“There is no way this agreement that breaks Democratic
obstruction can be spun any way other than as a victory for
Republicans and the Bush Administration,” said a Republican Senate
leadership aide late Monday night, regarding the agreement reached
by 14 senators to avert a showdown vote on the so-called nuclear
option that would have ended Democratic filibustering of Bush
judicial nominees.
The parameters of the deal insure that six of eight obstructed
Bush nominees to the federal judiciary will receive an up or down
confirmation vote in the Senate. The three most opposed Bush
nominees to the court, Priscilla Owen,
Janice Rogers Brown and William
Pryor, will not have their nominations blocked any longer;
also, three other Bush nominees will eventually receive an up or
down confirmation vote as well; the only two nominees who still may
be filibustered are Michigan judge Henry Saad and
William Myers.
Also as part of the compromise, the Democrat moderates promise
to prevent any future filibuster of Bush appeals court and Supreme
Court nominees. While Democrats were able to have their
“extraordinary circumstances” clause inserted in the deal, no one
anticipates that such a situation will arise, assuming Democrats
keep their promise. And it appears that a number of promises were
being tossed around the negotiation room on Monday afternoon.
Several Republican senators involved in negotiations swore that
not only will the six Bush nominees be given an up or down vote,
but that Democrats in the room were aware that Republicans involved
in the negotiations had agreed to vote cloture on Myers as well,
and that Democratic negotiators had agreed that such a move could
take place, thus also allowing Myers an up or down vote in the
Senate. “Assuming that our guys hold themselves to that promise,”
says another Republican staffer working on the Judiciary committee,
“then we’re looking at a clean sweep for confirmations.”
That said, Republican Judiciary Committee staffers said it would
have been difficult to clear Saad for confirmation, regardless of
the Democrats’ unethical behavior in his case. Democratic Judiciary
Committee staff and Senate Democratic leadership coordinated an
attack against Saad by providing and then sending Sen.
Harry Reid a memo detailing uncorroborated raw
interview notes from Saad’s confidential FBI background check.
“Saad has served on the bench in Michigan, he has been a public
figure for years, he has had close associations with several Senate
and House members from the state of Michigan,” says a Washington
lobbyist who has met with Saad on occasion. “This is an honorable
man whose nomination was badly damaged by Democrats. Any future
nominee should be aware of what the Democrats will do to destroy a
good conservative.”
If there are any potential losers in this deal, it is the
moderate Republicans who have put their reputations on the line
with not only their Republican colleagues, but also conservative
voters. “If Myers doesn’t get a vote, if a reasonable Supreme Court
nominee does not receive a vote, or has his or her nomination
blocked, then those moderate Republicans should be held accountable
by not only the caucus but their constituents,” said the Republican
Judiciary staffer.
HOW TRUE TO THEIR word Democrats will be may become apparent in
about a month, when Supreme Court Chief Justice William
Rehnquist is expected to announce his retirement. Already
in Washington rumors are swirling that current Attorney General
Alberto Gonzales may be under serious
consideration for the empty slot left vacant after one of the
sitting justices is elevated to fill Rehnquist’s role.. “You look
at what he hasn’t done in his few months at Justice,” says a former
White House staffer, “and it makes you think he’s really been
looking ahead and trying to keep as clear from controversy as he
can.”
Gonzales has managed to sidestep taking a position on the Terri
Schiavo legal battle, and beyond stating his basic support for the
eight judicial nominees in limbo, he has avoided being embroiled in
this current debate. As well, he has made very few public
appearances where anything remotely controversial could have been
uttered.
“Everything points to a Gonzales nomination,” says a lobbyist
aware of the White House thinking on prospective judicial
nominees.
One school of thought related to the threat of a constitutional
“nuclear” option was that it would ensure the Bush White House an
easier time in putting forward a solid conservative as the
president’s first nomination to the Supreme Court. But Gonzales
would be unacceptable to just about every conservative group in
Washington and beyond.
“I don’t know of any conservative who worked to reelect this
president who would be satisfied with a Gonzales nomination,” says
a Senate Judiciary staffer. “This president was reelected because
conservatives want to see a conservative on the Court. If the
president has a second opportunity, then perhaps there is room for
Gonzales. But only after the president fulfills his promise to
voters.”
