Senators gird for battle over judges, filibuster

WASHINGTON - Setting the stage for a politically charged showdown, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist announced Friday he will press beginning next week for the first of President Bush’s conservative court nominees long blocked by Democrats.

“It is time for 100 senators to decide the issue of fair up-or-down votes for judicial nominees after over two years of unprecedented obstructionism,” Frist’s office said in a statement.

Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said he was ready. “The time has come for Republican senators to decide whether they will abide by the rules of the Senate, or break those rules for the first time in 217 years,” he said in a written statement.

Showdown looms
The announcement cleared the way for a momentous showdown that blends constitutional and political issues — the meaning of Congress’ power to advise and consent in a president’s nominees and the ability of a political minority to influence the outcome. And while the clash nominally applies only to appeals court judges that Democrats oppose, Republicans hope to use it to eliminate the ability of democrats to block a vote on any future Supreme Court nominee.

Frist, R-Tenn., and Reid have been engaged in compromise talks that could avert a showdown, but so far, there is no indication that an agreement is in sight.

In a reflection of the importance attached to the confirmation battles, interest groups on both sides of the issue have aired television advertisements, conducted polling and targeted wavering senators with grassroots lobbying efforts as part of an effort to prevail.

Frist said the focus of GOP efforts beginning next Tuesday or Wednesday will be on two women nominees — Priscilla Owen, first nominated in 2001 to serve as a judge for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals; and Janice Rogers Brown, tapped in 2003 to serve on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Nominations blocked twice
Democrats refused to allow a yes-or-no vote on 10 of Bush’s first-term appeals court nominees. The president renominated seven of them this year, Owen and Brown among them, and Democrats vowed to block their confirmation once again.

Barring a deal, Frist said he would make a procedural move that would allow a filibuster on a judicial nominee to be halted with a majority vote rather than the current requirement of 60 votes.

The Senate showdown over judicial nominations will begin Wednesday on the Senate floor. But the actually execution of the so-called "nuclear option" would likely not happen until the week of May 23.

Assuming that it is successful, which is uncertain, the Senate could then confirm Owen and Brown with simple majority votes.

Some Republicans uncommitted
Republicans hold 55 seats in the Senate, and can afford six defections and still prevail in the showdown over filibusters on the strength of Vice President Dick Cheney’s tie-breaking vote. So far, GOP Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island have announced they will break ranks, and many vote-counters say they expect GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe to vote with the Democrats.

Several other Republicans — enough to tip the outcome — remain publicly uncommitted.

Frist signaled weeks ago he would make Owen a pivotal figure in the struggle to confirm Bush’s nominees.

“She has received praise from both parties,” he said in remarks before a group of religious conservatives rallying against what they called a “filibuster against people of faith.”

“Justice Owen has also been a leader for providing free legal services to the poor. And she has worked to soften the impact of legal proceedings on children of divorcing parents,” he said.

MORE FROM POLITICS

Politics Section Front

Report: Health bill would reduce senior care NYT: Obama eyes cost of Afghan decision In visit to China, Obama walks a tightrope Obama, Medvedev see progress on nuke pact Clinton says Karzai ‘must do better’ Parties split on N.Y. trials of alleged terrorists Palin offers readers insight into '08 ups, downs Secretive front group battles health bill Chinese racist? Obama trip spurs talk Clinton ready to have coffee with Palin Politics Section Front   Add Politics headlines to your news reader: