Posted on 02/11/2003 2:47:06 PM PST by 1stFreedom
Although they have been doing so stealthily, now Hatch has recognized that they are filibustering.
Now don't get anatomical.
Dems: They Will Filibuster Estrada Vote
Democrats Say They Have Enough Votes to Filibuster Estrada Vote for Appeals Bench
The Associated Press |
Senate Democrats said Tuesday they will filibuster Miguel Estrada's nomination to the federal appeals bench until he reveals more of his judicial thinking. President Bush called the move "shameful politics." Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle accused Estrada of stonewalling Democrats last year when they questioned him about his nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. "Every nominee who comes before the Senate has the obligation to be forthcoming with information about his position, with information about his record," said Daschle, D-S.D. "Until he does, we don't believe that it is in the Senate's best interest to allow this confirmation to go forward." Bush immediately condemned the Democrats for blocking Estrada's confirmation by using Senate parliamentary rules that allow the minority to effectively reject a measure or nominee with just 41 votes. The Senate has 51 Republicans, 48 Democrats and one independent. "Miguel Estrada is highly qualified, extremely intelligent," the president said. "He has the votes necessary to be confirmed. Yet a handful of Democrats in the Senate are playing politics with his nomination, and it's shameful politics." Republicans promised to keep senators in Washington, if necessary, into a 10-day vacation scheduled to begin Saturday. "If they want to stay through the weekend, we'll stay through the weekend," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. A filibuster would be the climax of a two-year battle between Republicans and Democrats over the future of the nation's courts, and the first real test of Republicans' power in Washington now that they control the House, the Senate and the White House. The only thing blocking the beginning of a filibuster was an ongoing defense of Estrada brought to the Senate floor Tuesday by a series of Republicans. Since Estrada's nomination in May 2001, Republicans have accused Democrats of treating him unfairly because he is a conservative Hispanic, who, if confirmed, would be the first Latino picked by a president in either party to get a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Estrada is a member of the law firm that represented Bush in his successful Supreme Court fight for the presidency. He came to the United States from Honduras as a teenager and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1986. He has practiced constitutional law and argued 15 cases before the Supreme Court. During Estrada's five-hour confirmation hearing last year, Democrats repeatedly contended that he lacked judicial experience. Along with Estrada's refusal to answer questions about specific cases, including those on abortion rights, that provided little to review, Democrats complained. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., on Jan. 30 called Estrada "a far-right stealth nominee, a sphinxlike candidate who will drive the nation's second most-important court out of the mainstream." Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Estrada answered every question the Democrats had. "The truth is he didn't answer questions in a way that could be used against him," he said. The Justice Department's solicitor general's office, where Estrada used to work, refused to release copies of memos and opinions he produced when he worked there. All the living solicitors general for presidents in both parties agreed with that position in a letter last June. Daschle said Democrats will not allow a vote on the nomination until the White House makes Estrada answer their questions and releases the memos. "Until that information is provided, we will not be in the position to allow this vote to come to the floor," said Daschle. The minority leader said Democrats are afraid that every Bush nominee will stonewall their questions if they let Estrada through. "We can expect every single nominee to come forward with the same stonewalling attitude, with the same approach that they don't have to provide us information," Daschle said. "Well, we're not going to do that." "We will filibuster, we will continue to debate this issue and we will make a decision as to what's next after we get this information," he added. "We have enough votes to sustain our position." Not every Democrat is on board. "I don't think that Estrada threatens the democracy of the United States," said Sen. John Breaux, D-La. "I think the best position is to vote against him if you don't agree with him. It's awfully hard, I think, to justify a filibuster." |
"More appeals court nominees have had to wait over a year for a hearing in President Bush's presidency than in the last 50 years combined."
And there has never been a filibuster for a Circuit Court nominee, either.
Seems to me the Dims want every bit of information the President has on EVERYTHING, this included. Hmmm...what about his privacy? Wasn't their beloved Roe v. Wade ruling about the right to privacy in some twisted way? Maybe Bush's counsel could cite Roe v. Wade and use that to shut them up. (just kidding)
Wonderful!
Keep on writing and calling all these Senators, anyway. Bring this to a vote NOW (please) and if it's a filibuster, bust it. www.senate.gov
Motion, Second, Discussion, Close debate, Vote.
Technically the discussion, or debae, can last forever.
You can move to "call the question", which means that you have a vote to end debate on the motion and move it to a vote. (This is called a "cloture" vote). It takes two thirds majority to cut off debate and call a question.
Typically, the procedure is to move on to other matters if a cloture vote is unsuccessful. But, whenever that particular issue comes back for discussion, the debate continues, just like it never stopped.
The chair of the committee, (or President of the Senate, in the case where the Senate is debating an issue as a body) can opt to defer the issue, or to hold the floor open for more discussion.
Holding the floor open really focusses the entire business of the committee (or the Senate) on the issue.
Filibustering is a method of literally talking an issue to death, in most cases.
Focussing the committee's entire effort on the filibuster, however, really challenges the strength of the conviction of the filibustering party.
I'm not a cowgirl, but no. Write 'em! Call 'em! Find out where they live and visit 'em!
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