Vote on Gonzales hints at division

WASHINGTON -- A deeply divided Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday approved the nomination of White House counsel Alberto Gonzales to become attorney general, in a vote Democrats said should serve as a reminder that President Bush won't be able to roll through the opposition party in his second term.

The 10-8 vote was far tighter than is typical for a Cabinet appointment, since senators tend to give presidents leeway in choosing their top advisers. Several Democrats on the Judiciary Committee said they were initially inclined to support Gonzales, but were disappointed that he failed to demonstrate thinking that would keep him independent of Bush while he serves as the nation's top law enforcement official.

Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat who serves on the committee, said the Democrats' united vote should be a warning to the administration and Republican leaders in Congress that Democrats must be consulted on major appointments, and that lawmakers' questions must be answered.

''It shows that when we feel something's wrong, we'll stand up," Schumer said shortly after the vote.

The ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, said he was ''saddened" to oppose Gonzales, but said his apparent condoning of torture contravenes American values and puts US soldiers at risk. Gonzales endorsed a series of memos in 2002 that Democrats believe paved the way for torture in Iraq by American troops, including one in which portions of the Geneva Convention's protections of prisoners of war were referred to as ''obsolete" and ''quaint."

''The attorney general's duty is to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, not to circumvent it," Leahy said. ''The administration has a large and growing accountability deficit, and as this confirmation process draws to a close, I must conclude that the stonewalling continues."

Still, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and his fellow Republicans voted together to approve the nomination, with the chairman praising the ''Horatio Alger story" of Gonzales's upbringing and pointing out that Gonzales has publicly denounced the use of torture by American forces.

Senator Orrin G. Hatch, a Utah Republican, accused Democrats of opposing Gonzales because of political differences with Bush.

''You may not agree with Judge Gonzales, but my gosh, this man is an honorable and decent person who deserves to be confirmed," Hatch said. Gonzales, a former Texas Supreme Court justice, would be the nation's first Hispanic attorney general.

Democratic opposition on the Judiciary Committee will have larger implications when the Senate begins considering Bush's nominations for judgeships. Democrats do not plan to mount a filibuster to prevent Gonzales from being confirmed when the full Senate votes on his appointment next week, but members of the minority party have used such moves in the past to halt some of the president's judicial nominees from moving forward.

Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, said the vote on Gonzales doesn't concern him about the prospects of Bush's judges being confirmed. He said he is working hard to establish more of a bipartisan working relationship on the committee.

''I don't think it has any real bearing," said Specter.

At the same time, Republicans have repeatedly threatened to seek to change Senate rules if Democrats try to hold up judicial nominees as they did during Bush's first term.

Last Friday, majority leader Bill Frist of Tennessee repeated his commitment to get up-or-down votes on judicial appointments, even if it means changing Senate rules to outlaw filibusters in such cases.

''I appeal to my colleagues that we get an up-or-down vote," Frist told reporters. ''As the judges start to come through, we will hope that that is achieved. And if not, I would assume that after discussion we would have to move in the direction of one of the alternatives, of which a rules change is certainly one."

Outlawing of filibusters is known as the ''nuclear option" in the Senate, because of the vast fallout it would have to Senate procedures.

Democrats say they will grind the legislative process to a halt if Republicans seek to abolish the traditional right of the minority party to force unlimited debate.

The first showdown on a Bush nominee could come within the next two weeks, with the consideration of Judge Terrence W. Boyle for a seat on the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth District.

Civil-rights groups say Boyle has consistently ruled in ways that hurt minorities, most notably in a North Carolina redistricting case in which Boyle was overturned by a unanimous vote of the Supreme Court. Boyle was first nominated by Bush in 2001 and has seen his appointment held up by Democrats, but Bush late last year resubmitted his name for consideration.

The committee voted on Gonzales the same day that Condoleezza Rice was approved by the full Senate, by an 85-13 vote, to become secretary of state.

Rick Klein can be reached at rklein@globe.com.