Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 |
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Sridhar Krishnaswami
WASHINGTON: In what is seen as a blow to the right wing Conservatives and even to the White House, seven Republican Senators abandoned the Grand Old Party on judicial filibusters [a tactic to delay or prevent a vote on a nominee's confirmation] and joined hands with seven Democrats to come up with a "deal" that would send some of the President's nominees for up-down votes in the Senate. "This is really good news for every American tonight," said Minority Leader Harry Reid while Majority leader Bill Frist complained of the agreement falling short of the principle of a vote on "all" judicial nominees. `It falls short. It has some good news and it has some disappointing news," said Mr. Frist. Prominent among the Senators who took this critical step forward included the Arizona Republican John McCain and the veteran Democrat Robert Byrd of West Virginia. The agreement reached by 14 Senators is seen as a setback to the political rightwing in the chamber which wanted to ban filibusters on judicial nominees. Conservatives wanted to have their way before Mr. Bush nominated someone to the U.S. Supreme Court. A vacancy is expected sometime this summer. But the accord says Democrats will resort to filibusters only under "extraordinary circumstances," the specifics of which have not been spelt out.
Memorandum
The agreement has a blunt message to the White House — that the Senate's "advice" should not be taken lightly. "We encourage the Executive branch of government to consult with members of the Senate, both Democratic and Republican, prior to sending a judicial nomination to the Senate for consideration," said the 14 Senators in a memorandum. The deal is said to pave the vote on at least three nominees, all to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but Democrats have said they will not consider the names of two others for a final vote.
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