a confirmation vote. They have failed to do so in every case. In the process, Republicans have accused Democrats of rewriting the Constitution by creating a new 60-vote threshold to claim a seat on the federal bench. "Once they hit the floor, based upon all the history of this country, they deserve a vote up or down," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "We did that for the Clinton administration and all prior administrations. And it's time they do it for this administration because this is a constitutional disaster waiting to happen unless we stand up and do what has to be done." Democrats counter that the White House and its GOP allies want to recast the federal judiciary as a conservative stronghold. Democrats say they have confirmed most Bush nominees and have stopped only stridently anti-abortion and pro-business conservatives. "We are not going to roll over, be stampeded and rubber-stamped by this administration to make the judiciary in this country their sandbox to play in. We are going to insist that those judges that are going to serve on the courts of this country are going to be committed to the fundamental core values of the Constitution of the United States," said Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. Republicans are pressing votes to break the Democratic blockade of three pending Bush nominees: California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown (search), nominated for the nation's second most powerful court, the Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit; Carolyn Kuhl (search), nominated to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals; and Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen (search), chosen for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. This is a fight about the Constitution, justice, and for now, numbers. Democrats say the scorecard reads 168 Bush nominees confirmed, four blocked via the filibuster. "The American people, when they realize that we have approved 169 judges and blocked four — four of those out of the mainstream — they are going to say, 'What is all the fuss about?'" said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. "There are seven more that they plan to do this to. They say it's only four, well that's four more than ever in the history of the United States," McConnell said. But that number doesn't tell the entire story. Democrats ran the Senate for most of Bush's first two years in office and when they were in control the president suffered the lowest level of judicial confirmations of any president dating back to Jimmy Carter. The filibuster tactics have deprived Bush of judicial appointments he clearly would have won otherwise. "The Constitution says that the president's nominees are to be voted, and that a majority of senators are to vote. To get confirmed, you need a majority of senators and that's 50 or 51, not 60," said Sen. George Allen, R-Va. Democrats say that they plan to go head-to-head with the Republicans on the floor. They will talk about judges, but say they will also talk about issues they believe the voters care about more. "[Voters] care a lot about the fact that 3 million of them don't have jobs. They care a lot about the fact that their health insurance is rising by more than 15 percent a year," said Daschle. "These are the things, other things that they care deeply about." The 30-hour grudge match will give Republicans and Democrats a lot of time to try to beat each other senseless, but whether it will break the logjam on Bush judicial nominations appears not likely. Republicans admit that the effort is not really aimed at the judges up for confirmation, but for those who sit on another court — the court of public opinion. Fox News' Major Garrett and Brian Wilson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
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