ConfirmThem

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

We have heard precious little in the past few days from Senator Lott about the rumors of his deal-making. Two weeks ago he spoke strongly against the kind of deal that Roll Call and Dobson report that he is nearing:

[Reid] indicated that his proposed compromise would require Bush giving Democratic senators “a meaningful say� in picking judicial nominees who would serve in their home states. Sen. Trent Lott, R- Miss. a key vote counter on the filibuster issue, emphatically rejected the idea of giving Democrats some say in picking Bush’s judicial nominees. “Hey, man, we had an election. Did they miss it?� Lott asked. “Their man lost, Bush won, and we’re not going to start letting pools (of nominees) be presented from which the Senate will choose. No, under the Constitution the president makes that recommendation, he alone.�

It is time for Senator Lott to quash the rumors by making another strong statement in favor of preserving the founders' vision of the balance of powers between the Senate and Presidency and to explicitly and personally deny that he is working to undermine Senate GOP leadership in looking for ways to preserve the filibuster for use against court nominees.