ConfirmThem

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

Michael A. Duddy has a truly outstanding piece in the Portland Press Herald, including this:

[A] good case can be made that Maine's historical precedent, Maine's own judicial confirmation process and Mainers' own sense of decency all support a rule change to prevent judicial filibusters in the U.S. Senate.

Duddy makes that case well. Harold Johnson and Timothy Sandefur defend California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle. They say that, "U.S. Senate Democrats will be making a mistake if they give her a filibuster instead of fairness."

And, Shannen Coffin has an interesting piece titled "Don Presidente" in National Review, urging President Bush to get more active in twisting Senators' arms and calling upon Senators who are indebted to him, in order to get up-or-down votes for judicial nominees. Shannen argues this way:

Confirmation of his judicial nominees is no more a purely internal Senate matter than congressional passage of Social Security reform, a subject on which the president is putting a full court public press.

Be that as it may, the President seems to have promised to keep the issue at arm's length. But, the President's Chief of Staff, Andy Card, made very clear over the weekend that the promise does not apply to Vice President Cheney who, as President of the Senate, is part of both the executive and legislative branches. Don Cheney?