Senate Democrats develop new filibuster strategy

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Senate Democrats are in the early stages of several filibusters against executive nominees that they hope will be more effective than those they have abandoned in recent weeks against President Bush's judicial appointments.

The new filibusters are not based publicly on ideologies -- as with several of the nominees to the federal bench -- but on demands for additional information from the administration.

Already stalled under that strategy is John R. Bolton, Mr. Bush's pick to be ambassador to the United Nations.

Also, Democrats led by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts stopped a federal appeals court nominee last week by demanding that more of his unpublished legal opinions be provided to them.

Mr. Bush nominated U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle of North Carolina more than four years ago to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond. Judge Boyle had a hearing more than three months ago and has been scheduled numerous times for a Senate Judiciary Committee vote.

Last week, however, Democrats on the Judiciary Committee demanded that Judge Boyle's nomination wait another week and that the Bush administration produce more of his unpublished opinions. Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, reluctantly agreed.

"Senator Kennedy was very upset with the failure of the unpublished opinions to be unearthed, or at least some of them," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat.

Mr. Schumer was asked whether Democrats would filibuster Judge Boyle if Republicans don't produce additional unpublished opinions.

"We'll have to see what happens," he said. "First, we want to see if there's a good-faith effort to get them. It is hard to get unpublished opinions.

"Second, when we get them, if there's no smoking gun it's not going to matter," Mr. Schumer said. "If we think there really is a smoking gun -- that we need more time to go forward -- so be it."