ConfirmThem

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

A couple days ago, Senators Reid and Leahy sent a letter to the White House, saying this:

We strongly urge you to refrain from nominating to the Supreme Court any of the handful of judicial nominees who were filibustered during the past four years, including the three judges who were narrowly confirmed earlier this year as part of the bipartisan agreement that averted the so-called “nuclear option.� The nomination of any of these individuals to the Supreme Court would represent an unnecessary provocation and would be met by substantial opposition in the Senate. We urge you to pick one of the many qualified mainstream candidates who can win widespread bipartisan support in the Senate and among the American people.

It's laudable that this letter, while mentioning filibusters of the past, didn't threaten more in the future. Despite these Senators' extensive knowledge of the potential nominees in question, Reid and Leahy didn't suggest that there might be "extraordinary circumstances" justifying the first-ever defeat of a Supreme Court nominee who has clear majority support. On the other hand, maybe they're just afraid to make their threats in public.