THE CIRCULAR FIRING SQUAD:

The whole (Hispanic) world is watching (Dick Morris, March 10, 2003, Jewish World Review)

The Democrats are talking themselves to death in their filibuster against the nomination of Miguel Estrada to the federal bench. The more they talk, the more it is clear that they have nothing to say and no reason to block the nomination of one of the few Hispanics to be nominated to the senior levels of our judiciary.

There is no ethical problem here. No rash statements. No imputed bias. Not even any clear indication of a strong right wing or left wing political philosophy. The burden of the Democratic argument seems to be that Estrada has not ruled, in advance, on all the cases that will come before him. What many would take as a refreshing lack of prejudice and the indication of an open mind, the Democrats assume is evidence of a great conspiracy of silence.

Liberals see the Estrada filibuster as providing a precedent for a new level of disclosure for all nominees to the federal bench. Rather than nominate and confirm good people and let them decide cases, the Democrats are now asking for clear commitments on each area of judicial decision-making that a new judge is likely to confront. The independence of the judiciary is at stake in this new assertion of legislative prerogative.

But the Democrats should realize that they have chosen a terrible target for their new level of scrutiny. By filibustering an Hispanic nominee and going to such lengths to block his confirmation, even when there is no clear reason to do so, they are asking the Hispanic voters to turn against them in droves.

Here's our pick for the next nominee to this court. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 10, 2003 1:28 PM