Senate Stopping Clinton Judicial Picks, How?

[Boudica]

OK DUers simple question for a Saturday morning. With the Republicans in control of the Senate in the late 90's they stopped many of President Clinton's nominations for judicial vacancies from getting to the Senate Judiciary Committee. I don't think they used the filibuster. I think that if a Senator from the state where the court was did not approve of the nominee the senator could put a hold on the nomination at the committee would not hold hearings. I seem to remember this was called a "blue card" but I could be wrong. I would like to know when the rules changed.

This information is needed now. Every Democratic party organization needs to expose the Republican senators hypocrisy. on judicial nominations.

[kentuck]

1. It was changed when the Republicans won the Senate...

After 1994.

[Boudica]

2. Thanks Kentuck, BUT...

I still want to know if a single senator could stop a nominee from being considered by the committee. Frist is howling about all of Bush's nominees deserve to be voted on by the entire Senate, when Clinton's nominees could be barred from the committee by a single senator with no reason given.

[Toots]

4. The blue card could only be used by a senator from the state of the nomine

The rules have always given much leeway to the home state Senators. I guess they feel a Senator from the same state would have more knowlege of the person than the average Joe. Also when you control the Majority you can table things in committee that the minority can not do. Republicans had majority during clinton's term and still have it now which ties the hands of the Democrats. By eliminating the Filibuster they are not just denying Democrats in the Senate a voice but they are going against the fundammentals of the Republic. They are soooo fond of saying we are not a Democracy but a Republic. Well by denying the Democrats a voice they are in affect denying Those Senators home states Representation in congress which goes against what America stands for where even the poor and downtrowden have representation. The Democrats actually represent half the population or better but yet have no voice. they are locked out of meetings and not allowed Ammendments to be discussed. They are given no time to study bills before voting. Republicans are destroying American government in their lust for absolute power. I keep hearing that old saying "The bigger they are the harder they fall" I am longing to hear them fall.

[seaglass]

3. They were called blue slips. In the 1990s Hatch used the blue slips

to require that both home state Senators sign them before a nominee would move forward in the proceedings, there were Repub Senators who didn't return blue slips for years.

Once Bush got in, Hatch changed the blue slip procedure so that if any Dem did not return the blue slip - the nominee could still go forward in the process.

http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=7611

[Boudica]

5. Blue slips not blue cards...

No wonder I could not find anything. :)

New question then, should we loudly publicize that the republicans changed the rule when Bush took power?