Chuck Schumer: “Without the President involved, exactly. I can't remember if it was Madison or somebody else, but they argued it would…”

“Without the President involved, exactly. I can't remember if it was Madison or somebody else, but they argued it would be too diffuse, that the buck will have to stop somewhere, so they were going to have the President nominate. But to keep the President's power in check, the very thing they intended--my good friend from Massachusetts is exactly on the money--was that the Senate play an active role. Let me repeat, many of the very first Senators who debated whether the first nominee, Mr. Rutledge, should become a judge on the Supreme Court were members of the Constitutional Convention. We heard today that of the first eight who showed up, six were members of the Constitutional Convention. I don't know how many out of the original 22 because I think there were just 11 States that had ratified the Constitution then. And guess what debate they had in rejecting Mr. Rutledge? They debated his views on the Jay treaty, which was a treaty involving France and England and all sorts of foreign entanglements, as they used to refer to it in those days. Let me say that if the Jay Treaty was legitimate grounds to determine whether the Senate should consent, then certainly someone's views on the commerce clause and the first amendment and the second amendment and the fourth amendment and the 11th amendment and the right to privacy and the right to free speech should be. Let's just get some corroboration for my colleague's excellent question.…”