Bipartisan deal to avoid 'nuclear' option is ultimately best for both sides A bipartisan group of 14 senators reached a compromise Monday aimed at derailing the heated clash over judicial filibusters, which has all but halted the recent operations of the Senate. While The Post recently stated that bargaining would be a bad choice for the Democrats (Going Nuclear
April 29), on further review it looks like this deal is intelligently wrought and gives both parties a slice of what they want. The needed compromise, if upheld, will likely preserve the reputations of Democrats and Republicans alike.
To recap, Democrats have tenaciously used their minority status to block up-or-down votes for President Bush's conservative nominees. Their efforts stem from the logical notion that the strong Republican majority will confirm even the most radical of the president's nominees. Republican leadership, on the other hand, wanted votes. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., responded to the minority opposition by threatening to eliminate the senatorial right to allow filibusters on judicial nominees. Many on both sides have rightly criticized this nuclear option for its rash short-sightedness. What Frist dubbed the tyranny of the minority is really a needed voice of dissent that, by eliminating the filibuster, he would likely deprive his own party of in the future. Luckily, the new compromise will leave the filibuster intact -at least for now.
Obviously, the minority Democrats were destined to receive less accommodation in any compromise. However, the provisions are not so one-sided that the deal is a mistake. Three of President Bush's nominees, Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown and William Pryor, will now receive a vote -Owen was confirmed yesterday. However, the filibuster against nominees Henry Saad and William Myers will likely remain in place. Republicans will get a few of the president's justices confirmed; the Democrats maintain the right to employ the filibuster in the future but only under extraordinary circumstances. This phrase is clearly open to interpretation and can only work to the advantage of the minority party. They should remain cautious, however, as the Republicans have indicated they will resurrect the nuclear option if Democrats violate the compromise.
The deal also gives a much-needed public relations boost to the frequently listless Democrats. Had the nuclear option been exercised, the Democratic senators were threatening to bring non-essential legislation to a standstill in the Senate, which would not have helped the party to shed its obstructionist label.
The moderates who have successfully striven to transcend party lines in achieving this goal deserve commendation. The deal has met with approval from the Bush administration and Frist only insofar as it permitted a vote for three conservative nominees. The Democrats are praising it as an affirmation of the continued influence of their presence. Many on both sides are upholding it as a victory for important Senate traditions, which is the most celebratory aspect of the compromise. The deal has also been criticized by several interest groups of all political leanings; groups that more often than not represent the sort of extremism embodied by both those intent on changing the rules to suit their whims and those desiring a never-ending stalemate that only congests the important business of the Senate. The deal is a victory for mainstream America and, with hope, foreshadows things to come. 17
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