Ha! Frist hypocrisy in Technicolor. Dig it:

[WilliamPitt]

"The Senate now faces a choice: either we accept a new and destructive practice, or we act to restore constitutional balance."

- Senator Bill Frist, Speech to The Federalist Society, 11/12/04

Senator Bill Frist needs a history lesson. There is nothing new about Senators exercising their Constitutional prerogative to approve judicial nominees. On March 8, 2000, a cloture petition was necessary to obtain a vote on President Clinton's choice for the Ninth Circuit, Richard Paez. After having delayed a vote on the nomination for over four years, Senator Bob Smith (R-N.H.) and 13 other Republicans mounted an unsuccessful filibuster.

Defending his right to filibuster, Senator Smith spoke from the floor of the Senate:

"But don't pontificate on the floor of the Senate and tell me that somehow I am violating the Constitution of the United States of America by blocking a judge or filibustering a judge that I don't think deserves to be on the circuit court because I am going to continue to do it at every opportunity I believe a judge should not be on that court. That is my responsibility. That is my advise and consent role, and I intend to exercise it. I don't appreciate being told that somehow I am violating the Constitution of the United States. I swore to uphold that Constitution, and I am doing it now by standing up and saying what I am saying." (March 7, 2000)

Senator Frist voted to continue that filibuster: Vote #37, 106th Congress, Second Session, March 8, 2000

:)

[anarchy1999]

1. Very Sweet Catch, Mr. Pitt! Congrads and thanks for sharing!

WOW! n/t

[ElectroPrincess]

6. Kudos Galore!

You brighted my "political outlook" today. :-)

[bushisanidiot]

2. Repukes are lying hypocrites. They want to take their ball and go home

because they don't know how to think for themselves and actually DEBATE. They just want to win and the only way they can win is to CHANGE THE RULES!

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.. it's happening before our eyes.

[TahitiNut]

3. Obergruppenfuhrer Frist sacrifices his soul for the Reich!

Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! :puke:

[wellst0nev0ter]

4. Didn't Frist Lie About That Vote Too?

Saying it was an "attempted filibuster" or something like that?

[redqueen]

5. HA HA!

Hypocrites, all of 'em.

[swag]

7. Q: Was it Gordon Smith (R-OR) whose filibuster Frist voted for?

Thanks in advance. Gordon seems key on the nukular option is why I ask.

[redqueen]

8. .

:kick:

[WilliamPitt]

9. This is what DU used to be good for.

Once upon a time.

[oasis]

10. Book 'im Danno.

[FreedomAngel82]

11. What a hypocritical moron

God I can't wait till 2006 so he can leave!

[AlmightyTallest]

12. Hypocracy thy name is Frist

...And DeLay and Bush and... I'm just gonna stop myself right there or I'll be up all night.

[FreedomAngel82]

13. Everybody needs

to Email this to Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean and Harry Reid so they can send this out to everybody on the democratic side so they can use this!

[tritsofme]

14. Its a dance that rotates depending on who is in power

When Democrats are in power and Republicans obstruct their agenda they lecture the opposition on how horrid the filibuster is, and when the tables flip, so does the rhetoric.

Ultimately no majority is permanent, and the filibuster protects the rights of the minority party, who without it could wage a tyranny with 51% backing leaving the other 49% with no representation.

In the long run, it is in neither party's favor to eliminate the filibuster, even though we are going to be tempted some day when we have a Democratic President and a razor thin Senate majority.

[bigtree]

15. Center for American Progress brought Frist and Paez up January 4, 2005

Frist's Hypocritical and Dishonest Attack on Democracy

January 4, 2005

Documents obtained by American Progress show Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist participated in an effort to block one of Bill Clinton's judicial nominees via filibuster, then lied about it.

In recent weeks, Frist has been relentlessly preaching about the evils of judicial filibusters. Speaking to the Federalist Society on November 12, Frist said filibustering judicial nominees is "radical. It is dangerous and it must be overcome." (http://frist.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Speeches.Detail&Speech_id=121) Frist called judicial filibusters "nothing less than a formula for tyranny by the minority." When Bill Clinton was President, however, Frist engaged in the same behavior he is now condemning.

In 1996 Clinton nominated Judge Richard Paez to the 9th Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals. Conservatives in Congress held up Paez's nomination for more than four years, culminating in an attempted filibuster on March 8, 2000. Bill Frist was among those who voted to filibuster Paez. (http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=106&session=2&vote=00037)

Frist was directly confronted with this vote by Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation (11/21/04). Schieffer said "Senator, a group called The American Progress Action Fund sent me a question to ask you. And here's what it says: 'Senator Frist, if you oppose the use of the filibuster for judicial nominations, why did you vote to filibuster Judge Richard Paez when President Clinton nominated him to the 9th Circuit?'" (http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/face_112104.pdf) Frist replied "Filibuster, cloture, it gets confusing--as a scheduling or to get more information is legitimate. But no to kill nominees."

But American Progress has obtained a document that proves Frist was not, as he suggested, voting to filibuster Paez for scheduling purposes or to get more information. He voted to filibuster Paez for the very reason he said was illegitimate – to block Paez's nomination indefinitely.

On March 9, 2000, Former Senator Bob Smith (R-NH) issued a press release describing the intent of the Paez filibuster vote the day before. The release says Senator Smith "built a coalition of several moderate and conservative Senators in an effort to block" Paez's nomination. (http://www.americanprogressaction.org/atf/cf/%7b65464111-BB20-4C7D-B1C9-0B033DD31B63%7d/SMITH_113004.PDF) Frist was a part of that coalition. Smith did not organize the filibuster to get more information on Paez (after all his nomination had been pending for four years). He organized the filibuster because he had already decided Paez was "out of the mainstream of political though and...should be on the court"

Smith's press release: http://www.americanprogressaction.org/atf/cf/%7b65464111-BB20-4C7D-B1C9-0B033DD31B63%7d/SMITH_113004.PDF