ConfirmThem

By AndrewHyman Posted in Senate Rules — Comments () / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Sen. Frist's office has provided "Advise & Consent Working Group Releases" at his web site. Below are summaries and links up to May 16, 2005. For releases after May 16, please go direct to the link just provided.

5/16/05 - For The Record
Patty Murray quotes.

5/16/05 - Morning Message
Frist quote from USA Today op/ed; McCain quote from ABC’s “This Week"; McConnell quote from Fox News Sunday; Bond, Talent & Brownback quotes from Knight Ridder article; Warner quote from CNN; Frist op/ed in USA Today; Wall Street Journal editorial; Fein op/ed in Roll Call.

5/13/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Allen press release re. Reid “FBI" statement; Majority Leader’s statement re. upcoming debate on ending judicial filibusters; speech by Sen. Lott (“Let’s vote and solve this issue, get it done, and let’s move on and legislate for the best interests of our children and grandchildren").

5/13/05 - Morning Message
Frist quote from AP article on up-or-down votes; Sessions quote from AP article, on Pryor; Krauthammer op/ed; WSJ editorial.

5/12/05 - For The Record
History of Sen. Byrd’s previous support for the “constitutional option" to change senate procedure by simple majority vote (referencing this RPC report).

5/12/05 - Morning Message
Myth versus Fact regarding whether judicial nominations have always needed more than 60 votes (cites confirmations with less than 60); Reinhard column in Oregonian defending Owen; Wash. Times Editorial (citing confirmation rates for different presidents).

5/11/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Rebuttal to Dodd’s remarks printed in the Hartford Courant; Union Leader editorial.

5/11/05 - Morning Message
McConnell quote in New York Times re. “random slaying"; Frist quote from media availability re. addressing nominees on calendar “one by one"; Santorum quote in Roll Call; Washington Times editorial.

5/10/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Frist quote from media availability; Hatch quote from CNN Inside Politics; Hatch floor statement (funny and excellent discussion of the “top ten" most ridiculous judicial filibuster defenses); Frist media availability transcript; Hatch transcript from CNN Inside Politics.

5/10/05 - Morning Message
Specter quote from Monday speech; Thune quote from Rapid City Journal; complete Specter speech from Monday (also available here in text form).

5/9/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Statement from Lott’s office re. deal-making; "Then & Now" statements of Levin; Frist speech marking 4 years since nominations; Cornyn speech on Owen; Scott Johnson article from Daily Standard; Cornyn article in National Review.

5/9/05 - For The Record
Marking 4-Year Anniversary of President’s nominations.

5/9/05 - Morning Message
Allen quote from Fox News; Hatch quote from US News & World Report; Hagel quote from AP; Andres op/ed in Wash. Times re. bogus poll questions; Cornyn op/ed in Dallas News; Pickering op/ed in Wall Street Journal.

5/6/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Announcement of upcoming Monday press conference with Cornyn to mark 4 years since nominations submitted; King statement in House of Representatives.

5/6/05 - Morning Message
Bob Dole interview on Fox News ("I think the Democrats are going to have to accept the fact that we are the majority power and we are supposed to lead the Senate and not follow the minority"); profile of Judge Griffin.

5/5/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Table showing days pending for Bush’s appeals court nominees; profile of Miguel Estrada; editorial by Bradley Gitz in Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

5/5/05 - Morning Message
Myth versus Fact regarding whether filibusters are based on the Constitution; House floor statements by Chabot and Foxx; Murkowski op/ed piece in Anchorage Daily News.

5/4/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Profile of Pryor; House floor statements by Chabot and Smith; Boxer quote in Richmond Times-Dispatch from 1997 urging up-or-down votes.

5/4/05 - Morning Message
Myth v. Fact regarding whether the constitutional option would lead to the end of the legislative filibuster; Chambliss op/ed; Wash. Times editorial; Nathan op/ed in Wash. Times.

5/3/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Myth v. Fact regarding whether the Advice and Consent Clause was meant to give Senators a right to help the President select nominees; profile of Janice Rogers Brown; Houston Chronicle article about Cornyn web site.

5/3/05 - Morning Messages
Then & Now regarding changing opinion of New York Times; op/ed by Bunnning; Johnson and Sandefur defend Brown in SF Chronicle; Duddy op/ed in Portland Press Herald.

