On Hardball last night Sen. Joe Biden said he thought the filibuster compromise “was fine.”
It avoided a showdown that I was not sure we could win. Had we lost the showdown, had we lost the filibuster, I think the nation would have been damaged. The function of the Senate would have been altered. So I think it was—it was fine.
But if you liked the deal, Chris Matthews asked, “why did you vote against cloture today on the Priscilla Owen nomination?” (Biden was one of 18 Democrats who voted against cloture yesterday.)
His answer was revealing.
BIDEN: Well, because I find that it is much harder to explain why you change your vote than why you keep your vote the way it was. I voted against cloture before on her. Had there been—had I been part of that deal, I told them I would vote for Priscilla Owen, but I could not bring myself to vote for any cloture on Janice Rogers Brown and Mr. Pryor, who I do think are extreme. I don‘t think that Priscilla Owen is particularly extreme. I think she is not a good choice, but I don‘t think she‘s extreme.
Resist the temptation to say that Biden voted against her because … he had already voted against her. (Well, O.K. Don’t resist, but don’t stop there.) What I find interesting is that Biden voted against cloture, and then voted against her, even though he doesn’t think she is extreme.
Why did Sen. Biden think Owen “not a good choice” even though she is not extreme? She may well be more conservative than Sen. Biden would like, but is that now a disqualification for serving on the appellate bench?
Biden said earlier (April 24) on This Week that “The filibuster has always been available to stop extremes” and that “These seven [Circuit Court nominees being blocked by the Dems, notably including Priscilla Owen] are in that category.”
Thus Sen. Biden apparently opposed Priscilla Owen initially because he regarded her as extreme, and he continued to support filibusters against her because he had opposed her earlier, even though he now does not think she is extreme, merely a poor choice.
Glad we got that cleared up, especially given all the effort that will shortly be made to define and refine the “extraordinary circumstances” that justify filibusters.
At least Bidn was being consistent. I had a problem with those Senators who changed their cloture vote. After all what happened that all of a sudden a vote would be possible on a nomination?
Even if they had allowed this nomination to go through earlier the fillibuser is still and always was an alternative. All they they was recognize that they did not have the votes.