William H. Frist: “as always, we will take into consideration all suggestions and be happy to talk to the leadership on both sides of the…”

“as always, we will take into consideration all suggestions and be happy to talk to the leadership on both sides of the aisle as to whether that suggestion is the most appropriate way. We have engaged in negotiations and attempts to satisfy both sides over the last 4 months, 5 months, since these unprecedented filibusters came before this body. After 214 years of a threshold of 50 votes, all of a sudden, in the last Congress, it was radically changed by the other side to become 60 votes, denying the sort of people--a little bit akin to what we just heard over the last few minutes, where I am trying to move to a qualified nominee, Priscilla Owen, and we hear these attempts to delay, even right now, and to sidetrack and consider somebody else. That is the challenge. That is why we are on the floor of the Senate, with the light of day, with the American people watching at this point, to take it to the body of the Senate and ask that fundamental question: Is Priscilla Owen out of the mainstream? Eighty-four percent of Texans think she is in the mainstream. Are 84 percent of Texans out of the mainstream? If the answer to that question is, no, they are not out of the mainstream, then all we want is a vote, an up-or-down vote--accept, reject; confirm, yes, no. That is all we are asking for. We do not want the constitutional option. We did not ask for the constitutional option.…”