Sure enough, the Senate Republicans brought Bill Pryor’s judicial nomination to the Senate floor today, and sure enough, Dems blocked a vote with a filibuster.
The GOP needed 60 votes to break the filibuster and approve Pryor’s nomination to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. They came up seven short.
Alas, this does not mean the Pryor nomination is gone forever. The Senate majority can bring him back for a vote over and over again. In fact, they’ve done just that with Miguel Estrada’s judicial nomination. They brought him to the floor, Dems filibustered. So the Republicans waited a few months and brought his nomination to the floor again, and Dems filibustered again. This has happened seven times. (Do the Republicans think the Dems will suddenly change their minds? “We filibustered him the last six times, but since you’ve brought him back for a seventh, we’ve decided to vote for him this time.”)
Some Republicans refuse to give up on the accusations of anti-Catholic bigotry. Today it was Sen. Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum (R-Pa.) charging, “This litmus test that is being applied is ultimately, is ultimately a religious one.” At least Santorum actually is Catholic, as opposed to some of the others who have leveled the baseless accusation. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) responded to Santorum’s claim by saying it was “beneath the dignity of the Senate.”