Free Republic

Conservatives have good reason to be unhappy with the agreement announced last night concerning the Senate’s judicial-confirmation process. The agreement does not guarantee up-or-down votes on all of President Bush’s judicial nominees, nor does it restore the Senate’s unswerving 214-year tradition of majority vote for all judicial nominees. In addition, the agreement attempts to rewrite Article II of the Constitution, by giving the Senate an advise-and-consent role in the nomination, as well as the appointment, of judges (see here and here for more). Our objectives are still within reach, however. As one of the signatories to the agreement made clear...

PRESIDENT BUSH and U.S. Senate Republicans have the far better case in the matter of Democrats refusing to allow judges to be voted on in a straightforward, up-or-down fashion. The problem is that Republicans aren't very good at public relations "spin" — and the Democrats have a ready ally in much of Big Media. But if the Republicans don't wise up and have the guts to stop the Democrats' current misuse of the filibuster, they will find that a President Hillary Clinton and her pals will have no such problem in suddenly "discovering" that the Founding Fathers never intended judges...

MYTH-FACT: JUDICIAL NOMINATIONSDemocrats Pair A Message Of Myth With Unprecedented Obstruction, While Republicans Work To Give Qualified Nominees A Fair Vote _______________________________________________________________________________________  Myth #1:  Senate Republicans Are Attempting To Abolish All Filibusters.   Fact:  Republicans Are Seeking To Reestablish The Senate's Traditional Role In The Judicial Nomination Process, Not Eliminate All Filibusters, An Initiative Some Democrats Have Supported In The Past.  In 1995, Democrats (Bingaman, Boxer, Feingold, Harkin, Kennedy, Kerry, Lautenberg, Lieberman, And Sarbanes) Wanted To End The Filibuster.  In 1995, the only Senators on record supporting the end of the filibuster were all Democrats, nine of whom are still...

Senator McCain appeared to say yesterday that he would vote to overturn a ruling from the Chair that the filibuster was out-of-order. If indeed he does, that would doom his 2008 presidential campaign, if in fact he intends to mount one. Senator McCain's office can be reached via 202-225-3121, as can all senators' offices. Cont. below: