ConfirmThem

By AndrewHyman Comments () / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Senator Jim Talent of Missouri recently joined a couple other GOP Senators (Santorum and Ensign) for an interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show. Here's part of the interview:

Hugh Hewitt: Let's start over here with the question about the deal that we're talking about. If we come back after the break, Jim Talent, and the Democrats filibuster anyone not named Saad or Myers, do you have the votes to go the nuclear option?

Jim Talent: Yea, I think, I think we probably would, and I think actually this compromise makes that more likely, because I think it will be the last try, if you will, that some of these folks wanted before voting for the Constitutional option. So, I think it's more likely that we'll have the votes…. Hugh, it's worth repeating, that until two years ago, the Senate had never filibustered a judicial nomination that had majority support on the floor of the Senate. Never.

Hugh Hewitt: Right.

Jim Talent: And now, we've seen ten, and six others threatened, and then people wonder why you had to do what we did. I mean it's, apart from the fact it's tremendously unfair to judges of our philosophical persuasion, the Senate...it's going to shut down the courts, because if the Democrats think that this is a standard they'll apply when there's a Republican president, and it won't be applied the other way, when there's a Democratic president, they're just very naive.

The ever-charming Senator Reid has a different view.

Regarding Saad and Myers, if they are eventually nominated for judgeships in different circuits, then the "extraordinary circumstances" language would clearly protect them from filibusters, as I mentioned previously. I'm especially curious to see whether the Judiciary Committee approves Judge Saad for his current nomination, given the vague allegations by Senator Reid about incriminating evidence in Saad's FBI file. Fox News reports this about Myers:

GOP sources in the Senate confirm they plan to call for a vote on Myers sometime this month. Democrats are expected to filibuster, and key senators in that compromise deal confirm that a filibuster of Myers will not trigger the "nuclear" or "constitutional" option, meaning the nominee may not get an up-or-down vote.