C’mon folks. When there are well-qualified judicial nominees who meet the requirements Congress and the president have deemed necessary to fill vacancies in the federal courts, a fair-minded legislature confirms the appointments. That’s its job.

What’s going on here is not about the credentials of the nominees but the litmus test of ideology. The reality is that Republican presidents appoint conservative judges and Democratic presidents appoint liberal judges. Always has been that way, nothing has changed.

What has changed is the mentality of closed-minded senators who refuse to confirm an appointment because the nominee doesn’t see it “my way.” You cannot hold the federal courts captive hoping the White House changes guard in 2008 and, therefore, a change in ideology.

Bill Frist is right as the Senate majority Leader to try and complete the job the Senate is called to do, confirm presidential appointments. If undoing a filibuster is needed (for federal judicial appointments only), so be it.

Remember, these nominees are well-qualified and forgoing the filibuster would be the doings of the Democrats who refuse to “play” when ideology is on the line.
 
— Nancy Janes, Ventura