5/2/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Myth v. Fact about whether the Democrats previously threatened to shut down the government, which they now deny; profile of Priscilla Owen; McConnell interview with Hugh Hewitt

5/2/05 - Morning Message
Allen quote from Meet the Press; Hagel and Brownback quotes from Face the Nation; Cornyn op/ed in Fort Worth Star Telegram; Kristol in the Weekly Standard; Kudlow in Wash. Times; article about Frist in USA Today.

4/29/05 - Afternoon Advisory
True or false regarding Reid statement that nominees “have had an up-or-down vote"; article from Detroit News about Democratic Judge Stephen Borello’s defense of filibustered nominee Richard Griffin; Human Events article “Meet the Filibuster Flip-Floppers."

NOTE FROM ANDREW: Abe Fortas had this to say on August 14, 1969 about his Chief Justice nomination: "There wasn’t a vote, you know."

4/29/05 - Morning Message
Frist quote from Fox News' Special Report; Coleman quote from CNN's "Wolf Blitzer"; Wash. Times piece about Frist proposal ("It's a proposal Senate Democrats won't likely accept at face value"); Frist editorial in Wash. Times; Wall Street Journal editorial about "holds."

4/28/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Quotes from Alexander and Hutchison; speech by Frist introducing "Fairness Rule Proposal"; articles about Domenici and Stevens supporting proposal; McConnell comment on same subject.

4/28/05 - Morning Message
Grassley quotes from MSNBC's Hardball; Frist quote from Fox News; Santorum quotes; Myth vs. Fact regarding Reid's assertion that filibusters date back to George Washington; Biden quote about cooling saucer; Charlotte Observer editorial urging Boyle confirmation.

4/27/05 - Afternoon Advisory
"Senate Procedure 101: Why Not Go 24/7 on Judges?" (quoting Congressional Research Service report that such a thing would be "more of a burden on the proponents of the question being debated" than on the filibusterers); Hutchison speech excerpts; Hatch speech; Pete DuPont piece in Wall Street Journal; Albuquerque Journal op/ed; Talent speech.

4/27/05 - Morning Message
Grassley quoted from CNN's Inside Politics; McConnell quoted from Fox News' "Special Report"; McConnell quoted from floor speech ("Where this is headed is in the direction of 41 members of the Senate being able to dictate to any president who may be on the Supreme Court . . . . That is a bad idea"); Bob Dole quoted from Fox News' "Special Report"; Bob Dole op/ed in NY Times; Boyden Gray op/ed in USA Today.

4/26/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Frist quote urging Democratic restraint; contradictory Reid quotes regarding Souter and Thomas; Bunning speech ("only 33% of President Bush’s nominees have been confirmed" for DC Circuit); Kyl and Durbin on PBS.

4/26/05 - Morning Message
Quotes from Nancy Zirkin and Nan Aron objecting to compromise that would allow any filibusters to end; LA Times Editorial "Nuke the Filibuster" (supporting ban on judicial filibusters, and promising to support eventual elimination of all filibusters); Investors' Business Daily editorial ("As if the filibuster were James Madison’s dying wish").

4/25/05 - For The Record #2
Contrasting quotes from Senator Durbin regarding religion of nominees (this info was also made available on April 15).

4/25/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Frist's speech in New York ("I know it's hard to believe that someone can get 84% of the vote in Texas, but not even the courtesy of a vote in the United States Senate"); quote from Elizabeth Dole on CNN Inside Politics; editorial in Grand Rapids Press; media advisory regarding press conference including Sessions, Brownback, and pastors supporting Brown; Elizabeth Dole's interview transcript from CNN�s Inside Politics; Grand Junction Daily and Rocky Mountain News editorials; op/ed by Allard.

4/25/05 - For The Record
Byrd boast from 1995; detailed rebuttals to Byrd's present arguments regarding the events of 1977, 1979, 1980, and 1987.

4/25/05 - Morning Message
McConnell quote from Face the Nation; Graham quote from Fox News Sunday; op/ed by McConnell in Courier-Journal ("Democrats speak in churches so why shouldn't Republicans"); Thune op/ed in Argus Leader; Frist speech on "Justice Sunday."

4/22/05 - Afternoon Advisory
McConnell says "We will have the votes" on 700 Club; Santorum quote from Nightline; and speech by Bennett ("we find ourselves in a situation where the tradition has been changed, and the question is, will we now change the rule to reestablish the tradition").

4/22/05 - Morning Message
Hutchison and Kyl quotes; Myth vs. Fact regarding whether Democrats merely want to express their opinions about nominees; Gelernter op/ed in LA Times.

