William H. Frist: “I rise today as the leader of majority party of the Senate, but I do not rise for party. I rise for principle. I rise…”

“I rise today as the leader of majority party of the Senate, but I do not rise for party. I rise for principle. I rise for the principle that judicial nominees with the support of the majority of Senators deserve up-or-down votes on this floor. Debate the nominee for 5 hours, debate the nominee for 50 hours, vote for the nominee, vote against the nominee, confirm the nominee, reject the nominee, but in the end vote. Senators, colleagues, let's do our duty and vote. Judicial nominees deserve an up-or-down vote. In this debate we will discuss two of the President's judicial nominees. These outstanding nominees, Priscilla Owen and Janice Rogers Brown, had the support of a majority of Senators in the last Congress, but they were denied, they were denied up or down votes. I expect we will also discuss such consequential topics as the meaning of the Constitution and Senate rules and procedures. No doubt this will be a spirited debate, as it should be. And I also hope it will be a decisive debate. So let us begin. In the last Congress, for the first time in history a minority of Senators obstructed the principle of a fair up-or-down vote on judicial nominees. That was unprecedented. Never in 214 years of Senate history had a judicial nominee with majority support been denied an up-or-down vote. Yet it happened--again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again.…”