Friday, May 13, 2005 | 5:35 a.m.
WEEKEND EDITION
May 14 - 15, 2005
During President Bush's first term, Democrats filibustered 10 nominees to federal appeals courts and have said they will do so again this year for the seven that Bush renominated.
As of late March, the Senate had confirmed 204 judges chosen by Bush, according to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., noted that Republicans prevented votes on many of President Clinton's choices for the federal bench. "The Republicans' hands aren't clean on this either," Hagel said. "What we did with Bill Clinton's nominees -- about 62 of them -- we just didn't give them votes in committee or we didn't bring them up."
Republican hands are not clean. Everything Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and his allies say about the constitutional aspect to this discussion is plain garbage. The nuclear option is the GOP payoff to the Theocrats. It's that simple.
David Chambers
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