ConfirmThem

By Marshall Manson Posted in Roberts — Comments () / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

A few reflections:

(1) First, I want to apologize to all of the Confirm Them readers for my haste in posting over the last few days. As many of you know, I am involved in the effort to support Judge Roberts, so I'm posting very quickly whenever I have the chance. This has yielded more than a couple of posts that were not as clear and articulate as I would normally prefer. It has also yielded more than a couple of posts with typos and other distracting mistakes. I assume that our readers are interested in the flow of information that I'm attempting to pass on, so I appreciate your indulgence of my haste for another day or two.

(2) I also wanted to complement our commenters. I'm not sure there's a better informed, more articulate bunch of commenters anywhere. The various discussions have been universally well-reasoned and arguments have been well supported and well articulated. Please...keep commenting.

With those house-keeping thoughts out of the way, let me turn to the hearings.

(3) I have said before, and I continue to believe, that Judge Roberts's performance has been extraordinary. In the last three days, he has demonstrated his brilliance while showing just what a bunch of dolts many of the Senators questioning him truly are. If the practical criteria for confirmation were what they should be, there would be no need for any additional discussion.

(4) A couple of Senators asked Judge Roberts his views on allowing cameras in Supreme Court proceedings. Judge Roberts indicated he was undecided. I am not. Allowing cameras in the High Court is a terrible idea. And the best evidence is the current hearing. If Charles Schumer or Joe Biden played any harder for the cameras, they would injure themselves. And the cameras certainly aren't adding anything to the discourse.

(5) As the hearing continues, the Democrats and their puppet masters on the Left grow more and more panicked and irrational. Today, in one stakeout, someone from one of the liberal groups spent five minutes ranting to reporters about the difficulty of obtaining tickets, and tried to turn use this as a vehicle to attack the Republican leadership. There were any number of problems with this lunacy. Not the least of which was that anyone who wanted a ticket could obtain one as per the instructions provided by the committee (or by asking for assistance from just about anyone on Capitol Hill). There were plenty of seats any no one was turned away.

This desperation was also manifested in other ways. This morning, we heard that several liberal leaders were seen loudly berating Senator Schumer in the hallway last night over the lack of pop in his questioning. Needless to say, he was more aggressive today. But the substance was no more compelling.

If nothing else, the hearing has exposed the complete lack of substance or significance behind the Left's attacks. So expect lots of shrill, irrational hand-wringing from their witnesses on Thursday. No distortion will be out-of-bounds; no attack too frivolous.

(6) Having said that, the Democrats clearly haven't gotten the obstructionist DNA out of their system. And we should expect that whoever the President nominates next, the Left will urge -- and some Senate Democrats will endorse -- a filibuster.

(7) I think the thing that has bothered me most is the degree to which the Democrats want to make this confirmation process nothing more than a political event. The federal judiciary needs, deserves, and demands better. Senators shouldn't be politicizing the judiciary, yet that's been the Democrats' major accomplishment this week. As someone who is involved in politics for a living, I never really expected anything else. But part of me remembers that Justice Breyer and Ginsberg both got more than 90 votes in Republican-controlled Senates.

(8) Which brings me to my prediction. I believe that Judge Roberts will be approved by the Judiciary Committee by a straight party line vote of 10-8. And that in the final vote on the Senate floor, he will not attract support from more than a handful of Democrats. This doesn't send any sort of message about Judge Roberts. Indeed, Judge Roberts has established that he is an ideal selection for the Supreme Court. Instead, it sends a clear message about the band of partisan hacks who are opposing him. And, as I've said before, Americans are watching.

(9) I wouldn't want to be the next nominee. The Left has largely held its fire for now, knowing that there was another fight coming. Get set folks. It's going to be ugly.

I'll be back posting tomorrow. In the meantime, sound off.

(P.S. -- Did any of this make any sense? Time to get a little sleep.)