Confirmation vote
for embattled
nominee expected Wednesday

Disgruntled conservatives
In his interview with the AP, Dean said the accord “was a huge loss for the right wing... It was clearly a loss for the president because he was getting accustomed to ramming things through the House and the Senate without any confrontation. It was a win for America because minority rights were supported.”

“I would be hesitant to say yet that it’s a win for the Democratic Party,” he said. “It’s a real test of whether this is a real long-term agreement. That will come when we find out if the president consults with the Democrats.”

Aside from Allen, prominent conservative activists criticized the compromise. “I don’t think the leadership caved, it was a handful of senators who preferred to stay in the Land of Political Indecision,” said Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council.

“There will be repercussions” for the GOP senators who defected, Perkins vowed in an AP interview, mentioning Sens. Mike DeWine of Ohio, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John Warner of Virginia.

Open to interpretation
Frist and Reid disagreed on one key point. The Republican said the agreement left open the possibility that he could yet attempt to strip Democrats of their right to filibuster future nominees. Reid said that avenue was closed.

The language seemed open to interpretation.

The seven Democrats and Republicans who signed it said future nominees should be filibustered — denied final votes — only under extraordinary circumstances, with each senator retaining the right to decide if that condition had been met.

The self-appointed compromisers also agreed to oppose changes in filibuster procedures “in light of the spirit and continuing commitments made in this agreement.”

The agreement, crafted over the past several weeks in closed-door meetings, opened the way for yes-or-no votes on Owen and two other of Bush’s judicial picks who have been in nomination limbo for more than two years — William H. Pryor Jr. for the Atlanta-based 11^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Janice Rogers Brown for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The bigger picture
There were other political implications, as well, including the shape of the Supreme Court, the midterm election in 2006, Bush’s legislative agenda and the next presidential race, especially the prospects for Frist and potential GOP rival Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

McCain, who led the compromise effort with Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., said, “We tried to avert a crisis in the United States Senate and pull the institution back from a precipice.”

A battle over judicial nominations that began in Bush’s first term had been headed toward a more dramatic conclusion, with Frist planning to employ what both sides came to call the “nuclear option” because of its potentially disruptive effects.

Had the Democrats used their filibuster powers again to stop Owen, Frist would have sought a ruling from the chair, which can be approved by a simple majority, that filibusters should not be allowed to obstruct judicial nominations. Vice President Dick Cheney, as president of the Senate, was prepared to take the chair to break a tie vote.

Unlike the House, where the majority rules, the majority in the 100-seat Senate must at times gain 60 votes to proceed on legislation over the objection of the minority. Republicans, with 55 seats have had difficulty reaching that threshold against united Democratic opposition.

The stakes were far broader that the three circuit court nominations, with Republicans maneuvering to strip Democrats of their right to filibuster and thus block current and future nominees to the appeals courts and Supreme Court.

There currently is no vacancy on the high court, although one or more is widely expected in Bush’s term. Chief Justice William Rehnquist’s coincidental presence in the Capitol during the day was a reminder of that. At age 80 and battling thyroid cancer, he entered the building in a wheelchair on his way to a doctor's office.

MORE FROM POLITICS

Politics Section Front

Palin to resign as Alaska governor Analysis: Yet again, Palin plays by own rules Fineman: Palin prepping for 2012 run? Palin's e-mails still elusive Obama talks Russia, Sotomayor, jobs, Jackson ‘Mississippi Burning’ town gets black mayor   Michelle Obama bringing glamour to Moscow Cheney discussed inquiries into CIA leak Newsweek: First lady reaches out to D.C.’s poor Documents reveal chaos of Gitmo’s early days Politics Section Front   Add Politics headlines to your news reader: