Judicial Filibuster Compromise

24 May 2005

I thank you for your courage to break party ranks and compromise with your Democrat colleagues to get the nominees an up or down vote and allow a return to other matters of concern to the American people. I deeply appreciate your concern and willingness to take the nasty barbs you are receiving from our Republican Party.

I am a moderate Republican from Chicago and I have enjoyed watching you grow in your role as a Senator. Those who say you have changed are right to a small degree, but you must adapt when elected to the Senate because it is different from the House, which is by nature more partisan. The Senate thrives on compromise.

I wish you to stand firm and I urge your constituents, who are upset with you to honor your independence because this is an important characteristic of a Senator. It is also important for a leader. I believe you are a wonderful leader.

It is also important for the survival of the nomination process that we stand up to the interest groups that caused the "blow up." These groups almost led us down a road from which there would have been no return. I appreciate you not following even though you were a "Yes" vote, which makes it an even larger point of pride that you did not just follow but chose to work with colleagues, including Mr. McCain that wanted something better for the Senate and the country.

I believe the compromise is the first step in improving the nomination process, which needs to be looked at from the top down. I agree that the President, regardless of which party or how big of a majority elected him, should consult at minimum with the Judiciary Committee and the home state Senators of a Judicial nominee before they are nominated because this would give an idea of the level of support they have among these 12 individuals. It would not exclude conservative nominees, as some will claim.

The compromise will also lead to better working arrangements. I trust the 14 of you to see to it that we do not end up back down this road in a few months. I do not feel that this was in any way a power grab or for personal gain. It was for the best of the country.

I respect and honor your independence. I admire what I see. I wish we all valued the independence of elected officials and could disagree without being nasty about it. I feel the emotions are still high on this and wish that things would calm down.

Thank you for your courage. There is no doubt that you did the right thing. Please keep doing the business of all the American people.