ConfirmThem

I caught the last part of Reid's speech in an exchange with McConnell. He said he would do everything he could to get Conrad and Matthews confirmed. Of course, the implication is that certain things are beyond his control and things could change in the future. While I think Conrad and Matthews would be good for the Fourth Circuit, I didn't hear anything about Keisler. I do not want him sacrificed. I am pretty sure that Conrad and Matthews are two of the three to be confirmed before Memorial Day. But who will be the third? I hope it will be Keisler rather than Pratter. Agee doesn't have an ABA rating yet, and hopefully, as Curt says, Helene White will not get hers too soon. I don't want those two confirmed before Keisler.

Did anyone else hear the back and forth on the Senate floor today? Can anyone provide more details?

I think this was a good thing. Although I really dislike the way Levin and his cohort Stabenow have held up Bush's Michigan nominations, this deal helps to clear the air of a moldy stench that has been lingering in the Senate too long. Levin will be happy with his nepotism (White is the wife of his cousin), and the Republicans can now show how reasonable they can be with judicial confirmations. It steals a lot of the thunder away from the mindless rhetoric of such liberal special-interest groups as PFAW and the Alliance for Justice - "look at what those horrible Republicans did to those wonderful Clinton nominees," loses it bite when compared to, "look at how fair the Republicans are trying to be to get past partisanship. They even renominated a Democratic judicial nominee who had previously been passed over."

Now I wonder if Bush will nominate another person off of the Warner/ Webb list fot Luttig's Virginia seat.

Although he has to give up a COA seat, Murphy is receiving a district court judgeship in return. I hope he feels that the exchange is fair and was not forced into accepting it against his will. It sounds like Boyle was mad about being forced into withdrawing his nomination last December.

as you know from my previous posts, kethledge and murphy are both friends with whom i formerly practiced when they were in dc. if there is one word anyone would use to describe murphy, it is ultimately "teammate." given his position and access to sen. levin, it would not surprise me in the least if he himself put the deal together to get keth on the 6th. such is his level of commitment to the president and gop. he is a remarkable man.

murphy would never say it, so i will. he was sold out by fielding. and he deserved better. this is a piss poor way to treat not just your nominees, but those who have sacrificed so much for the party and this adminsitration for so long. murphy has done a remarkable job against tough odds as a pres appointee for the past 3 years and now he is kicked to the curb. i guess that is what we expect as good treatment now in washington.

godspeed murphy. you deserve all our thanks. and good luck ray. i have a sense you'll need it.

Very Truly Yours, RS

Good to hear a first hand account of our nominees.

Here's hoping that both Murphy and Ketheridge REALLY see the light of day as judges.

Oz

Murphy wasn't exactly kicked to the curb. Sounds like he was put in a smaller car. With some chance of the ignition actually working this time, instead of being perpetually stuck in a broken down vehicle.

As for Boyle, there's a certain virtue in eventually (after 6 years) being able to face reality, not to mention gravity.