Political Code Words
Political Code Words or phrases, which on the surface sound reasonable and innocent enough, can be used to bolster a particular partisan agenda.
Code words are presented below along with a brief discussion of their relevant meaning.
The nominee should receive an up-or-down vote in the full Senate
- The nominee should receive an up-or-down vote in the full Senate - an attempt by a majority party to discredit the opposing party's efforts to either block a nominee in committee or filibuster the nomination on the floor of the Senate. Should the nomination come to an up or down vote, it would presumably be passed by the majority. An up or down vote for nominees is neither guaranteed nor required by the Constitution.
According to the Whitehouse website fact sheet on Judicial Nominees: "Every judicial nominee should receive an up-or-down vote in the full Senate, no matter who is President or which party controls the Senate. It is time to move past the partisan politics of the past, and do what is right for the American legal system and the American people." - President George W. Bush, August 1, 2003 [1]
This statement seems to contradict Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution which states: "and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States"
There is much disagreement about the true meaning of "Advice and Consent of the Senate" with opinions ranging all the way from a full rubber stamp approval to a vigorous vetting and examination of the nominee. Use of the filibuster to halt the nomination process is highly controversial, as the filibuster is not provided for in the Constitution, but rather is a long-standing procedural rule in the Senate.
The dilemma over advice and consent nearly developed into a full constitutional crisis in 2005 as the Republican majority leadership proposed to use the "Nuclear option" aka the "Constitutional Option" which would have stripped the minority of their ability to filibuster a nomination of judicial candidates. A bi-partisan group of 14 Senators (the Gang of 14), sufficient in number to prevent a filibuster agreed to refrain from voting for the use of the filibuster or for the use of the Nuclear Option.
Other SourceWatch Resources
External Resources
- "Judicial Confirmation and the Constitution: The issue: What role should the United States Senate play in considering Presidential nominees to be federal judges, especially justices of the the Supreme Court?", Exploring Constitutional Conflicts, accessed December 2006.
