Senate to talk the night away over judges

Republicans hope an all-night session will pressure Democrats to end their filibuster of judicial nominees.

In a legislative version of Survivor, Republicans and Democrats will square off today in an all-night Senate talkathon on who's to blame for some of President Bush's political nominees not making it to the federal appeals bench.

The Republican majority scheduled the nonstop session to begin at 6 p.m. today and conclude 30 hours later at midnight Thursday.

But even the most optimistic Republicans admit the chances of changing minds on the Democratic minority's use of filibusters to block judicial nominees are slim to none. There are 51 Republican senators and 60 votes are needed to invoke cloture to cut off debate and force final action on the nominations. The math to end a filibuster - essentially endless debate - just isn't there.

"What we really want, and the purpose of doing it, is an up-or-down vote," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. "Just "yes,' "no'; move on to the next judge. And they won't give us that."

Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., called the talkathon a "reverse filibuster."

"Filibusters are put forward by the minority to try to block action from occurring. We're trying to move to the floor to try to force action on judicial nominations."

Fat chance, counter the Democrats.

"We didn't ask for this, but we will be there," said Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. When the snoring stops, he predicted, the status quo will remain. His party will be on hand to thwart any maneuver that the majority might try in the wee hours of the morning.

The Democrats have successfully filibustered four of Bush's nominees: Alabama Attorney General William Pryor; Texas judge Priscilla Owen; Mississippi judge Charles Pickering and District of Columbia lawyer Miguel Estrada, who later withdrew his nomination. They are expected to also block a vote on California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown.

Democrats say they have confirmed 168 Bush judicial nominees, but will filibuster these four because they are too ideologically extreme to get lifetime appointments.

Daschle said the Senate majority should be attending to more important legislative matters instead of obsessing on a few blocked judges.

"The Republicans are consumed by those four jobs and ignore the 3-million jobs that we've lost over the course of the last three years under this administration's economic policies," Daschle said.

Republicans believe that a highly publicized all-night session - the first in a decade - will focus national attention on the issue and energize their campaign supporters.

"A number of my Republican colleagues have said that they are under great pressure from their right wing base to do this," said Daschle. "They're obliging that base and we're all going to give up a night of sleep to oblige them as well."

Republican leaders are mounting a full campout with cots available for senators to nap through the wee hours, food service at nearby offices and a system to rapidly contact senators who have wandered off if they're needed.

Democrats, for their part, have signed up for "watch duty" time slots, during which they will deliver the party's message on the Senate floor. Both sides have reserved rooms for all-night media interviews.

But all those preparations may not be necessary.

Instead of one senator trying to talk for the full 30 hours, the two sides will split the time and trade shifts so that there will be a senator from each party on the floor at all times.

For example, a Republican will talk from 3 a.m. to 3:30 a.m., while a Democrat watches. They'll switch roles for the next 30 minutes and then head home to bed, replaced by two others for the next shift lasting as little as one hour.

Because Senate rules require agreement from both sides to quickly confirm a nominee, the GOP can't force a confirmation vote as long as a Democrat is present on the floor to object. But if they fall asleep or stop paying attention, Santorum said the GOP will immediately confirm the nominees.

In turn, Daschle said if Republicans stop paying attention, they will immediately pass Democratic legislation like a bill to raise the minimum wage or one to create a tax credit to stimulate creation of manufacturing jobs.

- Information from the Associated Press, Cox News Service and Knight Ridder News Service was used in this report.

The Congressional Research Service tracked the confirmation rates for district and circuit judges and found that they've steadily declined over the past five presidencies. Some 93.7 percent of President Carter's judicial nominees were confirmed, and 88.2 percent of President Reagan's were.

Only 69.5 percent of President Clinton's nominees were approved during his last two years in office.

President Bush averaged 72.5 percent in his first two years, but only 46.8 percent so far this year, according to the Congressional Research Service.

The Senate has confirmed 168 of Bush's judicial nominees, and Democrats have successfully filibustered four:

Alabama Attorney General William Pryor - Democrats have complained about his strong comments against abortion and gays.

Texas judge Priscilla Owen - Critics have characterized her as a judicial "activist" whose opinions were colored by strong antiabortion and probusiness views.

Mississippi judge Charles Pickering - Critics object to his personal opposition to abortion and his civil rights record.

District of Columbia lawyer Miguel Estrada - Opponents wanted him to more fully answer questions about his legal views. He withdrew his nomination in September.

Senators also are expected to block a vote on California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown.

Sources: Cox News Service, Knight Ridder Newspapers and Times files

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