Free Republic

Alphabetical by Senator Name Akaka (D-HI), NayAlexander (R-TN), Yea Allard (R-CO), YeaAllen (R-VA), YeaBaucus (D-MT), NayBayh (D-IN), NayBennett (R-UT), Yea Biden (D-DE), NayBingaman (D-NM), NayBond (R-MO), YeaBoxer (D-CA), NayBrownback (R-KS), Yea Bunning (R-KY), YeaBurns (R-MT), YeaBurr (R-NC), YeaByrd (D-WV), YeaCantwell (D-WA), Nay Carper (D-DE), NayChafee (R-RI), NayChambliss (R-GA), YeaClinton (D-NY), NayCoburn (R-OK), Yea Cochran (R-MS), YeaColeman (R-MN), YeaCollins (R-ME), YeaConrad (D-ND), NayCornyn (R-TX), Yea Corzine (D-NJ), NayCraig (R-ID), YeaCrapo (R-ID), YeaDayton (D-MN), NayDeMint (R-SC), Yea DeWine (R-OH), YeaDodd (D-CT), Nay Dole (R-NC), YeaDomenici (R-NM), YeaDorgan (D-ND), Nay Durbin (D-IL), NayEnsign (R-NV), YeaEnzi (R-WY), YeaFeingold (D-WI), NayFeinstein (D-CA), Nay Frist (R-TN),...

Please join the Hispanic Alliance for Progress Institute at a rally for Justice Priscilla Owen at the Texas Capitol building in Austin next Tuesday! Please turn out to support Justice Owen, who has been nominated for the U.S Court of Appeals by President Bush, but whose nomination is being stalled by U.S. Senate Democrats. Hispanic Alliance for Progress Institute Rally for Justice Priscilla Owen May 24, 2005 12:00 pm State Capitol Building, South Steps Austin, TX For more information call the Hispanic Alliance for Progress Institute at 512-804-1106 Sincerely, Rafael Bejar RNC Director of Hispanic Coalitions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Tracey Schmitt 202-863-8614 Call For An End To Democrat Obstruction Of Highly Qualified Women  Washington, DC – House Republican Conference Chair Deborah Pryce was joined by NRSC Chair Elizabeth Dole, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, female Republican members of the U.S. House and over 100 other Republican women this afternoon to rally for a vote on two highly qualified judicial nominees.Priscilla Owen and Janice Rogers Brown have had their nominations to the federal judiciary blocked by an unprecedented filibuster by Senate Democrats. Today’s rally called for an end to the Democrat obstruction and focused on the need...

The Senate's Republican majority today began a countdown to a vote that has been dubbed the "nuclear option," a decision on whether to end the ability of the chamber's minority to use filibusters to block the appointment of federal judges. After a third day of debate on one of President Bush's most controversial judicial nominees, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) filed a cloture motion to end the debate and put the nomination to a vote. The cloture vote, scheduled for Tuesday, would trigger a series of steps leading to the "nuclear option" -- unless a bipartisan group of moderate senators succeeds...

The "nuclear" showdown that is expected to begin unfolding in the Senate today has its origins in closed-door discussions more than three years ago between key Senate Democrats and outside interest groups as they huddled to plot strategies for blocking President Bush's judicial nominees. In a Nov. 7, 2001, internal memo to Sen. Richard J. Durbin, who is now the minority whip, an aide described a meeting that the Illinois Democrat had missed between groups opposed to Mr. Bush's nominees and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat and member of the Judiciary Committee. "Based on input from the groups, I...

Surveying the Senate's nuclear-missile silos, Court TV's Fred Graham said that of course the Republican majority had the power to change the filibuster rule, and the Democrats would have to lump it: "What are they going to do," he asked, "appeal to the Supreme Court?" They didn't much enjoy their last visit to the high court after the 2000 election. But the nightmare lingers on. The death-struggle in the Senate over the Bush judges is best understood as a re-fighting of the post-2000 Florida election challenge. Democratic logic, premised on the famous 5-4 Bush v. Gore decision, runs like this:...

Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 31 minutes ago WASHINGTON - The Justice Department is edging into the Senate controversy over judicial nominees, writing key lawmakers after Democratic Leader Harry Reid publicly referred to an FBI file on one of President Bush's controversial appointees. "The letter expressed concern about recent remarks on the floor of the Senate which alluded to an FBI background investigation file provided by the Department of Justice to the Senate Judiciary Committee on a confidential basis in connection with a judicial nomination," a department official said Friday night. The official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity,...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                STATEMENT FROM THE OFFICE OF THE SENATE MAJORITY LEADER              Upon completion of action on the pending highway bill, the Senate will begin debate on fair up or down votes on judicial nominations.  As is the regular order, the Leader will move to act on judge nominations sent to the full Senate by the Judiciary Committee in the past several weeks.  Priscilla Owen, to serve as a judge for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Janice Rogers Brown, to serve as a judge for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, will be the...

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist plans for Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen to be the judicial nomination on which he uses the "nuclear option" against Democratic filibusters later this month, according to Republicans familiar with his plans. Justice Owen, first nominated to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals four years ago yesterday, has often been seen as the most likely nominee to be pushed though. And when Mr. Frist, Tennessee Republican, made his final offer to Democrats last month to avoid a showdown, he mentioned only one nominee: Justice Owen. The Republican sources, both on and off Capitol...

