ConfirmThem

By AndrewHyman Comments () / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

The Anchorage Daily News has this:

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who favors eliminating the judicial filibuster, said he nevertheless opposes the ad campaign against Murkowski. "I told my (Republican) caucus that this is a terrible tactic that is being used against her," he said in a statement. "Every Senator has a right to make up his or her mind without such extreme pressure. I defend her right to do what she believes is right."

Let's hope that Senator Murkowski will not be swayed --- either way --- by inappropriate ad campaigns. A primary concern of Senator Murkowski has been that insisting upon up-or-down votes for judicial nominees might bog the Senate down so much that oil exploration in ANWR might be derailed; however, Congress has now given the green light to that. Meantime, the Albany Daily Democrat in Oregon has this editorial:

The posturing about the filibuster is getting laughable. Television ads run by the Democrats and their supporters now picture this tactic of blocking Senate action as a pillar of our democracy. The perpetrators of this campaign must think the audience is either stupid or ignorant. They bank on the assumption that Americans don't remember how the filibuster was used for decades --- by Southern Democrats, mostly --- to delay progress on civil rights. The current fight is about some of Bush's judicial nominees. The opponents make it sound as though conservative judges would kill privacy protections and rape the environment. Appeals court judges, who work in panels of three or more, have no such power. They must follow the law. Oregon's Sen. Gordon Smith is under pressure to break ranks and support maintaining the filibuster rule on judicial nominees. If he is tempted to go that way, he should think again. The Republicans in the Senate want to vote on the nominees, and anybody who opposes one or all of them can vote no. What could be more democratic than that?

This editorial is exactly right. Circuit courts have no power to defy rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court. Republican National Committee Chair Ken Mehlman also has a few pertinent thoughts:

Despite Senator Frist's principled offer that addresses both Democrat and Republican concerns and treats every judge the same, Senator Reid has threatened to "screw things up" and shut down the U.S. Senate if the Senate requires an up or down vote on judges. He's said he will obstruct legislation and block the Senate from working on the American people's business. … Senator Reid has called the President a "liar," accusing him of being "drunk with power." Nancy Pelosi has called the President "morally irresponsible," "an incompetent leader. . .In fact he's not a leader." And that's not even counting what my counterpart, Chairman Dean, has said. Perhaps they hope that loud talk and angry rhetoric will hide the fact that they have nothing to say.

Let's hope it won't hide that fact.

UPDATE: Senator Stevens says that ANWR oil exploration is on track but not yet a done deal until the budget bill is signed.