ConfirmThem

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

Okay, I'm on record as wanting to destroy the political careers of DeWine and Graham, etc., because of this pathetic, idiotic, unprincipled capitulation. All that said, I do see one ray of hope for future nominations. It is this: By and large, the Democrats who signed the deal are basically decent people. Mark Pryor and Mary Landrieu are tough-minded partisans, but they are, in the end, generally well-intentioned and generally trustworthy. (Landrieu going back on her word on the Estrada fight was inexcusable, but, in a sense, understandable: She justifiably had "a mad on" against the Republican Party in general after she was subjected to a truly objectionable cheap-shot campaign. Indeed, if the campaign against her had been a little less heavy-handed, she might have lost; she got a last-minute sympathy surge in part because the negative stuff against her went overboard. Then, after that, the White House rejected overtures by her colleague John Breaux to try to defuse the coming Estrada filibuster, which made her angrier still.) If those two truly have an agreement with the GOP as to what basic kinds of things constitute "extraordinary," and, more important, a real agreement to consult on the interpretation thereof, I believe they will try to ward off filibusters unless they feel personally offended by a nominee. Among the other Dems: Joe Lieberman is a good guy. Period. I have no idea what kind of person Nelson is, but he clearly leans a bit right of center politically. Inouye is a true war hero, although I've never seen him buck his party leadership and don't expect him to do so if Reid calls for another filibuster. Salazar, we still need to watch and get a better reading on. And as for Byrd, there is no need to belabor all of his faults... but there is one argument in favor of his character, his sense of personal honor, that must be remembered. If it weren't for Byrd's honor, then our fellow blogger, feddie (also of Southern Appeal), would not have had a judge to clerk for. Daniel Manion would not be a judge right now if it weren't for Byrd. Byrd opposed Manion, but when another Democrat went back on his word to a missing Republican, Byrd did a procedural maneuver to keep the Manion nomination alive for another day so the missing Republican could be represented fairly. Without Byrd's maneuver -- against his own desires to defeat Manion, but in defense of maintaining the honor of the Senate -- Manion would have lost by one vote. Instead, on the re-vote, Manion squeaked by -- if memory serves, again by one vote. So while I don't credit Byrd for philosophical consistency, I do believe his word is good. Let's hope I'm right.