WASHINGTON, April 20 - As the Senate moves ever closer to a partisan showdown over confirming President Bush's judicial choices, the Judiciary Committee is expected to vote along party lines on Thursday to approve at least two nominees certain to attract a Democratic filibuster in the full Senate. That is fine with those Republicans and their conservative allies who are pressing for a change in Senate rules to prevent filibusters on judicial nominees, an action that could plunge the chamber into an angry deadlock. The reason the champions of a rule change are pleased is that they believe the two...

The U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team will face England for the first time since 1994 in a Memorial Weekend match-up at Chicago’s Soldier Field on May 28 at 2 p.m. CT, in a match being broadcast live on ESPN2. The meeting between the two quarterfinalists at the 2002 FIFA World Cup comes amidst the qualifying schedules for both nations as they aim for a spot in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

Senate Democrats are preparing to once again filibuster President Bush's judicial nominees despite efforts by Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R.-Pa.) to extend an olive branch in hopes of reconciling differences. Liberal Sen. Chuck Schumer (D.-N.Y.) dismissed Specter's gesture Thursday and all but declared war on the nominees Bush resubmitted to the Senate last week. Hoping to avoid the so-called "nuclear" option that would change the Senate's filibuster rule, Specter said he would tackle the nomination of William Myers III to the 9th Circuit appeals court next Tuesday. Myers, by Specter's calculation, is only two votes shy of the 60...

WASHINGTON, DC— Governor Bill Owens (R-CO) issued the following statement regarding John Kerry’s comments on the No Child Left Behind Act: "John Kerry's political attacks on the No Child Left Behind Act are one more example of Kerry saying one thing and doing another. After voting for No Child Left Behind, Kerry turned around and railed against it after seeing a political opportunity. Kerry's false criticisms ignore the fact that the President's proposed education budget for 2005 would increase funding by 36 percent since 2001. "No Child Left Behind provides states with the flexibility to set our own academic standards...

Black Network Files Complaint Against NAACP Attorney Unethical Influence in Shaping Constitutional Cases Charged For Release: December 4, 2003 Contact: David Almasi at 202/371-1400 x106 The African-American leadership network Project 21 is asking the Virginia State Bar to investigate NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc president and director-counsel Elaine R. Jones. "Obstructionism is the order of the day in the Senate," said Project 21 member Gregory Parker of New Braunfels, Texas. "Now we know that this judicial obstructionism is part of a carefully orchestrated plan by a few senators and left-wing special interest groups." The complaint, to be filed...

This morning, we know for sure: the Senate Republicans are serious about President Bush’s judicial nominees. There had been some question. Up until 6 PM last night, all the Majority Leader Bill Frist and his staff had to offer was talk. We heard from the Senator’s senior advisor that Frist had an “itchy trigger finger” to get something done about the nominees being filibustered by his Democrat colleagues. Months ago, they told us to “get ready for hardball.” Even before that, it was “Anything is possible, nothing is off the table.” And so when Frist’s staff told us last week,...

For the last several months, liberals have entertained themselves by making a mockery of the federal judicial confirmation process. Anyone paying even a modicum of attention realizes that the fight over these nominations is based mainly (solely, one could argue) on the issue of abortion. The Left, including Senate Democrats and groups like NARAL, have treated nominees like Priscilla Owen, Carolyn Kuhl, Janice Rogers Brown, Bill Pryor, Charles Pickering, and Miguel Estrada with utter disdain. They have labeled these men and women as "extremists," "anti-woman," "radically right-wing," "far-right judicial activists," "virulently anti-choice," "out-of-the-mainstream judges," "conservative ideologues," "controversial," and "hostile." On...

Teddy Kennedy used to oppose delays of judicial nominations, especially of women and minorities -- at least he claimed to. SEN. KENNEDY: "When the Founders wrote the Constitution and gave the Senate the power of advice and consent on Presidential nominations, they never intended the Senate to work against the President. . ."------ Republicans have often, and rightfully, denounced the efforts of Leftists to prevent a number of President Bush's quality judicial nominees from being confirmed. By blocking votes and dragging the nominees through the mud to make them look as bad as possible, Senate Democrats have delayed and denied...

This is purely a vanity post but I'm relying on the wise ones here at Free Republic to help me out. Next sememster I will have to write a paper on some "Special Problem" in history. This paper will rely very heavily on primary source documents. One of the issue I am considering for the paper is the history of judicial appointments in the last 40 years. So my question is this: Where can I find original source documents on the confirmation of judicial nominees in the Senate since 1964? Is there an online resource for this information? I live...

July 25, 2002 Politics over the law President Bush has nearly 100 federal judgeships to fill. If elected, these judges could make important decisions on tort law, abortion rights and environmental policies. Conversely, the failure to fill these judgeships could exacerbate an already overwhelmed judicial system and lower the gold standard for administering justice in this country. That makes the nomination process for federal judgeships one of the most important and fiercely contested proceedings in government today. And while Democrats profess a commitment to filling the judicial vacancies and fulfilling the rule of law, they have spent the past several...

Judicial Nominations Friday, July 25, 2003 Mr. President, I think it is important, in light of Senator Hatch's remarks and some of the criticisms we have heard of his leadership in the Judiciary Committee a few days ago, that we recall a little history here on how we have handled judicial nominations in the past and why we are having problems today. The criticism of Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch is simply unfair. He has stood foursquare for fairness, for constitutionality in the process, and for good public policy as we go about confirmations. That has been his record. When...