Senate debate on judicial nominees has fractious start
By Klaus Marre, The Hill, November 13, 2003
The 30-hour debate on President Bush's judicial nominees began on a testy note Wednesday night.
After Republicans walked into the Senate chamber together to begin the extraordinary session, Democrats argued that their move was not a show of unity but rather a television stunt orchestrated for Fox News. They pointed to a memo from Manuel Miranda, a staffer for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), which said:
"It is important to double efforts to get your boss to S-230 on time ... Fox News Channel is really excited about this marathon and Brit Hume at 6 would love to open with all our 51 senators walking onto the floor -- the producer wants to know will we walk in exactly at 6:02 when the show starts so they get it live to open Brit Hume's show? Or if not, can we give them an exact time for the walk-in start?"
Democrats had unsuccessfully attempted to delay the debate until 8 p.m. to allow the Senate to first complete its work on the VA/HUD appropriations bill.
But even after the debate began, Democrats kept the heat on their GOP counterparts. As Frist spoke on the floor, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) walked into the chamber with a sign that said: "I'll be home watching 'The Bachelor'," which elicited snickers from the press gallery.
Republicans also requested that Democrats remove a sign from the floor as Frist addressed the Senate. The sign indicated that Democrats have confirmed 168 of the president's judicial nominees since 2001 and have only blocked four. Democrats initially ignored the request, but later complied, as only the senator currently speaking on the floor is allowed to display any signs.
Republicans strongly criticized the Democrats' tactic to filibuster judicial nominees and hoped to highlight the issue in the marathon debate. Frist called the Democratic maneuver "dangerous new ground."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) added that Democrats are treating Bush "in a ridiculous and unconstitutional" fashion. He noted that "hardly anything [on the Senate agenda] is more important" than the president's right to nominate judges.
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