[quote]Bush Tries Luck Again With Judicial Nominees
12 Candidates For Federal Courts Blocked in 1st Term

By Michael A. Fletcher and Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, February 15, 2005; Page A05

Following through on a promise he has made repeatedly since his victory in November, President Bush yesterday renominated 12 candidates for federal appeals court seats whose confirmations were blocked by Senate Democrats during his first term.

The renomination of the judicial candidates promises to once again ignite an intense partisan battle with Senate Democrats. They have vowed to thwart Bush's nominees, whom they consider too conservative.

The battle over the makeup of the federal bench is also a key issue for conservative evangelicals and others at the core of the president's political base who see judges as crucial to their efforts to outlaw abortion, allow for a broader religious presence in daily life and limit the influence of the federal government.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/`wp-dyn`/`A24463-2005Feb14`?language=printer[/quote]

[quote]"We should not divert attention from other pressing issues facing this nation to `re-debate` the merits of nominees already found too extreme by this chamber," said Sen. Harry M. Reid (Nev.), the Senate minority leader. [/quote]

I'm beginning to like Reid more every day.

[quote]Among the most controversial nominees are Terrence W. Boyle, a federal district judge in North Carolina and nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, whom Democrats have criticized for his stances in civil rights cases; Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Richman Owen, a nominee for the 5th Circuit, whose jurisprudence in abortion, civil rights and environmental cases has been criticized; California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown, nominated to a seat on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, who Democrats say has referred to the New Deal as a "socialist revolution"; and William J. Haynes II, who served as Pentagon general counsel when controversial detainee policies were set that allowed enemy combatants to be held indefinitely without charges and access to counsel. He was again nominated for the 4th Circuit.

During Bush's first term, Democrats did not allow a vote on 10 of the 52 appeals court nominations that reached the Senate floor. As a result, conservative groups have been putting increasing pressure on Senate Republicans to force votes on Bush's judicial nominees.

Last year, Republicans held 51 seats and never mustered more than 55 votes in their attempts to end filibusters of the 10 disputed judges whose nominations reached the floor. Now they hold 55 seats, five short of the number needed to halt a filibuster. If they are unable to attract enough Democratic support to overcome a filibuster, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (`R-Tenn`.) has warned, he may seek a rule change that would bar filibusters of judicial nominees. Democrats have vowed to bring the Senate to a standstill if he does so.
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Boy, this is perfect bunch to filibuster and I might add some Repubs need to cross the aisle IMO.

So much for Bush wanting to "cross the aisle" and work with the opposition....

Frist is beginning to really piss me off. He wants to take away the use of Filibuster. Over 100 noms came across the congress the last time and all were approved but 10. But that's not good enough for Bushco, they want 100% approval and the right of the minority party to filibuster. :x