Boxer: Filibuster Revisted - Anyone Surprised ?

"Democrats are prepared to filibuster to block any anti-abortion nominee proposed to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said Tuesday.

'The filibuster is on the table. It's been on the table for 200 years,' Boxer said when asked what methods could be used to block a Supreme Court candidate who would seek to overturn Roe v. Wade, the three-decade old decision legalizing abortion.

O'Connor retired from the Supreme Court last week, opening a vacancy that could swing the court's balance. President Bush gets his first chance to nominate a judge to the nation's highest court.

Bush, who has nominated numerous conservatives to fill federal appeals court vacancies, has said he admires Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, the two most conservative members of today's generally conservative court. Both would overturn the Roe v. Wade decision.

Seven Democrats and seven Republicans signed a pact this spring pledging not to filibuster judicial nominees except in extraordinary circumstances, and three judges whose nominations had been held up were soon confirmed."