Senate To Vote On Judge Nominee

Filibuster Compromise Opens Door For Senate Vote On Priscilla Owen

(CBS/AP)  Among the final barriers to a deal, according to officials in both parties, was finding language flexible enough to satisfy Democrats who wanted to say that their right to filibuster had been preserved while allowing Republicans to say they could always go back and seek a change.

In the end, the compromise said senators would filibuster future nominees only under extraordinary circumstances.

It added, "In light of the spirit and continuing commitments made in this agreement," senators would oppose any change in the filibuster guidelines.

If that was good enough for those around the negotiating table, others divined a lack of clarity.

"The jubilation over the deal ... suggests that this is the first time a Band-Aid has been invented," said Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo.

The agreement was clear enough on the fate of Owen and two other stalled nominees, Janice Rogers Brown and William Pryor, guaranteeing them a yes-or-no vote on confirmation. It made no such guarantee for two others, Henry Saad and William Myers, although Republicans promised to press for their approval as well.

The compromise comes as a new poll shows low regard for Congress from the public. Only 29 percent of Americans surveyed in a new CBS News poll approve the work of the Congress, down from 35 percent in April. This was the lowest approval rating for Congress in a CBS News poll since 1996, when Congress was working its way back from the government shut down and the Republicans were in the doldrums of the Dole campaign.

Apart from the impact on any future nominees, the agreement rearranged the political terrain.

Sen. George Allen, R-Va., a potential presidential contender, criticized the deal as a "major disappointment on principle," since it failed to guarantee a yes-or-no vote for all of Bush's nominees.

Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., also a potential White House contender, sidestepped when asked whether he would have signed the agreement. "Any kind of cooperation is a good place to start," he said.

Frist, also expected to run for the White House, emphasized he had not been a party to the agreement.

While Reid and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., were embracing the agreement, black House Democrats called it "more of a capitulation than a compromise."

"The Congressional Black Caucus strongly opposes the `deal' that trades judges who oppose our civil rights for a temporary filibuster cease-fire," they said.

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean, in an interview with The Associated Press, said, "I would be hesitant to say it's a win for the Democratic Party." That won't become clear, he added, until "we find out if the president consults with the Democrats" on future judicial nominees.

Dean said the deal "was a huge loss for the right wing. ... It was clearly a loss for the president because he was getting accustomed to ramming things through the House and the Senate without any confrontation. It was a win for America because minority rights were supported."

The debate over the agreement overshadowed the rhetoric on the Senate floor about Owen.

"During the last four years, Justice Owen has shown courage, patience and judicial temperament," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, referring to the protracted confirmation struggle. "This irrefutably well-qualified woman will finally take her rightful place on the federal bench.

Reid countered that Owen had "consistently ruled for big business and corporate interests in cases against workers and consumers," and he said he hoped her experience since being nominated would make her "more sensitive to concerns regarding privacy, civil rights and consumer rights."