Don Nickles: “One of the lower points is the way judges have been treated in the last 2 years. In my previous 21 years, we never had a…”

“One of the lower points is the way judges have been treated in the last 2 years. In my previous 21 years, we never had a filibuster on a judge, and I never heard colleagues say, Wait a minute, President Clinton had nominees and they weren't considered. Most of those who were on the list he nominated very late in the last year of his term of office. One of them was from Oklahoma, and the two Senators from Oklahoma were never even consulted. That name was on the list. So there is a difference between being nominated, going through the process--particularly with district court judges--consulting the home State Senators. That is the tradition of the Senate. One of the things that bothers me is we are breaking the tradition of the Senate by saying now you have to have a supermajority, particularly on the appellate court level.”