Fw: Senators Preserve Rights of Minority, Protect Filibuster

But we are going to have 3 extremeist judges. I'm having a hard time with
this.

Miriam
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kathy Guthrie" <kathyguthrie@fcnl.org>
To: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@optonline.net>
Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 5:49 PM
Subject: FCNL: Senators Preserve Rights of Minority, Protect Filibuster

Last night, 14 moderate senators orchestrated an historic compromise
that preserves the principle of the Senate's "extended
debate," the filibuster, maintaining protection of the minority
voice that is fundamental to the role of the Senate. Seven Republicans
and seven Democrats joined in a remarkable agreement, taking the
so-called "nuclear option" off the table.

In this courageous action, the 14 senators rejected attempts to turn
the Senate into a rubber stamp for executive nominations and affirmed
the Senate's constitutionally defined role of providing "advice
and consent" to the president.

The Senate action this week is in large part a result of your efforts,
together with the efforts of thousands of other people across the
country who wrote emails, faxes, and letters, and made phone calls to
senators urging them not to eliminate the filibuster.

In the "memorandum of understanding" signed Monday night, the
14 senators agreed not to change the rules of the Senate concerning the
filibuster (the method for triggering the "nuclear option")
during the 109th Congress . In exchange, they also agreed not to
filibuster three controversial judicial nominations (Owen, Pryor, and
Brown), and the Senate is now preparing to consider and vote on these
nominations. Other current judicial nominations made by the president,
however, are not guaranteed a vote (explicitly naming Myers and Saad).

The 14 senators also agreed not to filibuster future judicial
nominations (including those for the Supreme Court) except under
"extreme circumstances." This undefined term leaves open the
possibility of a filibuster of future judicial nominees who are
unqualified or extremist in their approach to the law or the bench. To
read a copy of the text of the agreement between the 14 senators,
follow this link: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/AWQMESLLHY/JNFIESLLLN/

The agreement between the senators is governed by a standard that is
nothing short of amazing, given the legalistic procedural struggle over
judicial nominations in the Senate during the past six months: the 14
senators signing the agreement are bound by good faith. That is such a
remarkable development, it bears repeating: the exercise of individual
decisions in the Senate in judicial nomination considerations will be
governed by the good faith of each individual Senator.

In addition, the language of the agreement includes a plea to the White
House and Senate to coordinate and cooperate to present moderate
judicial nominees for consideration rather than candidates who might
appeal to either extreme of the political spectrum. Here's the
language from the agreement itself: "We believe that under Article
II, section 2 of the United States Constitution, the word 'Advice'
speaks to consultation between the President and the Senate with regard
to the use of the President's power to make nominations. We encourage
members of the Executive branch of government to consult with members
of the Senate, both Democratic and Republican, prior to submitting a
judicial nomination to the Senate for consideration." A clearer
example of an agreement designed to encourage the peaceful prevention
of destructive congressional conflict could not have been drafted.

FCNL's action alerts, educational materials, and communications with
Senators, as well as the FCNL staff's active participation in
coalition with other colleague organizations on the Hill, contributed
to the massive outpouring against efforts to eliminate the filibuster:
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/AWQMESLLHY/OVECESLLLO/

In a coalition meeting this morning (Tuesday, May 23) to assess the
impact of the agreement and to plan for "next steps," one
respected civil rights Hill lobbyist remarked, "We cannot do this
work without our grassroots partners. They are absolutely essential to
our work on the Hill."

For more information on these issues, visit the Civil Liberties section
of the FCNL web site at
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/AWQMESLLHY/IZGKESLLLP/

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