I reported earlier in the week that 8 Republican senators held a forum to spotlight the Democrat obstruction of judicial confirmations. This Congress has only confirmed 10 of President Bush's Circuit Court nominees (one step below the US Supreme Court), an unprecedented small number.

Today, Majority Leader Reid allowed the confirmation of 2 District Court judges (2 steps below the Supremes), trying to obfuscate his stonewall on more important confirmations. This after stating on the Senate floor the issue of judge confirmations is not important:

Housing is a difficult problem. Energy, a difficult problem with gas prices. Global warming. Education. But I'm telling you, Madam President, I can't ever remember going home and somebody telling me and saying, could you guys do some more judges?

But Minority Leader McConnell wasn't placated and stepped up his own blockage of business to keep up the pressue:

To that end, several events occurred today to underscore - again the Democrats' refusal to confirm Circuit Court nominees.

First, Judiciary Committee Republicans boycotted today's hearing, thereby preventing it from occurring....

Throughout the day McConnell, Specter, and other members of the caucus either spoke or participated in a colloquy on the topic.

Finally, McConnell blocked several committees from meeting by invoking the 2-hour rule. These were:

Environmental & Public Works

Homeland Security & Government Affairs (full committee and subcommittee hearings)

Indian Affairs

Judiciary Committee

All these actions resulted in Reid finally having to shut down the Senate Floor this afternoon.

Very good.

It was one year ago today that Barack Obama spoke at a Planned Parenthood Action Fund event, uttering the now infamous line, "Well, the first thing I'd do as president is, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. [Applause.] That's the first thing that I'd do."

You can view the entire 24-minute speech here or watch this clip:

Obama made his remark in response to a question from the audience...

Um, as you were talking about earlier, the recent Bush Supreme Court's decision really took away critically important decisions from women and put them in the hands of politicians. And as a result of this, we're expecting, and have already seen, so much anti-choice legislation at the state level. Um, what would you do at the federal level not only to ensure access to abortion but to make sure that the judicial nominees that you will inevitably be able to pick are true to the core tenets of Roe v. Wade?

Obama was answering that he believed FOCA would combat "anti-choice legislation at the state level" and take judges out of the abortion debate. That it would, on steroids. It would overturn all 300+ local, state, and federal abortion restriction laws, such as the Partial Birth Abortion Ban.

How can a candidate claiming he wants to prevent abortions want to overturn every common sense abortion restriction? That's like saying one wants to stop pollution by overturning all anti-pollution laws.

Don't believe me? Read FOCA for yourself. I'll make it easy (click to enlarge):

Note "health" is not defined in this bill, of which Obama is already a cosponsor. This would fly in the face of Obama's statement to Relevant magazine July 1 that he thinks the definition of "health" should be "strict, well-defined."

In fact, Obama's support of FOCA flies in the face of his entire statement to Relevant...

I have repeatedly said that I think it's entirely appropriate for states to restrict or even prohibit late-term abortions as long as there is a strict, well-defined exception for the health of the mother.

... since FOCA would overturn those state laws he says he finds "appropriate."

Here are 2 major flip flops Obama is still flipping and flopping on, depending on his audience. Where's MSM?

by Colleen W.

On the blogs today...

Alexa from Forest Nymph links to a World Net Daily article on the pro-life black leaders' protest of the NAACP in Cincinnati Monday. There they called on the NAACP "to oppose a 'slick racist' - Margaret Sanger - and her life's work, the abortion-industry leader Planned Parenthood," according to Day Gardner, president of the National Black Pro-Life Union and one of the leaders protesting, who added, "the biggest struggle for civil rights today is for the civil rights of the unborn child."

But apparently the NAACP has more important things to do than oppose the racist genocide of abortion. Instead, as La Shawn Barber reports, linking to a USA Today article, continuing opposition to the Confederate Flag is a much better use of time. In La Shawn's sarcastic words, "Very useful! That's what I'm talking about. Quite important stuff they're doing. Life-changing ideas, indeed, sure to advance colored people. Keep up the good work."

posted at 1:19 PM | Comments (87) | TrackBack (0)