Compromise in U.S. Senate
 Denver Post: "A group of maverick centrists, including Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., tugged the Senate back from the brink of partisan ruin Monday night by reaching a deal to give some of President Bush's contested judicial nominees an up-or-down vote, while preserving the Democratic minority's right to filibuster other nominations, including those to the U.S. Supreme Court. [May 24, 2005, "Senate averts showdown].
The Denver Post editorial staff weighs in on yesterday's compromise [May 24, 2005, "Agreement restores order in the Senate"]. They write, "Now there's a sight for sore eyes. Fourteen U.S. senators, seven from each party, forging an 11th-hour compromise on judicial nominations that averts a political showdown so risky that even its advocates called it the nuclear option. Seven Republicans among these 14 senators agreed to retain the filibuster as a weapon of last resort in the Senate. Seven Democrats, Colorado's Ken Salazar among them, agreed to give up the lengthy obstruction of seven of the president's judicial nominees and clear the way for some of them to get a long-awaited up-or-down vote."
FilibusterFrist.com: "The Senate has agreed to preserve the filibuster. This is a victory for the students and citizens who worked so hard and spoke so eloquently in support of our democratic system of checks and balances. We congratulate all of them and we thank all of them. We also thank the many people who supported what became a national movement, a genuine expression of the electorate. Did they listen to us? It's hard to say. But no one can question that we were heard and we, students of all political persuasions, achieved our goal."
Left In The West: "In what James Dobson is calling a 'betrayal' by Republicans and 'a great victory for united Democrats,' 7 Republican Senators have announced their decision to not vote for a nuclear option in exchange for 3 judges getting up-or-down votes. Remember, Frist previously said that all judges deserve an up-or-down vote. Frist loses."
Josh Marshall: "And finally there's the key problem: the White House. Can this agreement really withstand the appointment of another hard right nominee? The subtext of the compromise must be that neither side will be pushed beyond its limits. But that would, I think, force the Democrats to resort to the filibuster. And then everything, presumably, would unravel from there. It's hard for me to see how this deal survives the sort of appointee President Bush seems all but certain to appoint to the Supreme Court."
The Moderate Voice: "Senate moderates from both parties have pulled a political magical rabbit out of a hat, brokering a deal that will, in effect, kill - for now, at least - attempts to ban the filibuster on judicial nominees. It's an incredible accomplishment, given what was facing this group of Democrats and Republicans just today."
Blogs for Bush: "U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist made the following statement this evening on the Senate floor."
Harry Reid: "I offered Senator Frist several options similar to this compromise, and while he was not able to agree, I am pleased that some responsible Republicans and my colleagues were able to put aside their differences and work from the center. I do not support several of the judges that have been agreed to because their views and records display judicial activism that jeopardize individual rights and freedoms. But other troublesome nominees have been turned down. And, most importantly, the U.S. Senate retains the checks and balances to ensure all voices are heard in our democracy."
James Dobson: "This Senate agreement represents a complete bailout and betrayal by a cabal of Republicans and a great victory for united Democrats. Only three of President Bush's nominees will be given the courtesy of an up-or-down vote, and it's business as usual for all the rest. The rules that blocked conservative nominees remain in effect, and nothing of significance has changed. Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Antonin Scalia, and Chief Justice William Rehnquist would never have served on the U. S. Supreme Court if this agreement had been in place during their confirmations. The unconstitutional filibuster survives in the arsenal of Senate liberals."
Oliver Willis: "Frist is angry. Dobson is angry. If those two wet blanket extremists will be upset, I'm happy. Period."
TalkLeft: "All this compromise did was pass the buck to another day, while allowing three extremist judges to be elevated to lifetime appointments on federal appeals courts."
Category: 2004 Presidential Transition
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