The partisan feuding in the U.S. Senate over federal judicial nominees is leading to a battle on the Senate floor that will have long term effects on the makeup of the federal courts and on the future of the filibuster as a tool in the Senate. The battle has been brewing for quite some time.
The Hulk Plan
Two years ago Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, upset over the blockage of another of President Bush's judicial nominees, Miguel Estrada, held an impromptu meeting with a small group of Republican Senators. He described a plan whereby the filibuster against federal judicial nominees could be blocked with a simple majority of 51 votes, rather than the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture under Senate Rule 22.
The bold and unprecedented plan was dubbed, "the Hulk plan," a reference to the tie that Senator Stevens was wearing which depicted the green comic hero, The Hulk. The Hulk plan was discussed among Republicans and guarded from Democrats as it was not immediately determined whether the Hulk plan was workable or desirable.
The core of the plan was to introduce a Point of Order after a filibuster had begun, asking that debate be limited and that a vote be taken. After the presiding officer sustains the Point of Order, an appeal would be entered, and a motion would be made to table the appeal. This would be a procedural issue which could not be filibustered and which would require only a simple majority for approval. The approval would specify a limited time frame for debate and bring the issue to a vote.
The Nuclear Option
Within a few weeks of the development of the Hulk plan, Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi coined the term, "nuclear option" to describe the rule change process. The Senators realized that the plan would be like a nuclear explosion, resulting in increased alienation of the Democratic and Republican parties and numerous unpredictable consequences.
The Republican leadership realized that they might not be able to produce the 51 votes needed to make the "nuclear option" work, so they set the plan aside until after the 2004 national elections. The elections produced an increased Republican majority in the Senate of 55 Senators. When a straw poll among Senators convinced the Republicans that they could count on at least 51 votes, the Hulk plan was revived.
No Turning Back
President Bush will re-nominate several judicial nominees who were blocked in the last session of Congress. If the Hulk plan, or "nuclear option," is triggered and successfully upheld, there will be no turning back for the Republicans.
When Justice Abe Fortas was nominated by President Johnson in 1968 to replace Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Republicans successfully filibustered the nomination, causing President Johnson to withdraw the nomination. If the "nuclear option" is successfully used to prevent the Democratic Senators from using the filibuster to block federal judicial nominations, then the Republicans will also find themselves without the filibuster tool in the future when they are the minority party.
Garry Gamber is a public school teacher. He writes articles about politics, real estate, health and nutrition, and internet dating services. He is a founding member of http://www.goodpoliticsradio.com and the owner of http://www.goodpoliticsradio.com
executive chauffeured services Bradford .. Madison to Airport car[Author's Note: Another essay that I wrote on notebook paper... Read More
IN A DAY AND AGE where one voice screaming among... Read More
Why are intelligent people so afraid of the idea that... Read More
I propose a special Projection Device code-named: "TIPED". This system... Read More
The second amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees every American... Read More
Possible UAV materials are infinite: Foam, Composite, Balsa Wood, Plastic,... Read More
Washington DC council member David Catania actually suggested that the... Read More
Bosnia-Herzegovina (heretofore "Bosnia") is an artificial polity with four, tangentially... Read More
This is the first of a series of four articles... Read More
Leave it to the Columbia City Police Officers Association in... Read More
Indonesia's Energy Minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, is unhappy with the modest... Read More
PolicyFederal Fair Housing accessibility requirements for new multifamily buildings should... Read More
Often we see protests at the sites of global leader... Read More
In Belarus parliament is going to struggle with degeneration of... Read More
One of Abraham Lincoln's claims to fame is the fact... Read More
In the previous article, we described the various methods developed... Read More
Pierre Dupont de Nemours:After arranging the Armistice that ended or... Read More
The United States has enemies, which call the country the... Read More
The head of the Club of Rome has said that... Read More
The blogosphere has been jumping around the story like crazy... Read More
As the Baby Boomer Generation continue to get older, one... Read More
The recent Jakarta summit of Asia and Africa brought remembrance... Read More
Sarbaines Oxley was probably the easiest way to destroy free... Read More
Richard Nixon was by far a most fascinating and colorful... Read More
A visitor to Moscow would be immediately struck by the... Read More
O'Hare Chicago prom limo ..Legislation was introduced into Congress this week that would establish... Read More
Do you ever wonder how everything gets to the super... Read More
In a recent report on the status of the Franchising... Read More
What ordinary people are saying about U.S. televangelist Pat Robertson... Read More
THE ROSICRUCIAN COUNCIL OF THREE:A Thelema/OTO leader who became a... Read More
I hear it all the time; you can't say that.... Read More
Many in the peanut gallery of society are so quick... Read More
Where are all the high-speed trains we were promised? Where... Read More
I'm getting a little tired of being lectured by that... Read More
Aren't you glad you purchased Alaska? You got a bargain,... Read More
There are so many problems with our perceived perfect checks... Read More
I would like to discuss the blocked persons list of... Read More
With elections on the horizon and Blair looking tired and... Read More
The recent first round of the Iranian elections somewhat resembled... Read More
Those who are above the law or act as such... Read More
Non-lethal Goo Concepts have been tossed around by many war... Read More
Judgment and detective work requires thinking about possibilities. One of... Read More
There are many issues on the minds of US voters... Read More
Are you happy with all this so-called security after 9-11?... Read More
Few understand the Franchising Format and even fewer have correlated... Read More
Ok, here is what happened: On March 31, 2005, Pat... Read More
I watch the TV news and I get angry. I... Read More
For more than a decade, you the American taxpayer have... Read More
The North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was implemented on January... Read More
We recently saw another ferry accident, this one in NY... Read More
Political |