Douglas Alexander: “I am here to talk about the supplemental appropriations bill. While the Senator from North Dakota is here--he is one of…”

“I am here to talk about the supplemental appropriations bill. While the Senator from North Dakota is here--he is one of the best speakers in the Senate. He can take a story, tell it, and be clear about what he is saying. He has spoken eloquently about the need for a compromise. I will suggest one to him. I suggested it 2 years ago when I came to the Senate and heard the debate about Judge Estrada. I said at that time that, even if a Democratic President were elected, that I would never vote to filibuster his nomination. In other words, I would always vote to give a President of the United States a fair up-or-down vote on the floor of the Senate on his or her nominee. I have repeated my pledge to do that on this floor several different times, and, I would say to my friend from North Dakota, if he would get 8 or 10 Democrats to make the same pledge, there would not be any filibuster. There would be no need for a rules change. We could talk about gas prices, we could talk about schools, and we could talk about the war in Iraq. So that spirit of compromise is there. I was not here during whatever went on before, and, whatever it was, I wish it had not gone on. What I can remember, going back to 1967, which is when I came to this body as a legislative aide even before the President pro tempore was a Senator, is that all during that time this tactic was not used to deny a President an up-or-down vote on his judicial nominees.…”