The American Spectator

Another indicator of Garza’s status is that several senior Republican staffers on the Judiciary Committee have begun poring over court rulings from the period of 1987 through 1990, a period when Garza served as a U.S. district judge before his elevation to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

That research, though, could just as well apply to Judge Edith Hollan Jones, who has been sitting on the Fifth Circuit since 1985. Jones was considered for possible Supreme Court nominations by President George H.W. Bush.

p> UNDERGOING TESTS br> Senate minority leader Harry Reid cannot say that there has not been a consultative process regarding this Supreme Court nomination process. But that’s not to say he won’t. /p>

Over the past three weeks, as certainty about a Supreme Court retirement began to set in, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist did in fact discuss potential nominees with Reid on at least one occasion. The discussion was of such detail and length that no one could dispute that there was consultation and give and take occurring, according to Republican sources.

Of course Democrats would dispute it. “Senator Frist is a doctor, and we all know how what a consultation means for a doctor: it’s a handshake that doubles as the hand-off of the bill,” says a Democratic leadership staffer. “Senator Reid was not satisfied with the names that were discussed, nor was he happy with the outcome of the meeting.”

As well, White House sources say that President Bush has reached out to several Democratic senators, including Sen. Ted Kennedy.

p>One Senator who has not been party to a number of discussions is Sen. Patrick Leahy , in part, because both White House and Senate Judiciary staff believe that his and his staff’s penchant for leaking to the media would be counterproductive at this early stage of the process. br> /p>