Reid's Office Denies 'Soft Filibuster' Effort -- GOPUSA

Reid's Office Denies 'Soft Filibuster' Effort
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
January 6, 2006

(CNSNews.com) -- Sen. Harry Reid's office says news reports that Reid will delay a committee vote on Judge Samuel Alito are "inaccurate."

Jim Manley, a spokesman for the Senate minority leader, issued a statement Thursday, saying, "No decision has been made regarding a Senate Judiciary Committee rule that permits any committee member to request a one-week postponement of a committee vote."

Reports surfaced on Thursday that Reid had told Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist that Democrats would delay the committee vote. As word spread, Judge Alito's supporters offered an angry response.

Fidelis, a pro-life, Catholic advocacy group, accused Reid of launching a "soft filibuster" of Judge Alito's nomination.

"This may be an attempt by Senator Reid to test the waters for a full-blown filibuster of Judge Alito's nomination on the Senate floor," warned Fidelis President Joseph Cella.

The Associated Press, quoting Senate leadership aides, reported on Thursday that Senate Democrats planned to delay the Judiciary Committee's vote on the Alito nomination by at least one week.

Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) has said he hopes to hold a committee vote on Jan. 17, eight days after the start of Alito's confirmation hearings.

But according to the AP report, Senate Minority Leader Reid told Majority Leader Frist that "Democrats will invoke their right to hold the Alito committee vote over for one week." The Associated Press said the aides "spoke on conditions of anonymity because the move had not been announced yet."

"Creating such undignified ill-will even before the hearings began is very unbecoming of the Senate," Fidelis responded.

Alito, who has received the American Bar Association's highest rating, is expected to face a more contentious questioning than Judge John Roberts did prior to his confirmation as Supreme Court chief justice.