December 23, 2004
LET'S GET IT ON:
Bush to Renominate 20 Judges Whom Democrats Have Resisted (DAVID STOUT, 12/23/04, NY Times)
President Bush plans to renominate 20 candidates for federal judgeships who have been unable to win confirmation in the Senate, the White House said today, in a signal that the president is ready for a showdown early next year. [...]The White House said 16 of the 20 the candidates were nominated more than a year ago and have not had a yes-or-no vote in the Senate.
One of the names Mr. Bush will place in nomination again is that of William H. Pryor Jr., the former Alabama attorney general, for a seat on the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, based in Atlanta. Last February, Mr. Bush installed Mr. Pryor on that court by using the presidential power to name judges for temporary terms when Congress is in recess. Under that procedure, Mr. Pryor's judgeship would expire next year, unless he wins Senate confirmation.
Democrats have contended that Mr. Pryor's fervent advocacy of greater Christian influence in government and his opposition to legalized abortion make him an unsuitable judge. But Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the Republican majority leader, has called him "a man of integrity committed to the rule of law."
Another candidate whom Mr. Bush will renominate is Judge Priscilla Richman Owen of the Texas Supreme Court, for a seat on the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, based in New Orleans. In blocking her thus far, Democrats have said her anti-abortion and pro-business views have colored her decisions. But Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas, has called her "a wonderful person, an academic judge" and qualified in every way to be on the federal court.
Still another who will be renominated is Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the California Supreme Court, for a seat on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the tribunal that is often seen as a springboard for the United States Supreme Court.
So, as the Democrats seek to pretend they've moderated their abortion absolutism the President forces them to confront twenty judges they'd blocked exclusively because of concerns about Roe v. Wade--makes Machiavelli look like a Campfire Girl. Posted by Orrin Judd at December 23, 2004 5:46 PM
Could there be a better way of saying to the opposition, "Eat dirt and die"?
Posted by: Lou Gots at December 23, 2004 5:57 PMYou could almost see the Democrats at this point wanting Rehnquist to retire so they could at least channel their hypocracy about their new outlook onto one judicial nominee with press attention focused at the Supreme Court level, instead of having to come up with a variety of reasons for continuing to oppose the 16 lower court nominees.
Posted by: John at December 23, 2004 8:05 PMThere is no way the Democrats could maintain enough unity to scuttle these nominations and go to the voters with a straight face saying that they are not the party of extremism.
Posted by: Bart at December 23, 2004 10:39 PM