Senator Boxer on Lou Dobbs

Transcript

"DOBBS: Senator, negotiations have been going on. We're being told in rather stark terms that this is critically important to the Republican Party and leadership and majority. We're being told by the Democrats it's a constitutional crisis.

In point of fact, this is a confrontation that would be unnecessary if the Democrats would back off of the judicial nominations as the venue for the filibuster, wouldn't it?

BOXER: Well, Lou, you are talking the Republican line here which is your prerogative to do. We have confirmed 208 of President Bush's nominees for the court. We have stopped ten. Now that number is actually a little lower, but we'll stick with the ten. That's 95 percent.

And I would say to you, Lou, just in your life if CNN gave you 95 percent of what you wanted and your family did, and the same for me, I'd have a smile on my face. But if you really wanted everything, if you had that arrogance that you wanted 100 percent, you wouldn't be happy. And what we're fighting here is an arrogance of power that isn't good for the country, because these judges that we have stopped are way out of the mainstream.

DOBBS: Well, now, senator, you and I are having a face off. And I'm going to force that, taking the Republican line on some of this. But let me quote something you said eight years ago.

BOXER: Sure.

DOBBS: According to the -- if we could put that up it would be great -- "according to the U.S. constitution, the president nominates and the Senate will provide advice and consent. It is not the role of the Senate to obstruct the process and prevent numbers of highly qualified nominees from even being given the opportunity for a vote on the Senate floor." One Senator, Barbara Boxer on May 14, 1997.

BOXER: I stand by that. You have to understand that 61 of president Clinton nominees never got out of committee. They were pocket filibustered. These nominees have all had votes. Priscilla Owens has had four votes on the Senate floor. She just didn't make the 60 vote cut.

Janice Rogers Brown, someone who I know pretty well in terms -- I don't know her personally, but I know her record, way out of the mainstream from California, had a vote. Didn't make the cut of 60.

So what I was talking about is the fact that the Judiciary Committee wasn't even allowing us to have this vote to see if we could get to 60 with some of the nominees."