Showdown reportedly near on judicial filibusters

By Tom Strode - Apr 15, 2005 - comment

The Republican leadership in the U.S. Senate apparently is moving toward a showdown over judicial filibusters.

It appears likely Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee will call for a vote in the next few weeks to change the Senate’s rules in order to bar filibusters of judicial nominees, according to The Washington Post. If such a vote succeeds, only 51 votes will be needed to confirm a nominee, instead of the 60 votes now required to break a filibuster.

Democrats used the delaying tactic in the first administration of George W. Bush to block 10 of his 52 appellate court nominees. They are poised to use the filibuster to block some of the same judges from confirmation this year as well. While all of the filibustered nominees had more than 50 votes for confirmation in Bush’s first presidency, they could not achieve the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture and end the filibusters.

Among the nominees who have been filibustered are Janice Rogers Brown, an appointee to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals; Priscilla Owen, a nominee to the Fifth Circuit, and William Pryor, a nominee to the 11^th Circuit^.

Foes of the nominees have accused the filibustered judges of being outside the mainstream, but much of the opposition appears to be based on the nominees’ pro-life rulings and viewpoints.

To contact your senators to express your opinion, you may call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or email their offices through the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission’s Web site.

Further Learning

Learn more about: Citizenship, National

Post a Comment




Notify me of follow-up comments?

Before You Submit Your Comment (below), Read This:

Thank you for your interest in the ministry of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (SBC).

Comments are moderated to preserve the family-oriented nature of this website and in an attempt to avoid comment spam. We welcome opposing viewpoints, and we will not turn comments away as long as your views are presented with respect to everyone.

Your comments will not appear immediately and are subject to editing or deletion. We will make every attempt to check new comments in a timely manner, though there will likely be delays on the weekends and around holidays.

Please follow the these guidelines to insure your comments will be posted:

  1. Use a real name, at least a real first name. We find folks are less-rude online when not hiding behind a screen-name.
  2. Name-calling and vulgar-language will not be tolerated. Zero-tolerance is our policy. We will not spend time editing profanity. If it contains foul language, your post will be deleted. Oh, and we decide what is and what is not vulgar.
  3. Comments must be on topic. General comments (compliments, complaints, and otherwise) are best delivered here or expressed on your own personal Web site.
  4. And please, do not type in ALL CAPS. It looks like you're screaming at people.

Additionally, within Baptist polity, please recognize that many issues and decisions are addressed at a local church level. SBC denominational (national) offices have no control and desire no control over the activities of a local church. This entity is not responsible for overseeing and insuring the ethical behavior of Southern Baptist pastors or church members. If your concern involves a legal civil or criminal matter, we suggest you contact the proper local officials.

Issues involving pastoral staff or other church members, local Baptist associations or state Baptist conventions are local issues. Therefore the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission cannot and should not address such issues. While we regret we are unable to assist you, we encourage you to seek a biblical resolution of the issue at the local church level. If your question or submission pertains to a matter covered in this text, it is likely we will not acknowledge your submission.

Other than that, we welcome you and hope to see thoughtful discussions at ERLC.com