4/21/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Leahy and Schumer said in 2001 that the "gold standard" is ABA approval which is what Owen and Brown have received; speech by Coleman; Frist statement on Brown and Owen; Hutchison statement; Santorum comments; Thune on Fox News; and speech by Thune.

4/21/05 - For The Record
Rhetoric vs. Fact regarding Reid's assertion that 67 votes are needed to change rules or precedents; Schumer, Cutler, and Chereminsky are quoted as favoring simple-majority changes; specific Senate precedents are also cited.

4/21/05 - Morning Message
Kyl quote regarding mainstream, column by Novak, Denver Post piece on Salazar, announcement of Hutchison-Dole discussion of Owen and Brown.

4/20/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Link to Frist audio on legislative vs. judicial filibusters, announcement of Hutchison-Dole discussion about Brown and Owen, Speech by Burr, Letter to Editor from Cornyn in "Texas Lawyer," Speech by Hatch rebutting Durbin's claims of precedent and also defending Brown and Owen (and furthermore attempting to nail jello to cactus), letter to Frist and Reid from newly elected GOP Senators, Craig speech defending Myers and asserting he was filibustered to impress environmental groups.

4/20/05 - For The Record #2
Lautenberg flip-flops on filibusters, saying they should now be available to block "Bush's radical judges."

4/20/05 - For The Record
Democrats flip-flop on filibusters. Kennedy, Kerry, Feingold, Sarbanes, Boxer, Lautenberg, Bingaman, Harkin, and Lieberman once voted to get rid of all filibusters, including judicial nomination filibusters.

4/20/05 - Morning Message
Myth vs. Fact about whether Dems just want a longer debate on nominees rather than being obstructionists, media advisory about upcoming press conference with 6 GOP Senators in the "Senate Swamp" (whatever that is), Alexander op/ed in the Tenessean, AP article saying that "Filibuster Ban Won't Include Bills."

4/19/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Quote from McConnell regarding confirmation of Justice Thomas who got less than 60 votes, Myth vs. Fact regarding whether GOP is attempting to eliminate legislative filibuster, McConnell statement and press conference, press release from Frist on legislative filibusters, press release from Cornyn, announcement of press conference Wednesday with six new Republican Senators.

4/19/05 - Morning Message
Roll Call piece by Hatch criticizing Kennedy, John Podhoretz piece in NY Post, Santorum interviewed by Imus, Myth vs. Fact on Bush's confirmation rate

4/18/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Quote from Morton Kondracke, Speech by Kyl, Letter from McConnell to Reid

4/18/05 - Morning Message
Quote from Lugar, Myths vs. Fact regarding what GOP did to Clinton nominees, Op/Ed by Santorum in Washington Post, Lott clarifies how many votes it takes to change rules.

4/17/05 - For The Record
Correcting Schumer regarding the votes it takes to amend the Senate rules.

4/15/05 - For The Record Vol. 2
Quoting Durbin regarding Pryor nomination.

4/15/05 - For The Record
Myth vs. fact regarding Paez nomination.

4/15/05 - Morning Message
"Leahy Flips on Filibuster" from the Rutland Herald, plus Myth vs. Fact regarding whether the constitutional option is unprecedented.

4/14/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Update on actions in Judiciary Committee, Myth vs. Fact about whether filibusters are based on the Constitution, Speech by McConnell on shutdown threats, Santorum responds very briefly to comments by Schumer and Durbin, Frist unveils web page, Cochran announces support for ending judicial filibusters

4/14/05 - For The Record
Response to article in The Hill about the position of the Senate parliamentarian.

4/14/05 - Morning Message
A couple old quotes from Kennedy and one from Schumer, regarding how Senate should treat nominees (Kennedy quotes Rehnquist), plus Myth vs. Fact regarding whether the GOP is trying to abolish all filibusters.

4/13/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Myth vs. Fact about whether judicial nomination filibusters are part of Senate tradition, speeches by Chambliss and Allen, Santorum responds to remark that GOP is full of the "arrogance of power," Cornyn calls for end to power grab, and Thune on Fox TV.

4/13/05 - Morning Message
Ben Nelson notes that some Democrats have been uncomfortable voting against cloture, Santorum calls shutdown talk counterproductive, Specter calls advertising on this issue counterproductive, and Frist calls for lowering rhetoric and toning down talk of shutting the government

4/12/05 - For The Record
Factual responses to various remarks by Reid regarding 2/3 vote for changing rules, and regarding the 1975 rule change.

4/12/05 - Afternoon Advisory
Speeches by Alexander and DeMint, plus Santorum calls on Dems to negotiate, and Frist has press conference on judicial nominations.