ConfirmThem

By AndrewHyman Comments () / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Some fence-sitting GOP Senators are reportedly thinking about pledging to vote against certain nominees who they would otherwise vote for, merely so that Democrats will allow up-or-down votes. Hugh Hewitt discusses efforts to strike this bad deal, here. Senator Specter pretty much said what needs to be said about such a compromise:

[A] “deal'’ for confirmation for any one of them is repugnant to the basic democratic principle of individual, fair, and equitable treatment and violates Senators’ oaths on the constitutional confirmation process. Such “deal-making'’ confirms public cynicism about what goes on behind Washington’s closed doors.

Deals and compromises are fine, as long as they don't compromise basic duties.