Democratic Leaders Speak Out Against Nuclear Option
WASHINGTON, March 16 – Reaching into the chest pocket of his suit coat, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va) pulled out a miniature copy of the Constitution, held it up in the air and waved it before a cheering crowd.
“Our Constitution is under attack,” declared the 87-year-old senior member of the Senate. “We must kill this dangerous effort to rewrite our precious Constitution. Our freedom of speech is in jeopardy.”
Byrd joined seven of his colleagues Wednesday in rallying support for the Democratic senators who plan to fight any attempt by Republican leaders to change the rules that allow senators to filibuster against federal judicial nominees.
“These rules have been tested by time and experience,” Byrd explained before the rally. “These rules provide potential for a minority. The Senate is the last bastion of the minority.”
About 500 people attended the rally, sitting shoulder to shoulder in the crowded ballroom of the Washington Court Hotel, standing against the walls and spilling into the doorways. Byrd offered words of encouragement as his colleagues spoke, raising his voice in the occasional “yeah” or “uh-huh,” while the audience responded with hoots, hollers and whistles.
Before Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), the second longest-serving member in the chamber, began his speech, Byrd met him at the podium for a hearty handshake. Kennedy, intermittently pounding his fist against the wooden stand as he spoke, denounced the Republican members, saying that they were breaching the constitutional principles of checks and balances and divided government.
“They control the executive. They control the House. They control the Senate. And they want to control the judiciary, and I say, ‘No way!’ ” he said as the audience erupted into applause.
Under current rules, senators can filibuster, or stall a vote, on the confirmation of judicial appointees, unless at least 60 of the 100 members agree that the vote should proceed. The filibuster, which is allowed only in the Senate, serves to give the minority party more power.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has threatened to attempt to ban filibusters on judicial nominations, a measure many are calling the “nuclear option,” if the Democrats try to stall votes on President Bush’s judicial nominees.
Many Democratic members are standing behind Minority Leader Harry Reid, who told Republicans in a letter Tuesday that in retaliation against the nuclear option, Democrats would stunt the progress of the chamber by not cooperating in the passage of much of the legislation brought to the floor. In a statement Tuesday, Frist said that such a shut-down of the Senate would be “irresponsible and partisan.”
According to Reid, a ban on the use of the filibuster in judicial nominations might only be the beginning.
“The point of the matter is if they change it on judges, then they’re going to change it on cabinet nominations, on ambassadors, and then if that isn’t good enough, they’ll change it on an issue like…abortion,” he said in an interview before the rally began.
Later, during the event, Reid reiterated that the issue is not simply about judges. “This is about the arrogance of power,” he asserted. Republicans complain that the Democrats in the last session of Congress filibustered against 10 court nominees and should not be able to filibuster against any judicial candidates. Bush has renominated seven of the 10 whose nominations were blocked by filibusters.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Republicans should be happy that the Democrats confirmed so many of Bush’s nominees. “You got 95 percent of what you want. Say ‘thank you’ and move on,” she quipped. Boxer apologized to the audience for supporting a ban on the use of the filibuster when she first became a member of the Senate. Since then, she’s realized the value of the tool, she said.
“We forgive you!” one audience member shouted.
Like several of the speakers, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), said that Democrats needed to persuade Republicans to reject the nuclear option by advising them that the day could come when Republicans become the minority party and might need to rely on the filibuster themselves.
“The best way to prevent the Republican majority in the White House from going nuclear…and undermining our American system of checks and balances is to prevent this whole thing from ever happening in the first place,” Clinton said. “And to do that, we have to persuade a handful of Republicans that this is not what they signed on for.”
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