Arlen Specter: “during the past 20 years, we have seen a very serious deterioration in the processes in the Senate on the confirmation…”

“during the past 20 years, we have seen a very serious deterioration in the processes in the Senate on the confirmation of Federal judges. Without a broad sweep of historical reference, I believe it has been a very low point in the confirmation of Federal judges since the beginning of the Republic, but in order to say that with absolute certainty, there would have to be a very intense historical survey undertaken. It is plain that since the last 2 years of President Reagan's administration until the present day, the confirmation process has broken down whenever the White House has been controlled by one party and the Senate controlled by the other party. In the last 2 years of the Reagan administration, the judicial confirmation process broke down. In the 4 years of the administration of President George H. W. Bush, the confirmation process was riveted with partisanship. When Republicans gained control of the Senate starting in January of 1995, during the last 6 years of the administration of President Clinton, the Republican Senate retaliated, and more than retaliated; it exacerbated the problem. Then, when the administration of President George W. Bush came, the Democrats were in control for about a year and a half of that process. Again, the process was stymied. Then it got even worse. Then, even though the Republicans had gained control of the Senate, after the 2002 elections, there were filibusters, which were very destructive to the Senate.”