leahy.jpgJust received a welcome press release from the Committee for Justice.
Senate Democrats, led by Judiciary Committee chairman Pat Leahy, pictured left, have hamstrung the nation’s federal courts by obstucting the confirmation of Bush nominees. The critical shortage of judges only grows more critical.
Confirmations are headed for a “historic low for a two-term President in modern times,” stated GOP Senator Arlen Specter, pictured below right, the ranking Republican on that committee.
Specter has been holding Increasingly frustrated Republicans at bay, trying to appeal to Leahy.
Time is apparently up….


On February 29 Specter, pictured left, wrote Leahy a letter calling for a bipartisan protocol and timetable to confirm judges. Democrats scoffed at President Bush’s likewise proposal in 2002.
If this fails, there will be a “showdown,” according to the press release.
The last showdown was averted by the Gang of 14, a group of 7 Dems and 7 GOPers who created a bloc to force compromise. John McCain headed the Gang, you’ll recall, a point of contention among conservatives ever since, although this did pave the way for Alito and Roberts’ confirmations.
specter.jpgThe press release speaks of “hardball tactics” and “Specter… ready to lead his colleagues into battle.” I called the release writer, Curt Levey, to explain what sort of ruckus the Republicans might make. Curt said:

Republicans can threaten to deny a quorum to Leahy in committee; they can slow things down on the Senate floor; they can block specific pieces of legislation they know Leahy really wants. Anything they do to raise the visibility of the issue is helpful.
This is an issue that cuts the Republican way. The more visibility, the more Democrats want to make it go away. The biggest trouble they can cause is to have a confrontation, get a lot of media publicaity. The last thing in the world [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid or Obama wants is for judges to be a big issue this fall.

Yes, according to the release, one tactic will be to put Obama on the hotseat. The man calling for bipartisanship and an end to acrimony should not oppose bipartisan rules for judicial confirmations, right?
The Swamp added this:

Leahy won’t say it, but if he and the Democrats are indeed running a kind of four-corners offense to delay consideration of nominees, it may be in their best interest to do so. If either… Clinton or… Obama is elected president in November, pending judicial nominations will likely lapse or be pulled and replaced by nominees more palatable to Democrats. That was undoubtedly was very much in the mind of Specter and McConnell as they made their remarks Monday.

[Leahy photo courtesy of CBC News; Specter photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated;

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