The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

(Page 2 of 2)

"At least Americans would recognize Albright or Berger," says another Democratic staffer. "The only other guy we've got is [Sen. Joseph] Biden, and he's been trotting himself out all over the place."

p> FRIST UNITY br> Democrats in the Senate are surprised that Republican Majority Leader Dr. Bill Frist has been able to keep his 50 GOP colleagues in line on the Miguel Estrada nomination. /p>

"We knew a cloture vote was going to come," says a Senate Judiciary Committee staffer. "But we also expected to see an Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins step out and make some noise about Estrada's extremism."

But that hasn't happened. In fact, Frist's seeming ease in getting his caucus to sign off on the cloture vote shows how well he has been able to bridge whatever disagreements may exist inside the Senate Republican conference.

"It has allowed us to focus exclusivly on the Dems," says a Republican staffer. "We know we have our 51 votes. We know we have four Democrats, and that we have a couple more leaning out way. Knowing we're united on Estrada gives us an edge that we don't necessarily have on other issues."

Frist, though, may run into some difficulties should the Estrada nomination linger as the Senate attempts to take up other thorny legislative issues like healthcare reform and the Bush economic stimulus package.

p>"We can't allow any policy disagreements on those fronts to undercut the unity we've achieved on Estrada," says a Senate leadership staffer. "I think our knowing how important this is will keep everyone in line." br> /p>

topics:
Foreign Policy, Nancy Pelosi, Iraq, North Korea