filibusters

What's New?

The Filibuster

Articles

Byrd Warns Frist against "Nuclear Option," The Associated Press, December 12, 2005

Frist is putting the nuclear option back on the table. Frist Cautions Senators Against Stalling Alito Vote, Washington Post, December 12, 2005

Filibuster Deal Puts Democrats In a Bind, Washington Post, July 4, 2005

Filibuster Deal on Bush Nominees to Be Put to Test, Knight-Ridder, July 2, 2005

Liberals Rethinking Senate Filibuster Deal, Washington Post, June 8, 2005

Filibusters Are Only Half the Problem, New York Times, June 3, 2005

Bush Poised to Nominate Dozens For Judgeships, GOP Insiders Say, Washington Post, June 3, 2005

On Filibuster and Stem Cells, GOP Bears Pain of Compromise, Los Angeles Times, May 30, 2005

Filibuster Deal Evaded Key Question on High Court Nominees, Washington Post, May 30, 2005

Senate Setbacks Test Frist's Influence; Bush Has Given Difficult Tasks to Him, Analysts Say, Washington Post, May 29, 2005

Judicial Nominee Compromise Under G.O.P. Pressure, New York Times, May 29, 2005

For GOP, Deeper Fissures and a Looming Power Struggle, Washington Post, May 25, 2005

Breakthrough Pact Unlikely To End Battle, Washington Post, May 24, 2005

A Modest Victory for Bush, but Challenging Tests Lie Ahead, New York Times, May 24, 2005

Owen Nomination Nears Vote as Senate Agrees to End Debate, New York Times, May 24, 2005

Senators Said to Reach Filibuster Deal, abcnews, May 23, 2005

Senate Leaders Prepare for Crucial Filibuster Vote, Washington Post, May 23, 2005

Senate Negotiations Go Down to Wire, New York Times, May 23, 2005

Republicans 'go nuclear' with vote to ban the filibuster, The Independent UK, May 23, 2005

The Senate Nears the Point of No Return, New York Times, May 22, 2005

First Victim in Judicial Fight: Congress's Image, New York Times, May 22, 2005

Bush Keeps Role in Senate Fray Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind, Los Angeles Times, May 22, 2005

On the 'Nuclear' Brink, New York Times, May 21, 2005

Fortas Who? Salon, May 20, 2005

The Filibuster Fig Leaf, TomPaine.com, May 20, 2005

Business of Senate Is Slowed as Battle on Judges Intensifies, New York Times, May 20, 2005

Behind Scenes, Aides Take On Filibuster Fight, New York Times, May 20, 2005

Senate's 'Gang of 12' Steps In Where Party Leaders Couldn't Go, Washington Post, May 20, 2005

Gloves Off As Senators Start Debate On Judges, Washington Post, May 19, 2005

Senator Harry Reid's Floor Statement on "Advice & Consent," Senate Democratic Communications Center, May 19, 2005

On One Side, Women and Blacks; on the Other, the Same, New York Times, May 19, 2005

The Killer Instinct, Washington Post, May 19, 2005

Excerpts From Remarks on Filibusters, New York Times, May 19, 2005

Judicial Slugfest Likely to Bruise Lawmakers' Image Further, Los Angeles Times, May 19, 2005

Schumer Talk Before His Floor Speech, Dailykos, May 18, 2005:

Senator Schumer expressed amazement at the total control that the extremists have over the WHOLE Republican Party. He stated that is
has never been like this before.

