Newswise — The Senate showdown over President Bush's judicial nominations is about to come to a head, according to Rowan University political science professor and presidential scholar Dr. Larry Butler. "It's 'High Noon' in the Senate and neither side is backing down," he said.
A standoff over judicial nominees has been imminent since the November election strengthened the Republican majority in the Senate. Now conservative activists insist Republicans use that majority power to permanently eliminate the Democrats' ability to filibuster judicial nominations. If that happens, liberal activists will demand that Senate Democrats block all legislative activity until Republicans reinstate the judicial filibuster.
"It's turned into a game of high-stakes political 'Chicken'," Butler said. "The side that blinks first will suffer a double loss—it will lose the battle over judges and severely alienate its most ardent supporters and contributors. The big wild card remains how ordinary voters will react. Will they blame one side, both parties, or chalk it up to 'politics as usual?'"
Dr. Larry Butler has written several articles in the congressional newspaper. "The Hill," on judicial nominations and is the author of Claiming the Mantle: How Presidential Nominations Are Won and Lost Before the Votes Are Cast (Westview Press). As assistant professor of political science at Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J., Butler teaches courses in American government, Congress, campaigns and elections, the Presidency, political science research methods, and political parties and interest groups.
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