Posted on 05/14/2005 1:57:34 PM PDT by FairOpinion
WASHINGTON - Seven Republican senators will determine the outcome of a showdown this week between the president and Congress — and a minority within it — over who is going to shape the federal courts.
Barring any unforeseen developments, these are the lawmakers in the make-or-break position when it comes to deciding whether to allow a Senate minority to block a president's nominees for the federal bench.
The senators are Susan Collins of Maine, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, John Warner of Virginia, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and John Sununu of New Hampshire.
At issue is an effort by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to ban judicial filibusters. The Senate's Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, wants the ability to block nominees for the Supreme Court and lower courts whom his party views as outside the legal mainstream.
The seven Republicans have not committed publicly to supporting either Senate leader.
All 44 Senate Democrats, joined by independent Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont and three Republicans, have said they oppose curtailing a Senate minority's ability to block the president's judicial nominees with just 41 votes in the 100-member Senate.
Frist, R-Tenn., has 45 of the Senate's 55 Republicans on his side.
During President Bush's first term, Democrats succeeding in blocking 10 of his judicial picks. Both Bush and First are making the case now that it should take only a simple majority — 51 votes, rather than 60 now — for a nominee to win confirmation for a lifetime appointment to a federal appeals court or the Supreme Court.
For Democrats to prevail, they need the support of three of the seven undecided Republicans. Frist needs five votes from five of those Republicans so Vice President Dick Cheney could have the chance to break a tie in favor of Bush's position.
Frist said Friday he will bring up the first of the blocked nominees — Texas judge Priscilla Owen and California judge Janice Rogers Brown — this week.
Some of the seven Republicans, including Collins, have made up their mind but are not saying how they will vote. Warner and others say they have yet to decide — and hope they will not have to.
"I'm always working on the issue," Warner said last week. "I'm hopeful the leaders can reach a compromise. I'm optimistic we can reach a compromise."
So far, only Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island have broken party ranks, expressing concern about a change that could permanently reduce minority rights in the Senate. Vote counters in each party say Republican Olympia Snowe of Maine also is likely to side with Democrats.
Democrats insist there are other Republicans who support the Democratic position but do not want to say so publicly. Republicans note that all the other GOP senators who started out publicly uncommitted — Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Ted Stevens of Alaska and Richard Lugar of Indiana, for example — now side with Frist.
Warner is the last of the powerful GOP "old bulls" in the Senate not to say he will join with Frist. Warner has said repeatedly that he worries that ending the judicial filibuster will weaken the Senate.
"I tend to be a traditionalist, and the right of unlimited debate has been a hallmark of the Senate since its inception," Warner said. "Without question, though, I am strongly opposed to the use of the filibuster to block judicial nominations."
Liberals and conservatives are focusing on Warner and other undecided Republicans through telephone calls, Internet campaigns and television advertisements.
Conservative groups such as Progress for America and Focus on the Family have spent millions of dollars on ads since mid-April in Alaska and elsewhere trying to persuade undecided Republican senators to support Frist.
Murkowski said those efforts have backfired with her.
"I was very offended at the tone," Murkowski said. "But they've continued, and it's been kind of interesting. I've probably gotten more positive feedback for my position, which Alaskans consider to be very thoughtful, very deliberate, about what is happening here in the Senate."
The liberal group People for the American Way says Murkowski is "the last defense against an attack on our Constitutional checks and balances."
"Alaska counts on Senator Murkowski to do the right thing. Now, the whole country is counting on her," according to an ad that the group plans to run this week. The $1 million television campaign also will mention Snowe and Collins in Maine and Specter in Pennsylvania.
DeWine sees power in not having committed to either side.
"I've decided. I just haven't announced it yet because I think that it's a good chance that we can get it worked out," DeWine said. "I'm hopeful that by not announcing it, I can help keep these negotiations going."
One option for the undecided senators could mean joining with Sen. Ben Nelson (news, bio, voting record), D-Neb. He is trying to convince 12 Republicans and Democrats that they should block Frist from banning judicial filibusters and also stop Reid from filibustering all of Bush's contentious nominees.
In the end, Murkowski said, the question has to be about the Senate, not politics, the president or the party.
"We have to remember that our decision has to be in the best interest of the institution as a whole," Murkowski said. "Not in the best interest of the Republicans, not in the best interest of the Democrats, but in the best interest of we as senators and the institution itself. I think that's what we should keep in mind."
Better duck, people here don't like to be reminded of these silly little issues.<(•¿•)>
He posted facts, you just don't like to be reminded of them.
Simple. Because I'm not in the crowd that views everyone left of Tancredo as a RINO.
The usual RINO suspects.............
And then there's old Warren Commission Mr. "One Bullet Theory" Arlen Spector!!!!!!!!
These Senators are extreme moderates
Baloney. Try factual arguments, please.
He posted facts, you just don't like to be reminded of them.
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Actually, the first poster posted an assertion and a challenge. The second poster you are responding to did in fact fail to show the assertion was wrong. Maybe that means Smith only voted with the enviro wackos against drilling in ANWAR and the first poster's assertion is correct or maybe the poster you are responding to is correct.
But I do not believe the facts are established, but I do know that Smith supported Kerry so to me it does not seem that NH conservatives had a choice between a RINO, Sununu and a solid conservative in Smith. So it seems that the choice was between two typical NE GOP candidates. With one you get certain things you like and with others you get other things you like.
Quite a compelling argument.
Thanks for the ping!
How about comparing Smith's voting record with Sununu.
Smith was crapped on by the RINO wing of the party, you can observe the same thing right now happening with Dr. Coburn. Did you know he already has ethics charges pending?
Why do you think they rejected Don Nickles, and promoted a single termer spineless jellyfish as leader? Why did they shut Jim Inhoff down?
Why do they attack Tancredo?
Why did they elevate Spector even though the party faithful, new full well he would waffle?
I can understand why Smith became disillusioned with the party leadership. I think what he did was stupid, but I can understand his frustration. Sadly we see this kind of erratic behavior from older defeated men. Barry Goldwater being a prime example.
If we don't fix the Judge issue in the Senate and fix immigration, I will stay home, next election. Because in the long run, it won't matter. My time here is winding down, so I doubt I will live to see the worst of what is coming, but I somehow don't think God will hold my generation blameless for what we have left our children to deal with.
Well I happened to run into a way to compare their voting records in Congress last night on Dale's site. Sunnunu has a life-time American Conservative Union 95 rating on his Congressional voting record while Bob Smith has a 93 life-time ACU rating on his Congressional voting record.
Now I know the ACU only looks at selected votes but both have been in Congress a number of years. So that seems pretty similar to me. And it is hard for me to see that the guy with the 95 ACU rating is a RINO while the guy with the 93 ACU rating in solid conservative.
Here is the link to the ratings:
http://www.acuratings.org/
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