ConfirmThem

By Quin Posted in Uncategorized — Comments () / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Okay, I am hearing from a solid Senate source the following bits of information... with my commentary afterwards:
1) My impression, reading the tone and substance from my source, is that things are not looking good for Jim Haynes. Lindsey Graham and John McCain seem "dug in" against him, and McCain has harassed him (and in so doing, pulling a page from Ted Kennedy's book) by submitting right about 150 written questions (I think it's 152, but am checking) for Haynes to answer. (Quin comments: When the questions get so numerous, it's not a real attempt at info-gathering; it's sheer meanness. Kennedy and other Dems did the same thing to Bill Pryor.) And with Chafee almost always a problem and Susan Collins also having expressed reservations about Haynes, the odds of successfully using the constitutional option are low--and that is even assuming Haynes reaches the floor, which probably won't happen, because Graham would probably join all the Dems in voting against him in committee.
2) Tonight's nominees set for passage are Gorsuch and Shepherd. (By the way, I attended the Sheperd/Moore hearing several weeks ago), and never reported on it because I was busy, but I expect at some point to have more on Shepherd for ya'll's edification, if I ever get around to it.
3) Moore and Holmes are not set for passage tonight, but they probably will be confirmed soon. There doesn't seem to be a critical mass against either of them.
4) The hearing for Wallace should be real soon. After that, the new spate of nominees -- Livingston, Murphy, Keisler, et al -- will receive hearings.
5) Randy Smith remains in limbo (Quin's comment: For no good reason whatsoever; just the dumb jurisdictional dispute with the Californians, which isn't a good reason at all.)
6) Jury is still out on Myers and Boyle; apparently, there still is at least some hope of breaking the impasse over them, with Boyle's odds seeming slightly higher if anything happens in the short run.
Now, Quin's fuller comments after the break:
1) The treatment of Haynes by McCain and Graham is unconscionable, especially after Haynes has corrected the misimpressions about his role in the misnamed "torture memo." Both McCain and Graham ought to be made to pay a heavy political price for their asininity. All my sources tell me that Haynes is a real star and a terrific lawyer and human being. It is expected for Dems these days to mistreat nominees by mischaracterizing their record; for Republicans to do it to one of their own is abominable. If Graham REALLY thinks he is acting on principle (even though he's actually acting only out of personal pique), what he should do is not show up at the committee vote so that Haynes can reach the floor on a 9-8 vote. He then, on principle, should be willing to invoke the constitutional option to kill the filibuster. And THEN, if he feels so strongly, he should make his case on the Senate floor, vote no on final confirmation and try to convince others to do likewise. He would still be wrongheaded if he did that, but it would be the more honorable thing to do, to give the president of his own party and the nominee the right to have their case made under fair rules and the issue decided on majority vote. Haynes might STILL lose under such circumstances, but at least he would have received a somewhat fair shake. As it is, words cannot express the contempt that McCain and Graham merit through the course they appear to have chosen.
#5 and #6) Enough is enough is enough. It is long past time to stop making these nominees twist in the wind. The Senate leadership and the president of the United States should use ALL their power to force a vote on Smith, Myers and Boyle, INCLUDING use of the constitutional option, NOW. It is a travesty for Boyle to wait 15 years, and for Myers to be filibustered for two years solid, and for Smith to dangle without there being a single note of substance against him but instead merely because of a California power play that on its very face is dishonest. It is time for the president and the leadership (especially the president) to twist arms, butt heads, and come down like a ton of bricks (to use way too many cliches) against all GOP senators who fail to support a full, fair, simple majority vote on these three nominees, including use of the constitutional option if necessary. The White House should tell Chafee he's dead meat against Laffey if he doesn't comply. Bush should tell Graham that he'll back Ravenel in 2008 if he continues acting like a jacka$$. Etc., etc., etc. These nominees are not politicians, but human beings with families and lives and financial obligations, etc. TO treat them as badly as they have been treated is to fail a basic test of decency. To see them dangle in the wind makes me sick to my stomach. And it should be held as a black mark against this administration, forever, if the administration does not use all its powers, a la LBJ, to get these nominees a resolution to their situations (and, for that matter, successful resolutions, meaning confirmation!).