Democrats on Edge Over High Court Vacancy

A bipartisan agreement against congressional filibusters has Democrats edgy as President George Bush mulls a Supreme Court nominee.

The dilemma for the Democrats is that under the 6-week-old deal with the Republicans, they cannot block a confirmation to the high court with a filibuster, and they hold only 44 of the Senate’s 100 seats, not enough to vote a nomination down.

That has party strategists pondering how to flex their political muscle and prevent Bush from naming a strongly conservative candidate to fill the vacancy left by retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

The filibuster pact says a judicial nominee will be filibustered only under extraordinary circumstances, which members told The Washington Post exclude a nominee’s philosophical views. They said a filibuster could be justified only on questions of personal ethics or character.