Senate centrists have agreed on a compromise that clears the way for confirmation of some of President Bush's stalled judicial nominees. Judging by Senator Frist’s comments to this agreement, he is only moderately happy about this, and for once, he and I have something in common.
Frist noted he had not been a party to the deal, which fell short of his stated goal of winning yes-or-no votes on each of Bush's nominees. "It has some good news and it has some disappointing news and it will require careful monitoring," he said. Mmmhmm, Adolf, you like to monitor things, don't you?
“The bipartisan center held," said Sen. Joseph Lieberman, one of 14 senators -- seven from each party -- to sign the agreement that pledged lawmakers to "mutual trust and confidence."
I probably like Joe Lieberman even more than the next guy, but I have to disagree with him on the subject of the filibuster compromise. Under the terms, Democrats agreed to allow final confirmation votes for Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown and William Pryor, named to appeals court seats. There is "no commitment to vote for or against" the filibuster against two other conservatives named to the appeals court, Henry Saad and William Myers. The filibuster stays, which it should, but the Republicans still essentially win. Bush gets his cronies to the bench, again.
The Republicans, with Frist as the Poster Boy, went after the filibuster because they are tired of the Democrats blocking their efforts to stack the bench with conservative judges. The fact is Democrats filibustered just ten of Bush’s 218 nominees in his first term, on the grounds that they were too radical for a lifetime appointment to the bench. In other words, THE DEMOCRATS DID THEIR JOB. Shame on the Republicans for even thinking of letting some of these judges through.
Who are the judges that get the nod because of the compromise? Priscilla Owens record shows a bias in favor of government secrecy, corporate interests, and against the environment and victims of discrimination. In other words, she’s a big old nasty Republican. Janice Rogers Brown is a Christian conservative who supports limits on abortion rights and corporate liability, routinely upholds the death penalty and opposes affirmative action. She’s of that rare, but evidently growing, breed: black women Republicans -- a real head-scratcher. As for William Pryor, well, he’s just an ultra-conservative of the worst ilk. He makes Bush look like Carter. Saveourcourts.org has a profile on Pryor and the gang.
