Frist Rallies Filibuster Foes

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said it was not "radical" to ask senators to vote on judicial nominees as he hardened his effort to strip Democrats of their power to stall President George W. Bush's picks for the federal court.

Frist, speaking at an event organized by Christian groups trying to rally churchgoers to support an end to judicial filibusters, also said judges deserve "respect, not retaliation," no matter how they rule.

A potential candidate for the White House in 2008, the Tennessee Republican made no overt mention of religion in the brief address, according to his videotaped remarks played on giant television screens to an audience estimated at 1,700 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Instead, Frist seemed intent on steering clear of the views expressed by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and other conservatives in and out of Congress who have urged investigations and even possible impeachment of judges they describe as activists.

"Our judiciary must be independent, impartial and fair," said Frist, who was not present at the event.

"When we think judicial decisions are outside mainstream American values, we will say so. But we must also be clear that the balance of power among all three branches requires respect — not retaliation. I won't go along with that," Frist said.

For months, Frist has threatened to take action that would shut down the Democrats' practice of subjecting a small number of judicial appointees to filibusters. Barring a last-minute compromise, a showdown is expected this spring or summer.

"I don't think it's radical to ask senators to vote. I don't think it's radical to expect senators to fulfill their constitutional responsibilities," said Frist, whom Democrats have accused of engaging in "radical Republican" politics.

"Either confirm the nominees or reject them," Frist said. "Don't leave them hanging."

While Frist focused only on the filibuster issue, Focus on the Family founder and chairman Dr. James Dobson broadened his criticism and bashed the Supreme Court during his remarks, reports Steve Chaggaris of the CBS News Political Unit.

Dobson said that there's a "majority on the Supreme Court" that is "unelected and unaccountable and arrogant and imperious and determined to redesign the culture according to their own biases and values and they're out of control. And I think they need to be reigned in."

The broadcast, entitled "Justice Sunday – Stopping the Filibuster Against People of Faith," was also billed as a "call to action." During the program, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins urged those in attendance to call GOP senators on the fence regarding the filibuster issue – those senators who Dobson branded "squishy" Republicans, reports Chaggaris. Among those Perkins targeted were Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Richard Lugar, R-Indiana.

While a majority of the Senate is sufficient to confirm a judge, it takes 60 votes under Senate rules to overcome a filibuster and force a final vote.

Rather than change the rules directly, Frist and other Republicans have threatened to seek an internal Senate ruling that would declare that filibusters are not permitted against judicial nominees.