Steven J. Duffield of the Senate Republican Policy Committee e-mails to inform that Senator Frist has proposed a compromise to the Democrats.

The outline is as follows:

Guaranteed up or down votes on judicial nominations

· Circuit Court and Supreme Court nominees will receive an up or down vote on the U.S. Senate floor.

· District Court nominees unaffected—no current problem.

Guaranteed debate time on judicial nominations.

· Up to 100 hours of debate.

· Allows all members an opportunity to have their say.

· This length of debate time was available for members post-cloture until 1986.

Guaranteed reporting from Judiciary Committee to floor.

· Process to ensure nominees come to the floor.

· Sen. Arlen Specter “protocols� are model.

· Committee serves critical investigative and oversight process, and that will continue.

Guaranteed fairness for Senators and nominees.

· No blockade at Committee.

· Full and comprehensive debate.

· Up or down vote on the Senate floor.

Guaranteed protection of the legislative filibuster.

· No changes for legislative matters—all rights of U.S. Senators for legislation preserved.

My guess is that Democrats will be unimpressed, as it really is an agreement for them to disarm in return for 100 hours of debate, something that they theoretically already would have post-cloture. I am not certain really, what the Democrats would gain from this (but I have not fully digested it all yet).

Still, this sets the stage for a rules change if the Democrats reject the offer.