WP: High Court Nominee to Face Diverse Senate Panel

[Pirate Smile]

High Court Nominee to Face Diverse Senate Panel

By Charles Babington and Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, July 10, 2005; Page A01

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Over four days of televised hearings later this summer, the Senate Judiciary Committee will dig for information and frame the debate that will largely determine whether the full Senate embraces President Bush's nominee or splits down the middle, possibly embarking on a filibuster.

Republicans, as the majority party, hold clear advantages. They have 10 committee members, including the chairman, to the Democrats' eight; a larger staff; and 55 of the full Senate's 100 seats. But Democrats have an edge that may loom large in the highly visible, keenly politicized struggle: Their committee members are considerably more experienced and unified than the Republicans. All but two have participated in Supreme Court confirmations, and those two -- Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) and Richard J. Durbin (Ill.) -- are glib, media-savvy lawyers.

By contrast, only three of the 10 Republicans have handled a Supreme Court nomination. Party veterans who oversaw past Supreme Court confirmations, such as Strom Thurmond (S.C.) and Alan K. Simpson (Wyo.), have been replaced by greener members.

"The gravitas gap will be an issue if Democrats decide to go to the mat about somebody," said Howard M. Wasserman, a law professor at Florida International University in Miami. "The experience that senators have on the Democratic side . . . could affect the tone of the hearings -- respectful, but tough, inquisatorial."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/09/AR2005070901394.html