ConfirmThem

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

Robert Novak writes:

Republican leaders count only two or three GOP senators who will vote against the efforts to end, by a straight majority vote, filibusters on confirmation of judicial nominations.

Sens. Olympia Snowe of Maine and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island will not support this move, and they are likely to be joined by Sen. John McCain of Arizona. That would mean 52 senators would go along with the parliamentary maneuver attempting to end filibusters on judges. Only 50 are needed.

The only Democrat who might possibly join this effort is Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska. But Bush will not press him to break party discipline if his help is unnecessary.

Regarding Chafee, Novak has this to say:

National Republican leaders are pressuring Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey to stay out of the Rhode Island Republican primary election against liberal Sen. Lincoln Chafee. Although Chafee votes against some of President Bush's proposals, he often sticks with the administration on party-line votes and may do so on the confirmation of John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations. The White House feels Chafee is still the best Republican bet in heavily Democratic Rhode Island and does not want him to face a Republican challenge. Laffey, who is to the right of Chafee, is described by his supporters as confident that he would win the primary against the incumbent senator. Laffey also feels he would have a better chance than Chafee of winning the general election.

Incidentally, Senator Snowe is running for reelection in 2006, but Senator McCain is not. Regarding Snowe, the Portland Press Herald reports:

[Democratic] U.S. Rep. Tom Allen and [Democratic] Attorney General Steven Rowe are not ruling out the possibility of a run....The only other Democrat making noise about running for the Senate is Jean Hay Bright....Every once in a while, a popular incumbent does go down in Maine. It happened in 1972, when William Hathaway ended the career of the legendary U.S. Sen. Margaret Chase Smith.

There's excellent commentary at Redstate about Novak's column.