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Senators
Wrangle Over 'Nuclear Option' |
Posted:
05.16.05
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The Senate is nearing a showdown over President Bush's judge
nominations, with Republicans threatening the so-called "nuclear
option" and Democrats warning that they will effectively
shut down the Senate.
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During President Bush's
first term, Democrats used the filibuster technique -- long speeches
that prevent a vote -- to block controversial judges President Bush
nominated to be on important federal courts.
Currently, it takes 60 out of 100 senators to end a filibuster:
Republicans have 55 Senate seats -- a majority, but not the "supermajority"
necessary to end a filibuster.
 The
issue has come to a head now that President Bush has re-nominated
judges blocked by Democrats during his first term.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Republican from Tennessee
who controls what issues the Senate considers, is pushing for
a vote on two judges: Priscilla Owen and Janice Rogers Brown.
Democrats object to Owen and Brown because of what they call
rigid ideological positions on issues such as gay rights, abortion
and affirmative action.
This time, however, Republicans are considering the "nuclear
option": a change to Senate rules that would strip Democrats
of their ability to filibuster the judicial nominees.
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Filibuster
history |
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Filibusters have been used throughout the Senate's history. Southern
senators, for example, used a 57-day filibuster to stall passage
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended racial segregation
in public facilities and the workplace.
Senators eventually gathered enough votes to end the filibusters
and approve the bill.
In the 1930s, Louisiana Democratic Senator Huey Long became famous
for his use of the filibuster to block bills that he believed
helped the rich at the expensive of the poor by reciting Shakespeare
and reading recipes. He once held the floor for 15 hours.
South Carolina Republican Strom Thurmond holds the record for
the longest filibuster speech -- 24 hours and 18 minutes -- during
which he stalled voting on the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
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A controversial
tactic |
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Democrats argue that the Founding Fathers created the filibuster
rule to make sure that the majority party could not do whatever
it wanted, but rather had to find consensus and negotiate with
the minority party.
Changing that rule, Democrats argue, would fundamentally change
the atmosphere of the Senate.
"We're right on the edge of one of the most important moments
in the history of the republic," said Democratic Senator
Charles Schumer of New York.
 Republican
leader Frist, on the other hand, says that the Senate has a constitutional
duty to either approve or reject the president's judicial nominees
and not to stall the voting process with long debates.
"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 said in a statement.
If Republicans remove the filibuster for judicial nominees, Democrats
are threatening to disrupt Senate operations by insisting that
all lengthy bills be read aloud and all votes be taken. Usually
these steps are skipped by "unanimous consent."
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Searching
for compromise |
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At the moment, there is no guarantee Republicans can exercise
the nuclear option. Several members of the party have signaled
they may not support the move, putting Frist's vote count below
the 51 necessary to pull it off.
Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska says the president's
nominees deserve votes, "but at the same time, I think it's
important that we maintain the minority rights tools that assure
that the Senate is a little different body, and the filibuster
is one of those tools that we use."
 Hagel's
position has made him and several moderate Republican colleagues
targets of conservative interest groups pushing for straight up-or-down
votes on all the nominees.
Meanwhile, conservative interest groups have created commercials
calling on Americans to demand a vote, and liberal interest groups
have answered with ads calling on Americans to save the filibuster.
The aggressive lobbying coupled with the uncertainty in the Republican
ranks has increased the pressure on Frist.
If he's unable to secure the votes necessary to initiate the nuclear
option, Frist might be forced to cut a deal with his Democratic
counterpart, Harry Reid.
So far, several compromises are in the works, but the two leaders
have yet to find middle ground.
--
Compiled for NewsHour Extra by Monica Villavicencio
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Candidates should not let their desire to win the election interfere with their sense of right and wrong. Changing of opinions in general is not something that should necessarily be discouraged.
