NYT:Timing of Hearings, Vote Stalls Roberts Confirmation Talks (with Dems)

Timing of Hearings and Vote Stalls Confirmation Talks
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Published: July 27, 2005


WASHINGTON, July 26 - Senator Arlen Specter, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday that negotiations with Democrats had stalled over the timing of confirmation hearings and a final vote on nomination of Judge John G. Roberts to the Supreme Court.

Mr. Specter, of Pennsylvania, said that before he would schedule hearings to begin after Labor Day he wanted Democrats to commit to a vote on Judge Roberts on Sept. 29, so that if confirmed he could be seated with the court when it begins its session on Oct. 3. Without such a commitment, he said, the panel is more likely to start hearings on Aug. 29.

Both parties say that agreeing on a vote deadline would bar Democrats from stopping Judge Roberts's nomination with a filibuster, a parliamentary weapon that could allow a minority to put off a vote indefinitely. So far, one week after Judge Roberts was nominated, few expect the Democrats to mount a filibuster. But Democratic strategists say they are not ready to give up the one tactic that could enable them to block confirmation.

"I do not know that it is realistic to get assurances or commitments, because, as you all know, the Senate operates at the will of any single senator," Mr. Specter told reporters. "If we do not have those kinds of assurances, then it may be necessary to go to the Aug. 29 date because there are many unpredictable factors that could arise to delay the proceedings."

Asked about setting a date to vote, Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont and the ranking minority member of the Judiciary Committee, said: "Make a decision before we have a hearing? That is an amazing concept."...


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/27/politics/politicsspecial1/27confirm.html

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:puke:

I'm glad we're not seeing the same ass kissing we saw from the Dems the night he was nominated.