A Likely Script for The 'Nuclear Option', Washington Post, May 18, 2005

Senator Frist Approaches the Brink, New York Times, May 18, 2004

Reid: Nuclear Option set for Tomorrow, dailykos, May 17, 2005

Democrats, GOP End Talks on Filibusters, Washington Post, May 17, 2005

The Posse in the Pulpit, Time Magazine, May 16, 2005

Democrats Stand United against Republican Abuse of Power By Harry Reid, t r u t h o u t, May 16, 2005

Rove Guided Career of Judicial Nominee in Filibuster Fight, New York Times, May 16, 2005

Senate Republicans to Open Filibuster War Next Week, New York Times, May 14, 2005

Frist to Begin Floor Debate on Judges Next Week, Washington Post, May 14, 2005

Democrats Move to Slow Action on Bolton, Associated Press, May 13, 2005

Judgeship Confirmation Line Grows, Los Angeles Times, May 13, 2005

GOP Senators Back Pryor, Reject a Democratic Deal, Washington Post, May 13, 2005

Everything You Wanted to Know about the "Nuclear Option", Salon, May 12, 2005

Democrats Seek to Rally Forces for Showdown Over Judicial Nominees, New York Times, May 12, 2005

Political Bluster and the Filibuster, Truthout, May 11, 2005

Democrats Reject a Compromise on Judicial Nominees, New York Times, May 11, 2005

The Not-So-Secret History of Filibusters, New York Times, May 10, 2005

Jockeying Intensifies in Battle Over Judicial Nominees, New York Times, May 10, 2005

Bush's Call for Vote on Judges Adds Urgency to Filibuster Battle, Washington Post, May 10, 2005

Clash Over Judicial Filibusters Nears Boiling Point, Washington Post, May 9, 2005

Senate GOP Hopes Deal Will End Filibusters, Washington Post, May 8, 2005:

"The Republicans' hands aren't clean on this either. What we did with Bill Clinton's nominees _ about 62 of them _ we just didn't give them votes in committee or we didn't bring them up," [Republican Senator Chuck] Hagel said.

From dailykos, May 8, 2005:

So much for the argument that Democrats have engaged in unprecedented obstruction by blocking 10 nominees. As Hagel makes clear, the Republicans' hands are even dirtier because they blocked six times as many Clinton nominees.

And so much for the argument that Republicans believe in up-or-down votes. When it came to over 60 Clinton nominees, the Republicans "just didn't give them votes."

Filibuster Fight Nears Showdown, New York Times, May 8, 2005

Ending the Senate Impasse, Washington Post, May 8, 2005

Filibuster Fray Lifts Profile of Minister, Washington Post, May 8, 2005

Extreme Religious Right Ally of DeLay Pressures Frist on Nuclear Option, DailyKos, May 7, 2005

Hatching A New Filibuster Precedent: The Senator From Utah's Revisionist History, Findlaw, May 6, 2005

Maine Is Focus of Senate Battle on Filibuster, New York Times, May 6, 2005

A No-Compromise Compromise, New York Times, May 3, 2005

Interest Groups Intensify Ad War Over Filibuster, Judicial Nominees, Los Angeles Times, May 3, 2005

Congress Budget Plan Moves ANWR Drilling Ahead, Reuters, May 2, 2005

Frist Protest at Princeton Is Lesson in Art of the Filibuster, Washington Post, May 2, 2005

Frist: Showdown with Democrats over Court Nominees May Be 'Inevitable', USA Today, May 1, 2005

Gore Cautions on Ending Filibusters, Washington Post, April 28, 2005

Filibuster Vote Will Be Hard to Predict, Washington Post, April 28, 2005

Rove and Frist Reject Democrats' Compromise Over Bush's Judicial Nominees, New York Times, April 27, 2005

The nuclear option and judicial activists, Molly Ivins, The Free Press, April 26, 2005

Democrats Hint At Filibuster Deal, Washington Post, April 26, 2005

Filibuster Rule Change Opposed, Washington Post, April 26, 2005

Frist Urges End to Nominee Filibusters, Democrats Decry Speech at Church Rally, Washinton Post, April 25, 2005

In Telecast, Frist Defends His Effort to Stop Filibusters, New York Times, April 25, 2005

