Ending the Senate Impasse

Ending the Senate Impasse: "WE BELIEVE THAT presidents are generally entitled to deference in judicial nominations and that their nominees are generally entitled to up-or-down votes. So we ought to support the Republicans' detonation of the 'nuclear option' when the Senate returns from recess this week, right? Well, not exactly.

The 'nuclear option' involves a procedural trick by which the Senate, which normally changes its rules only when 67 or more senators agree, would rewrite a rule by majority vote. Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) would use this procedure to change the rules to prevent filibusters on judicial nominations. We oppose this in part because it presupposes that history began in 2001 -- that judicial nominations are a fraught subject only because Democrats have been blocking President Bush's appointments."