ConfirmThem

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

From the Virginian-Pilot:

“We can’t do damage to the Senate rules, which would come back to work against the interests of the Republican Party when we’re in the minority,� Warner said in an interview this week. “And believe me, you can look at history, that day will come.�...

Warner said Wednesday that he wishes Democrats would voluntarily end the debate and permit an up-or-down vote on the nominees. When Republicans were in the minority, he recalled, he voted against Democratic appointees he considered too liberal but refused to join efforts to kill their nominations by filibuster.

Warner said he can’t go along with changing Senate rules to allow a simple majority – 51 senators – to force action. And a spokesman indicated Thursday that Warner also would be unwilling to support Frist’s call Thursday for a rule setting a 100-hour limit on debates over Supreme Court and appellate court vacancies.

Sen. Warner says in one breath that he wants to preserve the filibuster so his party can use it to block Democrat nominees in the future, but in the next breath recalls his own role in the GOP's refusal to use the debased tactic in the past (for the very reason that it is debased) --- and elsewhere argues that the filibuster against nominees is simply wrong ("Without question, though, I am strongly opposed to the use of the filibuster to block judicial nominations." Washington Times, 3/23/2005). And then the Senator virtually announces his intention to support the continued filibustering of judicial nominations when it comes to a vote.

Either the filibustering of judicial nominees is wrong (in which case one should vote against it); or it is just fine (in which case one should vote to allow it to continue). However, please do not say the practice is wrong and then vote to support it.

An article in the Augusta Free Press begins on a more promising note about where Senator Warner stands:

Depending on whom it is that you're talking to, Virginia Sen. John Warner is either solidly in favor of the Senate Republican plan to end judicial filibusters, or he is at least open to possible persuasion by those who would like to see the filibuster option preserved.

When it came to the discussion of how reliable Senator Warner is on the issue, though, it's tough to find much comfort in the solidity of Warner's support to return dignity and tradition to the Senate:

Manuel Miranda, the chairman of the Washington, D.C.,-based National Coalition to End Judicial Filibusters, said he isn't worried at all about how Warner will cast his lot. "We see Warner as being in the same class as (Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck) Hagel and (Arizona Republican Sen. John) McCain. We refer to them as the 'too cool for school' group," said Miranda, the former nominations counsel to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., who has been leading the anti-filibuster effort. "If something isn't their issue, they tend not to weigh in on it or get involved in the public debate. But when it's time for a vote, they either follow the senior member from their home state or the party leadership," Miranda told the AFP. "That's what I see happening here. He (Warner) has never given me pause, so I don't really pay him much mind at all," Miranda said.

So, Warner is as reliable as McCain and Hagel. Great.