Chuck Hagel's letter to me Re: Judicial Nominees

[TheFarseer]

I know old topic, but I just got his letter today. Here goes:

Thanks you for contacting me regarding judicial nominees.

All judicial nominees deserve a fair committee hearing and an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor. Both parties have politicized the confirmation process for many years and both have used delaying tactics to deny confirmation of many judicial nominees.

On May 23, 14 Senators signed a compromise agreement regarding President Bush's judicial nominees. According to the compromise, these Senators agreed to end debate on nominations of Priscilla R. Owen, Janice Rogers Brown, and William H. Pryor. While the agreement allows a vote on these three nominees, it preserves the right to filibuster other nominees in "extraordinary circumstances" I do not support his compromise. It was unjust and not right. Fourteen Senators should not have the right to determine which of the President's judicial nominees get votes and which do not get votes. All nominees deserve up-or-down votes and that should have been the principal that anchored any agreement.

Out of the initial group of 10 Court of Appeals nominees blocked since 2001, Owen, Brown and Pryor are the only nominees guaranteed votes. Three others have withdrawn their nominations and the future of the remaining four is uncertain.

On May 25, Priscilla Owen was confirmed as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit by a vote of 56-43. I voted for the nomination. In the coming weeks, the Senate will vote on the nominations of Justice Brown, Judge Pryor and the other nominees President Bush has put forward.

The Founding Fathers established a careful system of checks and balances among three co-equal branches of government. One of the most important checks is the Senate's responsibility to provide advice and consent on the judicial nominees made by the President. I take this responsibility seriously. Since President Bush was elected to office, I have voted for every judicial nominees brought to the Senate floor. I will continue to work with the President to help confirm qualified nominees to the federal bench.

Thanks again for contacting me.

Chuck H

Now, boys and girls, what did we learn? We were kidding ourselves if we thought we had the votes to win that fight. Chuck was supposed to be one of the guys on the fence. That didn't sound like there was any indecision there to me.