William H. Frist: “throughout the judicial obstruction debate, emotions have run high on both sides. This should remind us all, once again…”

“throughout the judicial obstruction debate, emotions have run high on both sides. This should remind us all, once again, of the need to return to civility in our Nation's Capitol. The American people want their elected leaders to work together to find solutions. To them, doing what is Republican or Democrat matters far less than doing what is right for America. Let me briefly discuss how we got here. Never, in 214 years--never, in the history of the Senate--has a judicial nominee with majority support been denied an up-or-down vote until 2 years ago. In the last Congress, the President submitted 34 appeals court nominees to the Senate. A minority of Senators denied 10 of those nominations and threatened to deny another 6 up-or-down votes. They would not allow votes because they knew the nominees would be confirmed and become judges. The nominees had the support of a majority of Senators. Now, in this new Congress, the same minority says it will continue to obstruct votes on judges. Even worse, if they don't get their way, they threaten to shut down the Senate and obstruct Government. Throughout this debate, we have held firm to a simple principle: Judicial nominees deserve up-or-down votes. Vote for them, vote against them, but give them the courtesy of a vote. Yet judicial nominees have not been given that courtesy. They have gone 2, 3, or even 4 years without a vote.…”