Senate committee votes narrowly to advance Gonzales nomination

A divided Senate Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to advance Alberto Gonzales' nomination as attorney general to the full Senate as committee Democrats registered unified opposition and threatened extensive debate on the Senate floor. Although senators from both parties predicted that the former Texas supreme court justice and confidant of President Bush will win Senate confirmation, the outpouring of Democratic dissent wrecked White House hopes that Gonzales will head into the Justice Department post with strong bipartisan support. Senior Democrats initially signaled support for Gonzales, who has served as White House counsel the past four years, but turned away from the nominee because of his involvement in shaping administration policies that critics say relaxed safeguards against prisoner abuses and torture in Iraq and elsewhere. "To let his nomination proceed would make a mockery of the notion of congressional oversight and accountability," declared Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., echoing fellow Democrats' assertions that Gonzales is ill-suited to serve as the nation's chief law enforcement officer. The final vote was 10-8. [more]