Orrin Hatch: “As our current majority leader Bill Frist put it a few days ago: I never thought it was a radical thing to ask Senators…”

“As our current majority leader Bill Frist put it a few days ago: I never thought it was a radical thing to ask Senators to vote. That is what we have traditionally done on judicial nominations that reach the floor, and that traditional standard should apply across the board no matter which party controls the White House and no matter which party controls the Senate. We should bind both parties, Republicans and Democrats, to do what is right. That is the diagnosis, and I hope we see an effective cure soon so we can get back to doing the people's business. I started off by saying one of the problems here is that every one of these Presidential nominees who reaches the floor should have an up-or- down vote, especially since they are listed as qualified by the American Bar Association, most of them well qualified, the highest rating you can have. They all have majority bipartisan support. We should not change 214 years of Senate tradition because some in this body don't like President Bush's nominees. People such as Priscilla Owen--she broke through the glass ceiling for women in this country and became a major partner in a major law firm. Her last election to the Texas Supreme Court was over 75 percent. She had every editorial board in the State of Texas supporting her; 15 former State bar presidents supported her, most of whom were Democrats. Yet they have called her an extremist.…”