''Judicial nominees are being denied. Justice is being denied. The solution is simple, allow senators to do their jobs and vote," Frist said in a speech on the Senate floor.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he would look at Frist's offer, but wasn't charitable in his description. ''It's a big wet kiss to the far right," he said.
Reid said that Frist's offer would mean that Democrats would lose their ability to block Bush nominees, a condition he is not willing to accept. ''After 100 hours the rights of the minority are extinguished," he responded in a corresponding Senate speech. ''This has never been about the lengths of the debate. This is about checks and balances."
Frist suggested in a letter yesterday to Reid that he would be willing to set time limits on committee consideration of nominees, a proposal that Senator Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, made last year before taking over the Judiciary Committee chairmanship.
Specter suggested that the committee be forced to hold a confirmation hearing within a month of a nomination. The panel would then be forced to hold a confirmation vote within two months of the hearing. The Senate would be forced to start debating the nomination within two months of committee vote, and a final confirmation vote would happen within 30 days.
One of Democrats' biggest complaints has been that more than 60 of President Clinton's nominees were bottled up in committee, leaving positions available for Bush to fill.
Democrats have blocked 10 of Bush's appellate court choices through filibuster threats, which means those nominees would have to get 60 votes in the 100-member Senate before they could be confirmed.
