Carolyn Lochhead: Partisan war over judicial nominees

Senators spend night at Capitol
Partisan war over judicial nominees
Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau
Thursday, November 13, 2003
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URL: sfgate.com/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/11/13/MNGCM30NQ21.DTL


The marathon ground to a halt major legislation facing the Senate on the eve of Congress's adjournment for the year. Democrats, quick to call attention to that fact, staged a counter "Justice for the Jobless'' rally at the Capitol to protest GOP complaints that a handful of judges have not been seated while millions of Americans have lost their jobs entirely.


Senate majority leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., called the debate a serious confrontation over the division of power within the three branches of government and called Democrats' filibustering court nominees "obstruction in its most potent and virulent form."

Frist conceded that the Senate agenda is crowded but said "the question of how this Senate discharges its constitutional responsibility on nominations is among the most important issues we can discuss. It affects how we relate to two coordinate branches of government, it concerns whether Senate traditions will be upheld or discarded, it involves the meaning and future of the confirmation process. Such deliberations are plainly worth the Senate's time and the close attention of the American people.''

While Democrats often mocked the affair as theater directed by GOP leaders seeking political advantage, Republican John Warner of Virginia said the Senate was gathered all night "for one single purpose: to keep our Republic."

E-mail Carolyn Lochhead at clochhead@sfchronicle.com.