Utahn's move to bench certain?

Published: Friday, May 27, 2005 11:47 p.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
WASHINGTON — With a truce now in place between warring partisans on Senate filibusters, Utahn Tom Griffith should be confirmed to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C., in the next few days.

"But there are lots of traps and snares, and I won't be happy until it is through," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who has worked behind the scenes to bolster support when it appeared the nomination was slipping away. "There is still a lot of bitterness, and there are no sure things."

Griffith's nomination to what is considered to be the second most powerful court in the nation had become bogged down amid the controversy over the use of the filibuster by minority Democrats to thwart President Bush's judicial nominations they considered too conservative or too controversial.

Republicans had threatened the so-called "nuclear" or "constitutional" option to break the filibusters — a changing of the rules so that the 56-44 Republican majority could cut off debate with a 51-vote majority rather than the current 60 votes needed.

A deal between moderates on both sides, announced Monday night, calls for up or down votes on three of the most controversial nominees but not certain others, and a pledge that Democrats will use the filibuster only in the most extreme cases.

Story continues below

That deal opens the door for votes this week on judicial nominees like Griffith, the current general counsel at Brigham Young University who is opposed by many Democrats but is not among the controversial nominees subject to the filibusters.

Griffith can probably blame Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., for the delayed vote. Reid had stated that Democrats would not filibuster Griffith as a show of good faith during negotiations with the majority over the nuclear option — even though Democrats had some serious problems with Griffith.

According to Hatch, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., wasn't about to have Harry Reid decide which of the nominees was going to "go first."

Frist had already decided the nomination of Priscilla R. Owen of Texas would go first. Owen was confirmed Wednesday by a 56-43 vote, the first beneficiary of the filibuster truce.

"The deal appears to be a positive step, but only time will tell," Hatch said of the deal. "But this is a truce, not a treaty."

And, he adds, Republicans are watching closely, expecting Democrats' definition of "extreme circumstances" will evolve to where they invoke the filibuster on just about anyone who is conservative.

"Any party that will call Patricia Owen a Neanderthal and extreme is going to call anyone Neanderthal and extreme," he said. "She is as reasonable and decent as a person can be."

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

Image

Tom Griffith

previousnext

Latest comments

I love Millsap, and the Jazz will find a way to move Boozer and match for...

i think its childish to assume that somebody would actually want to get...

Millsap and Boozer need to stay in Utah. Millsap is Boozers backup while he...

Childish and immature? Its always easier being ignorant and presuming things...

can you use words like testimony and church leadership to critisize a...

Bro P really helped me through a tough time in my life when I had him in...

These are only allegations at present, but I hope when he goes to trial, the...

My thoughts are with the Pratt family right now. Michael I hope you are...

It is interesting that everyone who seems to be a member comments on how nice...

You presume, simply because they were gay, that they were trying to "stir...

Advertisements