Faith And The Filibuster Fight, TomPaine.com, April 25, 2005

Holy War Sunday, The Lousiville Courier-Journal, April 24, 2005

Frist Initiative Creates Rift in GOP Base, Los Angeles Times, April 24, 2005

Filibusted? Truthout, April 24, 2005

Cheney Enters Fray on Judicial Nominees, Washington Post, April 23, 2005

Senate GOP Sets Up Filibuster Showdown, Washington Post, April 22, 2005

Frist Draws Criticism From Some Church Leaders, New York Times, April 22, 2005

As Vote on Filibuster Nears, G.O.P. Senators Face Mounting Pressure, New York Times, April 20, 2005

The Theocrats, Truthout, April 19, 2005

Frist Set to Use Religious Stage on Judicial Issue, New York Times, April 15, 2005

Frist Likely to Push for Ban on Filibusters, Washington Post, April 15, 2005

Republicans May Hasten Showdown on Judicial-Nomination Filibusters, New York Times, April 14, 2005

McCain Sees 'Slippery Slope' in Filibuster Ban, LA Times, April 11, 2005

Republicans Enlist History in Fight Against Filibusters, Washington Post, April 10, 2005

Santorum: Frist Will Go Nuclear, The Hill, April 7, 2005

GOP Is Fracturing Over Power of Judiciary, Washington Post, April 7, 2005

Senate Wary of Changing Filibuster Rules, Associated Press, April 4, 2005

Nuclear Opposition by Ralph Naes of People for the American Way, April 4, 2005

Lobbying Heats Up on Filibuster Rule Change, New York Times, April 3, 2005

Will Republicans Go Nuclear?, Washington Post, March 22, 2005

Minority Rules, New York Times, March 21, 2005

Newsweek Poll on attitudes toward the filibuster, March 17-18, 2005, click here.

Filibuster Precedent? Democrats Point to '68 and Fortas, Washington Post, March 18, 2005

Senate Democrats Erect Shield to Obstruct "Nuclear Option", LA Times, March 16, 2005

Senate Work May Come to Halt If GOP Bars Judicial Filibusters, Washington Post, March 16, 2005

Democratic Leader Harry Reid's Letter to Bill Frist, Senate Democratic Communication Center, March 15, 2005 (about the "nuclear" option)

Clash on Judicial Nominees Could Spill Into Lawmaking, New York Times, March 7, 2005

The Senate on the Brink, New York Times, March 7, 2005

Filibuster a Tool Used by Both Parties, People for the American Way, January, 2005

Comments on the Compromise

To read The Memorandum of Understanding on Judicial Nominations, click here.

Last words on compromise deal by kos
Tue May 24th, 2005 at 08:29:30 PDT

There are those who think any compromise is a sign of weakness, and there's little that can be said to change their mind.

But here are the plain, unspun facts:

Democrats hold 44 seats in the 100 seat Senate. One independent sides with the Democrats, giving Dems a 10-seat deficit.
Reid had 49 votes. He needed 51 to defeat Frist's nuclear option.
Reid needed at least two of four undecided Republicans.
Had Reid come up short, the filibuster would be dead in judicial matters.
If the filibuster was dead, Bush would've been able to put anyone on the Supreme Court. Anyone.
Radical Christian Rightist James Dobson is demanding the right to choose the next Supreme Court nominee.
Dobson's biggest enemy is the filibuster. Hence, he forced Frist to engage in the nuclear option.
Because of the deal, Dobson can't choose the next Supreme Court justice. Bush's choice, if too extreme, faces the prospect of a filibuster.
In order to save face, Republicans have gotten up or down votes on most of the handful of judges who are currently being filibustered. It's a price, but a relatively small one to pay to protect the filibuster during the next Supreme Court battle.

Given that we have a 10-seat deficit in the Senate, that's no small feat.

Statement Of Americans United For Separation Of Church And State On Filibuster Deal, Americans United, May 24, 2005

Howard Dean on the nuclear option deal, Dailykos, May 24, 2005

Notes on the filibuster from The Next Hurrah web site:

Last updated: December-2005

The Rise of the Religious Right in the Republican Party

Articles

Comments on the Compromise

Notes on the filibuster from The Next Hurrah web site: