AP: Democrats say they won't block Gonzales nomination

[Freddie Stubbs]

By JESSE J. HOLLAND
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats won't try to filibuster Alberto Gonzales' nomination to be attorney general but will hold extensive debates in the Senate over his role in developing the Bush administration's policies on treating foreign detainees, the Senate's top Democrat said Tuesday.

"There will be an up-or-down vote," Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada told reporters after the Democrats huddled together for their weekly planning session.

A filibuster, a parliamentary tactic for delaying Senate action, would require Republicans, who hold a 55-44 majority in the Senate, to win over at least five Democrats - or four Democrats plus Vermont Sen. James Jeffords, an independent - to put Gonzales in office.

Reid predicted that at least 25 or 30 Democrats would vote against Gonzales but said "there was a decision made not to filibuster."

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