Bush to Renominate 20 for Judgeships

[Ian David]

Bush to Renominate 20 for Judgeships

Sun Dec 26,11:08 AM ET

By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Refusing to be brushed off by Democratic opposition in the Senate, President Bush (news - web sites) plans to nominate for a second time 20 people who did not receive up or down votes on their nominations for federal judgeships.



The Democrats' ability to stall certain White House picks for the federal bench was one of the most contentious issues of Bush's first term. During the past two years, despite the GOP majority in the Senate, Democrats used filibusters to prevent final votes from occurring on 10 of 34 of Bush's nominees to federal appeals courts.

"The president nominated highly qualified individuals to the federal courts during his first term, but the Senate failed to vote on many nominations," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said in a statement the White House issued Thursday. "Unfortunately, this only exacerbates the issue of judicial vacancies, compounds the backlog of cases and delays timely justice for the American people."

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist called for quick action and issued a statement that pressured Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), R-Pa., to support the president's nominees. Specter, a moderate Republican, recently won the backing of Senate Judiciary Committee (news - web sites) Republicans to be their new chairman despite his statement that judges who oppose abortion would have a difficult time gaining Senate confirmation, given the opposition from Democrats.

"The president has decided to re-nominate many highly qualified and capable individuals to serve as federal judges," Frist said. "I look forward to working with Sen. Specter, other Judiciary Committee members and my colleagues to ensure quick action and up and down votes on these judicial nominees."

Democrats reacted with irritation.

"I was extremely disappointed to learn today that the president intends to begin the new Congress by resubmitting extremist judicial nominees," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said in a statement. "Last Congress, Senate Democrats worked with the president to approve 204 judicial nominees, rejecting only 10 of the most extreme."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=544&ncid=693&e=5&u=/ap/20041226/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_federal_judges
Avg Rating: 3.44, 37 votes

[edbermac]

1. Merry Christmas to one and all, and FUCK YOU! Love, GWB...

:grr:

[Gothmog]

2. This is just plain wrong and invites a very partisan second term

It is likely that the GOP will try to limit filibusters by use of the nuclear option and that Senate may well become very very partisan. The nuclear winter in the senate following any attempt to change the rules on filibusters is going to be nasty.

Bush is not an uniter but is really one of the most partisan figures in my memory.

[forgethell]

3. Actually, IMO,

a very partisan Senate is something to be desired. Unless we can shake out the DINOs, and RINOs too, and draw stark lines for the American people, we may never regain power. The squishy middle is, frankly, despicable. Draw the lines and let the American people decide which party has the better ideas!!!!

[rkc3]

4. It doesn't matter what party these guys belong to - they

haven't written a good piece of legislation recently. Not many bills have passed that have favored the populous over business interests.

These guys are beholden to themselves and don't have to answer to the public any longer - even if they're voted out for their records, some one will hire them to be lobbyists.

Saying we need more dems in office assumes the dems are on our side - which looks less and less likely any more.

[txaslftist]

5. If they make it through confirmation....

will he give them the Distinguished Service Award?

[w4rma]

6. Reid's response is right on target. That gives me hope that the others

will learn from him.

[Silverhair]

7. That means that he has told Frist to use the nuclear option in the senate.

This will be interesting to see how it plays out. I think they will hold to party discipline and will steamroll them in.

Probably, he is going to use them as a test to see how his SCOTUS nominations will go. If he can steamroll the Democrats, then he will put up whoever he wants for SC.

[sampsonblk]

8. Oh no! He might lose swing voters!

I'll say this about Bush, he isn't afraid to press for what he wants. I hope our party will learn something from this. Bush doesn't give a damn about sounding moderate, and he doesn't give a damn about any swing voters.

Time for us to get a spine?