Are the Democrats threatening a Miers filibuster?

By Aussiegirl

Sen. Ken Salazar, (D) Colorado, was one of the so-called Gang of 14 who reached the agreement that avoided a showdown on the judicial filibuster. He seems to be saying here that Democrats are not ruling out a filibuster if the White House is not more forthcoming on information about Harriet Miers. Has Bush walked into a trap? He nominated the stealthy Miers, about whom virtually nothing is known, in order to avoid a filibuster and achieve an easy up or down vote. He expected the Republicans to fall in line and the Democrats to be unable to muster any sort of opposition, since so little is known about her. But what I see being hinted at here is that Democrats may see this as an opportunity to demand that confidential executive memos and briefing papers be provided, papers for which the president has invoked executive privilege. Is he saying that the democrats may be considering the threat of a filibuster if they are not produced? What else could this mean?

Durango Herald Online

Calling Harriet Miers, "a great mystery woman," U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar said Tuesday in Durango the Supreme Court nominee's confirmation chances are clouded by a lack of information about her background.

"I don't think my Republican or Democrat colleagues in the group of 14 know enough about her," he told a crowd of more than 50 at the Durango Community Recreation Center. "And the White House holds the key to that information."

Earlier this year, Salazar, D-Colo., was one of seven Democrats who joined a bipartisan coalition of 14 senators in an agreement to avoid a showdown over Democratic filibusters of conservative judges. But he would not rule out the possibility that the tenuous pact might crumble if President Bush withholds information about Miers.