Posted on 05/19/2005 10:24:11 PM PDT by FairOpinion
This morning, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist will take an official step to proceed toward a vote on Owen's nomination, starting the clock ticking toward a showdown over whether Democrats will retain their right to block judicial nominees with the filibuster.
Shortly after the Senate convenes this morning, Frist, R-Tenn., will file a cloture petition, which requires the approval of 60 of 100 senators, to end debate on Owen's nomination.
......
After the two-day ripening period ends on the cloture petition -- in this scenario on Tuesday -- senators must vote on the cloture motion one hour after the Senate comes into session for the day (as long as enough senators are present for a quorum).
If the cloture vote fails, Frist would direct an inquiry known as a "point of order" to the Senate's presiding officer, who is likely to be Vice President Dick Cheney. In the inquiry, Frist would argue that after extensive debate on a nominee like Owen, filibusters of judicial nominees are out of order.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
From the article: "If the Republicans succeed in tabling the motion, they will have set a new precedent. From that point forward only a simple majority vote will be needed to end debate on judicial nominees. The Senate would then move to a vote on Owen's nomination."
If the Republicans fail to get the 51 votes needed to effectively table the Democrats' objection and the filibuster continues. How long before the Republicans can start this sequence a second time?
Unless I am mistaken, you have had nothing but negative things to say about Republicans, Bush, and other Freepers. Go away troll.
John Warner is reprehsible, he is a traitor to the gop.
He is giving up right of the nuiclear option while the dems keep the fillabuster option and he is now not only giving the dems the right to fillabuster any nominees, he is giving the dems the authority to nominate the nominees. This is unreal. Robert Byrd will be on a panel that will have to agree to these nominees.
We are going to come out of this weaker than we came into it with these rino's backstabbing us.
I'd rather frist say no to all of this and wait till there is a supreme court justice choice to at least have the threat of the nuclear option. Without that threat there will be no deterrent to the dems fillabustering.
Warner is a pos
I don't care how it gets done.
These judges need to be confirmed.
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I agree. I can see the cloture voting going:
1 55 GOP Senators + Ben Nelson who has vote for cloture on Owens in the past. So that is 56 and we need 4 more.
2. Bill Nelson has ducked these votes many times. I wonder if facing reelection he supports cloture? That would make it 57.
3. For various reasons the other three could come from Landrieu, Johnson, Salazar, Baucus, Conrad, Dorgan, Lincoln and Pryor.
Hard to know if any can be peeled off unless released by their leadership, but it is an interesting question. And it is one we must discuss since the press ignores maverick Dims while praising maverick Reps.
bombs away!
'Bout time!
I'm sick-of-this-shit! If these so-called senators thought they could away with wearing Togas, they'd do it, and we would all be as dead as Mary-Jo Kopekne
If we forget what that rat-bastard Kennedy got away with, then we're doomed to constant repeats of malfeasance by these Rat-Bastard-democRATS!
Pull the pin, Frist, and throw the F*cking thing, and find out where the RINOs are, so WE can de-fund them!
I have helped fund many worthwhile causes in the past, without regret, but I refuse to spend any more of my hard-earned money - after taxes - to keep these limped-d*cked, so-called, 'Republicans', in office!
It's May 20, 2005! This crap should be over and done with over a year ago!! Grow some goddam balls, Frist!
/rant..............FRegards
With all due respect, no they didn't.
What happened was that 'my' Senator, DICK Durbin (Communist, IL) tried to pull a fast one. However it likely made a nice sound bite on CBS and the MSM in general.
In the morning he "offered" to end the debate (how nice of him) and vote on four nominees. The only problems were that 1) he knew full well that couldn't happen do to senate rules like the executive calender and 2) the four he 'promised' to be voted "up" were none of the nominees being filibustered. So these judges will be approved anyway at a future date.
That being said, ole DICKIE made a little blunder in the evening - he brought up Manuel Miranda and those 'stolen' RAT memos of last year. I think that might come back and bite him as the issue of what was IN the memos was always ignored by the MSM in that the RAT filibuster was being controlled by NARAL and MOVEON. Thus far GOP senators have only mentioned left interest groups in general. DICKIE opened the door for those groups to be named now and the public informed as to who really controls the RAT voting decisions.
Now, now, stop teasing us. Tell us what you really think!
We are not going to come out of this weaker. Anyone that makes an unaccetable 'compromise' or votes against will be the one weakened. It may take a couple of years but every one of them will be removed as consequence for their actions.
Gee, I didn't see THAT picture on the news.....
So it was not a real offer? I wondered because of course the Dims can vote cloture on all without any GOP agreement.
Up and down vote on all judges. Nothing less is acceptable in any way, shape, or form.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, many Members have been inquiring about the schedule, but I do want to thank all Senators for their statements today, as well as yesterday. The debate time has been evenly divided. We have heard from a number of people. This is our second day of debate on the nomination of Priscilla Owen for the Fifth Circuit Court. We have not had very much in the way of pauses in the debate. We have used floor time well. And from both leaders, we thank everybody for their participation and cooperation. It has been a constructive debate.Tomorrow, we will resume debate. We will be continuing debate tonight, but for people's planning purposes, tomorrow we will resume debate on Priscilla Owen, and it would be my intent to ask consent for some limitation of time before we vote on the Owen nomination. If we are unable to reach an agreement, I would then file a cloture motion tomorrow, on Friday.
On Monday, we would return to session and continue the debate on Priscilla Owen, much in the same vein it has been yesterday, today, and will be tomorrow. I encourage, once again, our colleagues to take advantage of the opportunity to speak. The reason we are spending the time is to make sure all ideas and thoughts and concerns are expressed.
The Democratic leader and I have discussed this, and we will have a vote on Monday at approximately 5:30. It will be a procedural vote. I anticipate it will be--we will say 5:30 now. Senators should return for debate on this vote. On Monday, Senators will have as much time as they need to debate the pending nomination. We will file cloture tomorrow, and then we would have the cloture vote on Tuesday. And the timing of that vote is something the Democratic leader and I have not talked about but will do so and make our colleagues aware.
With that understanding--and that is the plan--we will have no further votes this evening. And we would have no votes tomorrow as well but continue debate.
Hypothetically, if a bloc of Senators (or a single Senator) had blocked the vote on a nominee before 1917, before cloture exited, how would that impasse be resolved?
Did cloture CREATE the power to block? Did the power to block on the floor of the Senate not exist before 1917?
Dittos, Gonzo! Bombs away! bttt LOL
Troll? LOL!
Sock-it-to-them!
Thank you Dr. Frist and all true and patriotic Republicans !!!
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