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 Republicans Refuse Offer On Judges
 
 By Charles Babington
 
  Senate Republicans rejected a Democratic offer to resolve an impasse over judicial nominees yesterday, as members of both parties said they are under strong pressure from interest groups to hold their ground.
 
 Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said the Democratic proposal was unacceptable because it would force President Bush to withdraw some of his seven long-contested appellate court nominees and give Democrats the right to filibuster future nominees -- possibly including some for the Supreme Court.
 
 "My goal is to have fair up-and-down votes" on all nominees sent to the Senate floor, Frist told reporters. "Are we going to shift from that principle? The answer to that is no."
 
 Frist's comments, and the limited scope of the Democrats' offer, underscore the difficulties that both parties face in trying to resolve a standoff that goes to the heart of conservative and liberal groups' battle to influence the federal judiciary. Democrats say they can accept no deal that eliminates the right to filibuster judges; Republicans say continued filibusters are intolerable.
 
 Bush has renominated seven of the 10 appellate court appointees that Democrats filibustered in his first term, and Democrats have vowed to filibuster them again.
 
 It takes 60 votes in the 100-member Senate to stop the delaying tactic and allow a confirmation vote to occur. Republicans, who hold 55 Senate seats, have threatened to change the chamber's rules to bar filibusters of judicial nominees.
 
 Groups from the left and right warned their Senate allies yesterday not to give in.
 
 "The only acceptable compromise is for Democrats to give up their minority veto by allowing up-or-down votes" on all nominees reaching the full Senate, said Sean Rushton, executive director of the GOP-affiliated Committee for Justice. "Too much has been invested in the argument that the filibuster is wrong in principle, not just because Democrats have overused it."
 
 Nan Aron, head of the liberal Alliance for Justice, said: "While we recognize the Senate's long tradition of deliberation and comity, we cannot sacrifice the independence of our courts for political expediency."
 
 The Democrats' offer would allow three of the seven filibustered nominees to have confirmation votes, which all sides agree they would win. Two -- Richard A. Griffin and David W. McKeague -- are nominated to the Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. A third nominee to that court who has been stalled but not filibustered -- Susan Bieke Neilson -- also would be approved. But a fourth -- Henry W. Saad, who was filibustered last year -- would have to be withdrawn.
 
 For several years in the 1990s, GOP senators denied hearings for two of President Bill Clinton's Michigan nominees to the 6th Circuit, and many Democrats say Bush should not be rewarded by having his nominees fill those slots. But Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) is willing to compromise on the matter, aides said. However, Saad must step aside, Democratic sources said, in part because he wrote an e-mail attacking Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and accidentally sent a copy to her office.
 
 Reid's plan also would allow a confirmation vote for one of the four filibustered nominees described by Democrats as so conservative that they are outside the political mainstream. Aides said Reid's plan did not make it clear who would decide which of the four appellate court nominees would be accepted and which three would be withdrawn. The four are Janice Rogers Brown, nominated for the D.C. Circuit; William H. Pryor Jr., nominated to the 11th Circuit; William Gerry Myers III, nominated to the 9th Circuit; and Priscilla Richman  Owen, nominated to the 5th Circuit.
 
 Reid's proposal also calls for restoring the "blue slip" tradition, which allowed senators to hold up action on a nominee from their state. He also called for a bipartisan panel of former senators to recommend improvements to the judicial nominating process.
 
 In a Senate floor speech, Reid signaled little hope that Republicans would go along.
 
 "Republican leaders don't want compromise," Reid said. "Republican leaders don't want Democrats to have a voice in this debate. Republican leaders don't want any check on their quest for absolute power."
 
 The White House showed no more enthusiasm for Reid's overture than did Frist.
 
 "Our view is that Senate Democrats need to stop playing politics and give all judicial nominees an up-or-down vote," said White House press secretary Scott McClellan. "It's unprecedented, the steps they've gone to prevent highly qualified judges from receiving simply an up-or-down vote on the floor of the United States Senate."
 
 As part of their drive to show a reconciling nature, Senate Democrats have dropped threats to bring virtually all Senate business to a standstill if Republicans change the filibuster rule. Democratic Whip Richard J. Durbin (Ill.) told reporters this week his party would not block national security legislation, spending bills or other measures crucial to running the government.
 
 
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