[Mb-civic] Polarized Panel Awaits High Court Nominee - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

Polarized Panel Awaits High Court Nominee

By Charles Babington and Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, July 10, 2005; Page A01

The upcoming first-in-a-decade hearings on a Supreme Court nominee will 
play out before a Senate committee known for partisan clashes and 
featuring some of Congress's most legendary liberals and ardent 
conservatives.

Over four days of televised hearings later this summer, the Senate 
Judiciary Committee will dig for information and frame the debate that 
will largely determine whether the full Senate embraces President Bush's 
nominee or splits down the middle, possibly embarking on a filibuster.

<>Republicans, as the majority party, hold clear advantages. They have 
10 committee members, including the chairman, to the Democrats' eight; a 
larger staff; and 55 of the full Senate's 100 seats. But Democrats have 
an edge that may loom large in the highly visible, keenly politicized 
struggle: Their committee members are considerably more experienced and 
unified than the Republicans. All but two have participated in Supreme 
Court confirmations, and those two -- Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) and 
Richard J. Durbin (Ill.) -- are glib, media-savvy lawyers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/09/AR2005070901394.html 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-civic/attachments/20050710/a1981ca5/attachment.htm