Posted on 11/01/2005 12:40:15 AM PST by RWR8189
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Mike DeWine said he would back conservative threats to change Senate rules to ban filibusters of judicial nominees if anyone dared to use the tactic to challenge President Bush's latest Supreme Court choice.
The Republican from Ohio took a lot of criticism from conservatives when he helped forge a deal with Democrats preserving the minority party's right to filibuster nominees, but only in "extraordinary circumstances."
The compromise stopped a logjam in the Senate over Bush's nominees to lower courts.
DeWine said the latest Supreme Court nominee, veteran appeals court Judge Samuel Alito, is "within the mainstream of conservative thought," rejecting early suggestions by Democratic leaders that the nominee is too radical.
"I can't believe anyone would believe this is a nominee that could be filibustered or that it would rise to the level of 'extraordinary circumstances,"' said DeWine, one of 18 Senate Judiciary Committee members who will hold confirmation hearings on Alito. "If someone would filibuster, though, I would be prepared to vote to change the rules."
DeWine's position is a stark departure from the conciliatory tone he struck as one of seven Republicans and seven Democrats who brokered the compromise earlier this year.
Two conservative groups railed against DeWine in radio ads and accused him of striking "a backroom deal."
One of those, the Family Research Council from Washington, said DeWine had taken a "step in the right direction" and showed the weakness of the coalition, known as the Gang of 14.
"It's probably the result of hearing from his constituents," said council president Tony Perkins.
DeWine "would be in very odd position in regards to a judge like Alito if he did not come to the defense of the president's nominee. If anything, I think he's trying to show his support for the president because, in backing the Gang of 14 compromise and pulling the rug out from under Senator Frist, he hurt the president."
DeWine said the Gang of 14 would meet soon to discuss Alito's credentials.
Democratic leaders have not said anything about filibustering Alito, only that he "requires an especially long, hard look," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Monday.
DeWine also broke with the more conservative wing of his party in supporting Harriet Miers, Bush's last nominee to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
He was dismayed when she withdrew her nomination Thursday and had complained about the pressure exerted by conservative interest groups.
He liked the diversity that Miers represented -- a woman and a lawyer who had never been a judge.
But he wasn't too concerned that Alito represents the opposite on both counts -- a federal judge for 15 years who, according to Reid, would make the court look "less like America and more like an old boys club."
"He was on the short list both previous times" when Bush chose Miers and eventual Chief Justice John Roberts instead, DeWine said. "He's been talked about a lot and I don't know anything about him that could make anyone think he should be filibustered."
I would think that a good gauge of "extraordinary circumstance" is that it represents a judge that the Congress would entertain impeachment proceedings against.
A failure to obtain cloture is the only context that the nuclear option (the ban) can play in. If a cloture vote is held, and cloture is obtained, all is well in the process.
F = 7 subjected to failed cloture motions in 108th Congress
4 = "1 of 4" that DEMs offered to let GOP choose which 3 to dump
S = Positive mention in Specter's May 9, 2005 speech
M = MOU of 14 will not vote against cloture
m = MOU of 14 makes no promise regarding cloture
R = Post-MOU, Reid indicates desire to filibuster
C = Out of committee & on the Senate's Executive Calendar
U = Unanimous consent to debate - date TBD
D = Democrats offer to debate - date TBD
v = Debate and vote scheduled
V = Vote -on the nomination- concluded
--S -- C-- Boyle, Terrence W. (4th Cir)
--- -R --- Haynes, William James II (4th Cir)
F4S M- CUV Owen, Priscilla (5th Cir)
F-S -- CUV Griffin, Richard A. (6th Cir)
F-S -- CUV McKeague, David W. (6th Cir)
--S -- -D- Neilson, Susan Bieke (6th Cir)
F-- mR --- Saad, Henry W. (6th Cir)
F4S mR C-- Myers, William Gerry III (9th Cir)
F4S M- CUV Pryor, William H. (11th Cir)
F4S M- CUV Brown, Janice Rogers (D.C. Cir)
--S -- CUV Griffith, Thomas B. (D.C. Cir)
--- -R --- Kavanaugh, Brett M. (D.C. Cir)
Last updated, June 21, 2005
Owen: Cloture passed 81-18 on May 24. Confirmed 55-43 on May 25.
Brown: Cloture passed 65-32 on June 7. Confirmed 56-43 on June 8.
