McConnell Blasts Nominee Standstill
By Curt Levey Posted in Circuit Courts — Comments (8) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
On the Senate’s first day back from recess, Mitch McConnell blasted the Judiciary Committee for bringing “progress on circuit court nominations to a standstill.” McConnell noted that Sen. Leahy’s committee has fallen far short of the number of hearings held for Clinton’s circuit nominees during the comparable period. The four circuit court hearings held this year also fall far short of private assurances by Leahy’s staff that there would be one hearing per month for circuit nominees. And don’t even get me started about Reid’s promise to meet the historical average of 17 circuit confirmations, established during the final two years of the Reagan, Bush I, and Clinton presidencies.
McConnell’s full remarks on judicial nominees are below the fold.
[T]he Judiciary Committee needs to do a much better job processing circuit court nominations. Christmas will be here before we know it, and we’ve only had one hearing on one circuit court nomination since the summer recess, and we’ve had only five [sic] hearings for five circuit court nominees all year.
During a comparable period in President Clinton’s last Congress, the Republican-controlled Senate held hearings on 10 of President Clinton’s circuit court nominees, including five after the August recess.
We’ve had qualified circuit court nominees up here for months who satisfy the supposed criteria of the Democratic Majority. There is no good reason for the Judiciary Committee to bring progress on circuit court nominations to a standstill.
What Reid will do and say
by BoBo
Reid will make sure that Tinder is confirmed in the next two weeks. At that time, he will say that the Republicans are misrepresenting the pace of judicial confirmations in this congress, that in fact the Dems have confirmed roughly the same amount of COA judges in 2007 as the Republicans did in 1999 (6 Bush confirmations versus 7 Clinton confirmations). In his analysis, he is likely to also throw in a few choice comments to the effect that the number of Bush COA confirmations could've been much higher if Bush had just tried to work constructively with Dem homestate senators during the nominating process. That would've avoided a number of "controversial" nominations like those of Kethledge, Murphy, Stone, Getchell and Rosenstein.
McConnell's Statement and Democrat Obstruction
by Outsider
McConnell has made a forceful and cogent statement about Democrat obstruction of Circuit nominees. Well done. President Bush should do so also. It could be part of the Administration's counter-offensive against the pathetic do-nothing Democrat congressional leadership. They're so busy conducting endless phony investigations and posturing for their rad-lib rabble, that they can't bother passing basic appropriations bills, confirming longstanding judicial nominees, or voting money to supply the very troops that those worms voted to send into combat. Call a special session of Congress after they adjourn to at least make those liberal vermin sweat and scurry.
Call me naive, but I still harbor some hope that there will be dire condign consequences for the amoral and virtually treasonous filth such as Reid, Schumer, Leahy, Pelosi, Murtha and much of the other Democrat Congressional "leadership". If not, may heaven help this nation and my children.
if not in this life
by Dienekes
there will be consequences in the next, we can take comfort in that.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/reid-sets-dec.-21-as-target-date-for...
"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Wednesday he wants to conclude the first session of the 110th Congress by Dec. 21, adding that he hopes the laundry list of items left for the Senate to tackle will not keep lawmakers on Capitol Hill through the week of Christmas."
"Reid complained that Republicans were going to lengths in stalling Democratic efforts to move legislation swiftly. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) denied the obstruction charge, saying that the packed end-of-year agenda is a result of Democrats trying to ram bills through without Republican consent.
“We have nearly a full year’s worth of work to do until we leave for Christmas,” McConnell said, arguing that a narrow Democratic majority is repeatedly trying to dictate the terms of debate without working with Republicans."
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/specter-on-reid-i-wonder-if-he-is-up...
"Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), one of his party’s leading centrists, blasted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) Wednesday for his comment that GOP senators were “puppets” of the Bush administration.
“I wonder if he is up to the job when he resorts to that kind of a statement, which only furthers the level of rancor and insults and animosity with that kind of an insulting comment,” Specter said on the Senate floor.
The Pennsylvania Republican says that such rhetoric does not help Reid when he extends his hand across the aisle to attract GOP support for Democratic measures."
I wonder how all the brouhaha likely in the next three weeks will affect judicial confirmations. Personally, I'd love to see Reid forced into making some deals about judges in order to facilitate his legislative agenda.
Looks like Huckabee has a
by BillM
Looks like Huckabee has a Willie Horton problem, sigh....
Two nominations today
by Nomination Observer
First Circuit (William Smith) and ED Mo.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/12/20071206-16.html
But Reid has already pretty much done that given their short list of accomplishments this year.
If Reid had promised to process nominees as fast as the rest of the Senate business we couldn't accuse him of breaking his promise.