Mukasey Can Make a Difference on Judges
By Curt Levey Posted in Uncategorized — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
As I noted in a Committee for Justice press release yesterday, the new attorney general is in a unique position to effectively argue for the confirmation of the President’s judicial nominees:
Even the Democrats concede that Mukasey is non-partisan and was one of the nation’s best trial judges during eighteen years of service. When he says that a particular judicial nominee would make an outstanding judge, it will be difficult for Senate Democrats to argue with his assessment.
We’re calling on the new attorney general to make the confirmation of the President’s judicial nominees a top priority. . . . Mukasey has the reputation and moral authority to make a difference on this important issue. He needs to be personally involved in persuading Senate Democrats that each and every nominee deserves, at very least, an up-or-down vote by the full Senate.
I would be particularly pleased to see Mukasey weigh in on Peter Keisler. Commenting on the fact that Keisler is still in committee more than 16 months after being nominated, I said:
That’s appalling treatment of the man who has served as Acting Attorney General since Alberto Gonzales’s resignation. The least Senate Democrats can do to thank Keisler for his service to the nation while they took they’re time confirming Mukasey is to allow him an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor.
that last parenthetical is not to say
by Dienekes
that I doubt he will, only that I consider it, without prejudice, an unknown.
How long was it between unanimous approval for Petraeus and his becoming Betray-us?
They don't care about how anyone's record or fairness - they will do anything and everything to oppose anything and everything from Bush. 40 Dems voting against Mukasey is ridiculous.
That reminds me... Most of the Dem Presidential candidates missed that vote. Think they are afraid of getting asked "If you are certain you have captured someone who has information that may prevent imminent attacks that will cause massive casualties, will you promise that he will go undergo no coercive interrogation, have free access to lawyers, Human Rights Watch, and the International Red Cross?" Isn't that pretty much what the Dems insist Bush agree to follow?
well, the Dems pretty clearly tried to tarnish that with their dishonest waterboarding whinging, didn't they?
they did the same thing with Alberto Gonzales, another supposed moderate who pushed for solid judges. perhaps Mukasey will do the same, but I'm unsure how he'll get anything other than the same dishonest and deplorable mudslinging for his efforts.
that's not to say he can't make a difference, if he will. most of the Dems' rhetoric may well have been grandstanding to attack the administration rather than Mukasey (well, it was obviously ALL to attack Bush; what is unclear is how much if any was also to attack the new AG), and may yet leave his putative authority on judges intact for them (which only matters if he'll use it to push for originalist judges).