BIONIC JUDGES:

Senate Leaders Prepare for Crucial Filibuster Vote (Shailagh Murray and Charles Babington, May 23, 2005, Washington Post)

A dozen Senate negotiators hope to avert a showdown today over judicial filibusters, but the chamber's Democratic and Republican leaders signaled yesterday that they are ready for a long-awaited vote that could deeply affect the federal judiciary and the operations of Congress.

Senators in both parties said tomorrow's scheduled vote on whether to ban filibusters of judicial nominees remains too close to predict because a handful of crucial GOP members have declined to divulge their intentions. Some of those Republicans exchanged phone calls over the weekend with a few Democrats seeking an agreement that would retain the right to filibuster but make its use highly unlikely this year or next -- provided that both sides act in good faith. [...]

As Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) points out, filibustering legislation is one thing -- the contents can be tweaked and moved around until enough senators are satisfied. In this case, the filibuster's target is a person nominated to the federal bench, and "you can't cut off a left arm and put on a new left arm," he said.

It's the Right arm they're trying to cut off.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 23, 2005 11:29 AM