Pryor: Cloture passed 67-32 on June 8. Confirmed 53-45 on June 9.
Griffin: Confirmed 95-0 on June 9.
McKeague: Confirmed 96-0 on June 9.
Griffith: Confirmed 73-24 on June 14.
Myers: Out of Committee on March 17.
Boyle: Out of Committee on June 16.
Short Answer: no
Long Answer: If given Half a chance, Yes. The "Gang" coming out this early, has dishearten the 'Rats.
The perceived power of the President Bush has turned completely around in the scope of 48 hours.
Just read the news this morning. The Dems are on their heels.HAHAAHAHHA
Their hope that the RINOS would support the Dems in a filibuster is gone. None of the RINOS have come out for that because they can't. They would loose ALL Pub support in their next primary.
In addition, Judge Alito is a nice guy with stellar credentials. Dewine, Linsay already LIKE HIM.
You gotta know their "indictment excitement" is just about gone all together. President Bush went down to the mat, just far enough, to give them an upper cut between the legs.
HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHA
Agreed.
*Wheezing*
YUP! That did it!...the 'Rats, are temporizing / Dazed / Shocked & Awed :D
I hope you are half wrong. I want the "nuclear" option to be fired successfully to preempt such tactics from being used for the next picks. It is the "constitutional" option, but its effect on the libs will be nuclear if it lets us replace Stevens with someone like JRB. The only good thing about RHINOs is that their lack of spine bends both ways. If they feel more pressure from the right than from the left they can be bent in our direction. We need to keep on pushing 'our' RHINOs, but yet never miss a chance to replace them with someone principled.
Good. He and Lindsey Graham are coming out of the filibuster closet.
I frankly think every Republican Senator is realizing that his or her election bread is gonna be buttered right here and now over Alito.
Reminds me of what I call the rule of 2s. Only two times have Republican Senators not voted unanimously to confirm a judge nominated by a Republican President, and each time there were only two votes against. I don't expect many will jump from the bandwagon this time either.
"McCain, we can best guess will support the nuclear option. "
The Conservatives just threw down the gauntlet to McCain. In one fell swoop they ended his Presidential aspirations.
Many thanks my good friend...so, as an added bonus of a nuclear option being deployed....
Myers (9th Circuit) has been out of Committee since March. The GOP-lead Senate has purposely avoided bringing it up. Boyle's nomination has been out since June - and the same avoidance plays there.
You'll see 4 other nominations held up in the Judiciary Committee, with the YOUNGEST nomination being that of Haynes, which was made in September 2003.
The Senate is a real problem here. If they don't like a nomination that the President persists in advancing, they can vote it down.
BTW..one more question you might know...has Bush said anything about naming Roberts' replacement to the DC circuit?..( which in many ways is MORE important than the SCOTUS)..I'd love to see Estrada get it..
DeWhine needs to be defeated in his next primary . He's extremely anti-gun and never misses a chance to collaborate with the Libs . Same goes for Voinowitch . What's in the Republican water in Ohio , RINO pee ?
There were four "controversial" nominees who were NOT mentioned in "the deal":
Brett Kavanaugh, William Myers, William Haynes, and Henry Saad.
If I recall correctly, Saad was the only one who was definitely thrown overboard by the Republicans. (That had something to do with some Democrat Senator from Saad's state who had a real bug up his behind and also had some other deal going on.... I don't recall the exact details.)
I believe that the other three are presently in limbo. In any event, the three most controversial of the bunch, Brown, Owen, and Pryor, WERE confirmed quickly and without fuss following announcement of "the deal". Plus, I believe that a few additional lower profile judges have been confirmed.
I predict that there will be no cloture abuse on the Alito nomination, and that the languishing Circuit Court nominations will not be advanced. To do so would risk confronting the abuse of cloture, and the GOP-lead Senate is averse to that confrontation.
has Bush said anything about naming Roberts' replacement to the DC circuit?
Not that I know of. Neither the Judiciary Committe material not the WH announcements contain any nominations since July 29, 2005, other than Roberts to CJ, Miers and Alito.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/judicialnominees/
http://judiciary.senate.gov/noms/109.pdf
I suspect you are right, that the Dems will NOT filabuster Alioto, and the GOP will roll over on the rest..however. there is ONE scenario to upset that applecart...Frist is a lame duck leader, so the candidates to replace him may try to gain support, and traction, by forcing the issue. I can easily visualize McConnell willing to make his bones on this..
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