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American Morning
30-Hour GOP Talk-a-thon Extended
Aired November 14, 2003 - 08:11 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.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, back here at home, they are still going at it in the Senate. The 30 hour talkathon the GOP calls Justice for Judges was extended. It continues at this hour. Right now you're looking at Lindsey Graham, Republican from South Carolina, senator, talking.
CNN's Kathleen Koch is on Capitol Hill this morning with the latest -- Kathleen, good morning.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Anderson.
Well, they just keep going and going. But the hope is that it will all finally be over in the next hour or two. All of this, of course, a Republican protest of Democrats blocking just a handful of President Bush's judicial nominees from Alabama, Texas and Mississippi. Democrats have also announced an intention to block two from California this morning.
President Bush met Thursday at the White House with three of those nominees, accusing Democrats of playing politics. And Republicans are insisting those nominees are not extremists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I don't believe that Justice Brown is radical. I don't think 76 percent of the people in California would have voted for her if she was radical. I think the attacks against her have been radical.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: But Democrats point out that they have approved 168 of President Bush's nominees and that they can't be faulted for blocking what they consider a few ideologues who they believe are out of the mainstream. Democrats also point out that this is far better treatment than President Clinton's judicial nominees got at the hands of Senate Republicans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: The senator from Pennsylvania has political amnesia. He comes to the floor this morning and forgets that 63 of President Clinton's nominees never even received a hearing, not even the dignity of a hearing.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KOCH: Well, Democrats insist that this filibuster is not only wasting money, overtime for police and for staffers here, but it's wasting precious time that could be better spent on debating issues like unemployment, the situation in Iraq or a Medicare prescription drug plan -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right, and the debate goes on.
KOCH: And it does.
COOPER: Kathleen Koch, thanks very much.
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 November 14, 2003 - 08:11 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, back here at home, they are still going at it in the Senate. The 30 hour talkathon the GOP calls Justice for Judges was extended. It continues at this hour. Right now you're looking at Lindsey Graham, Republican from South Carolina, senator, talking.
CNN's Kathleen Koch is on Capitol Hill this morning with the latest -- Kathleen, good morning.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Anderson.
Well, they just keep going and going. But the hope is that it will all finally be over in the next hour or two. All of this, of course, a Republican protest of Democrats blocking just a handful of President Bush's judicial nominees from Alabama, Texas and Mississippi. Democrats have also announced an intention to block two from California this morning.
President Bush met Thursday at the White House with three of those nominees, accusing Democrats of playing politics. And Republicans are insisting those nominees are not extremists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I don't believe that Justice Brown is radical. I don't think 76 percent of the people in California would have voted for her if she was radical. I think the attacks against her have been radical.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: But Democrats point out that they have approved 168 of President Bush's nominees and that they can't be faulted for blocking what they consider a few ideologues who they believe are out of the mainstream. Democrats also point out that this is far better treatment than President Clinton's judicial nominees got at the hands of Senate Republicans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: The senator from Pennsylvania has political amnesia. He comes to the floor this morning and forgets that 63 of President Clinton's nominees never even received a hearing, not even the dignity of a hearing.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KOCH: Well, Democrats insist that this filibuster is not only wasting money, overtime for police and for staffers here, but it's wasting precious time that could be better spent on debating issues like unemployment, the situation in Iraq or a Medicare prescription drug plan -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right, and the debate goes on.
KOCH: And it does.
COOPER: Kathleen Koch, thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
