Word: waller
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Senate voted on the confirmation of John Ashcroft as U.S. attorney general. Despite a barrage of vocal opposition from liberal groups and several Democrat Senators, the chamber, split 50-50 between the two parties, was long expected to give the controversial nominee the nod. TIME congressional correspondent Douglas Waller, who's been keeping a close eye on the proceedings, explains what's what now that the votes are tallied...
...Waller: Yes. Most people predicted there'd probably be about 42 Democrats voting against Ashcroft, and all 50 Republicans to vote in favor of confirmation. And today, that's what happened...
...Waller: It is - every Senate Republican will vote for Ashcroft, and every Democrat will at least express reservations about the nomination, and there could be 40 of them voting against it. At this point, all Democrats want is to keep Ashcroft on a short leash once he's at the Justice Department. They want him to know they'll be keeping an eye out for any movement that betrays Ashcroft's personal ideology...
...Waller: Liberal groups were very happy to have the past weekend to mobilize support against Ashcroft. But they came away with mixed results, because conservative groups were also very active over the last few days rallying support for the nominee...
...Waller: Senator Kennedy now says he won't filibuster the nomination, so there will probably be a vote Thursday. This is what Daschle wanted; even though he plans to vote against Ashcroft, Daschle has made it very clear he's not in favor of filibusters on Cabinet nominations - in part because he shares some Democrats' worry that if the process is too harrowing, the worm could turn. And a future Democratic president's liberal Cabinet nominee could face the same kind of attacks...