Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Estrada Nomination

Aired March 06, 2003 - 11:10   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I want to turn to another breaking news story taking place on Capitol Hill, and that has to do with Miguel Estrada, a man that many Republicans would like to see sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. A vote has taken place in the Senate, which the Republicans lost. Turns out that might be just how they planned it.
Let's bring in our Bill Schneider to explain more about that.

Bill, good morning.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: How exactly did -- first of all, let's take a step back, for those who aren't following as closely politicos like you do. Miguel Estrada -- why important to Republicans to see him in this court?

SCHNEIDER: Well, this is an important nomination. The district court in the District of Columbia, the circuit court of the District of Columbia is a crucial court. It hears a lot of cases involving significant constitutional decisions about the federal government. He is a young man of Hispanic origin, born in Honduras, went to Harvard Law School, has the highest rating for the American Bar Association.

But Democrats say they don't have enough information about him, that he refuses to attend another public hearing to answer more questions or release documents of memos that he wrote when he was an associate in the Justice Department during the Clinton administration.

They claim that they don't know enough about him to give him what is, in effect, lifetime employment for someone who is just 42 years old.

KAGAN: OK, so there's been this filibuster. The Democrats trying to filibuster to keep this vote from taking place. The Republicans trying to push a vote to end the filibuster did not have the votes, but they knew that going in. This was all kind of trying to embarrass the Democrats publicly, isn't it?

SCHNEIDER: What they're trying to put pressure on the Democrats really from two sources, one is the public, saying to the Democrats, why won't you let a vote occur on President Bush's nominee? The fact is, they need 60 votes to break the filibuster, but just 50 votes to confirm. Fifty-five senators voted to end the filibuster. That's called cloture. All the Republicans, 51, plus four Democrats, 44 votes were against. They were all Democratic, except for one independent, Jim Jeffords.

Interesting, one Democrat did not vote. He's in the hospital, Bob Graham, recovering from heart surgery. His colleague, Bill Nelson, also a Democrat, voted yes, voted for cloture, because there are a lot of Hispanic voters in Florida, and the Hispanic community appears to be split on this nomination. A lot of Democrats are saying, dare we defy the Hispanic community and not vote to support a Hispanic nominee.

KAGAN: And so where does it go from here? It's still in filibuster?

SCHNEIDER: It goes on.

KAGAN: It just goes and goes.

SCHNEIDER: And Republicans say that they will have vote after vote after vote to try to wear the Democrats down. So far they got four Democrats voting with the Republicans. They need another five and they expect, as the votes continue, public pressure, plus pressure from Hispanic constituents may wear the Democrats down.

KAGAN: OK, we'll continue to track it. Just help me here. This is kind of the same story, just the players and the sides change -- when it was the Democrats in power, they complained that Republicans were holding up the judgeships. Just kind of goes back and forth doesn't it?

SCHNEIDER: That's always true. And you get the charges, what's called litmus testing going back and forth, each side saying, we want to know exactly how the nominee is going to vote on issues, and the other side saying, that's an improper question, all you want to know is, is this person qualified to be a judge. Don't ask too many detailed questions about how he or she is going to vote. They can't answer those.

KAGAN: They are qualified if they agree with you, I think is how it works in Washington.

Bill, thanks for your input. Appreciate it, as always.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired March 6, 2003 - 11:10   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I want to turn to another breaking news story taking place on Capitol Hill, and that has to do with Miguel Estrada, a man that many Republicans would like to see sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. A vote has taken place in the Senate, which the Republicans lost. Turns out that might be just how they planned it.
Let's bring in our Bill Schneider to explain more about that.

Bill, good morning.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: How exactly did -- first of all, let's take a step back, for those who aren't following as closely politicos like you do. Miguel Estrada -- why important to Republicans to see him in this court?

SCHNEIDER: Well, this is an important nomination. The district court in the District of Columbia, the circuit court of the District of Columbia is a crucial court. It hears a lot of cases involving significant constitutional decisions about the federal government. He is a young man of Hispanic origin, born in Honduras, went to Harvard Law School, has the highest rating for the American Bar Association.

But Democrats say they don't have enough information about him, that he refuses to attend another public hearing to answer more questions or release documents of memos that he wrote when he was an associate in the Justice Department during the Clinton administration.

They claim that they don't know enough about him to give him what is, in effect, lifetime employment for someone who is just 42 years old.

KAGAN: OK, so there's been this filibuster. The Democrats trying to filibuster to keep this vote from taking place. The Republicans trying to push a vote to end the filibuster did not have the votes, but they knew that going in. This was all kind of trying to embarrass the Democrats publicly, isn't it?

SCHNEIDER: What they're trying to put pressure on the Democrats really from two sources, one is the public, saying to the Democrats, why won't you let a vote occur on President Bush's nominee? The fact is, they need 60 votes to break the filibuster, but just 50 votes to confirm. Fifty-five senators voted to end the filibuster. That's called cloture. All the Republicans, 51, plus four Democrats, 44 votes were against. They were all Democratic, except for one independent, Jim Jeffords.

Interesting, one Democrat did not vote. He's in the hospital, Bob Graham, recovering from heart surgery. His colleague, Bill Nelson, also a Democrat, voted yes, voted for cloture, because there are a lot of Hispanic voters in Florida, and the Hispanic community appears to be split on this nomination. A lot of Democrats are saying, dare we defy the Hispanic community and not vote to support a Hispanic nominee.

KAGAN: And so where does it go from here? It's still in filibuster?

SCHNEIDER: It goes on.

KAGAN: It just goes and goes.

SCHNEIDER: And Republicans say that they will have vote after vote after vote to try to wear the Democrats down. So far they got four Democrats voting with the Republicans. They need another five and they expect, as the votes continue, public pressure, plus pressure from Hispanic constituents may wear the Democrats down.

KAGAN: OK, we'll continue to track it. Just help me here. This is kind of the same story, just the players and the sides change -- when it was the Democrats in power, they complained that Republicans were holding up the judgeships. Just kind of goes back and forth doesn't it?

SCHNEIDER: That's always true. And you get the charges, what's called litmus testing going back and forth, each side saying, we want to know exactly how the nominee is going to vote on issues, and the other side saying, that's an improper question, all you want to know is, is this person qualified to be a judge. Don't ask too many detailed questions about how he or she is going to vote. They can't answer those.

KAGAN: They are qualified if they agree with you, I think is how it works in Washington.

Bill, thanks for your input. Appreciate it, as always.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com