Max Baucus: “inscribed on the Justice Department building are the words: ``No free government can survive that is not based on the…”

“inscribed on the Justice Department building are the words: ``No free government can survive that is not based on the supremacy of law.'' Aristotle said: ``Where the laws are not supreme, there demagogues spring up.'' And Balzac wrote: ``The soul of liberty is love of law.'' It is a free and independent judiciary that ensures the supremacy of law. It is a free and independent judiciary that guards against the demagogue. It is a free and independent judiciary that protects the soul of liberty. As Montesquieu wrote in The Spirit of the Laws: ``There is no liberty if the judiciary power be not separated from the legislative and the executive.'' And as George Washington wrote to John Jay in 1789, when Washington invited Jay to be Chief Justice: ``The Supreme Court must be recognized as the keystone of our political fabric.'' The effort by some to abridge the Senate's role in the confirmation of judges is nothing less than an effort to diminish the independence of the judiciary. That is the bottom line. The Senate's rules and its paramount value of unlimited debate are central to preserving that independence of the judiciary. The Senate's involvement in the confirmation of judges helps to ensure that nominees have the support of a broad political consensus. The Senate's involvement helps to ensure that the President cannot appoint extreme nominees. The Senate's involvement helps to ensure that judges are more independent.…”