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My personal musings about anything that gets on my radar screen--heavily dominated by politics.

2004-12-24

Speaking of Bold. . .

From the NYTimes:

President Bush said Thursday that when the new Congress convenes next month he will renominate 12 candidates to the federal appeals courts who were denied confirmation in his first term.

Two nights ago I blogged that I thought one of the hallmarks of this President was his willingness to confront difficult issues. This is a case in point. I love the idea that the President is going to throw a gauntlet down before he's even been inaugurated. I would hope that he does a better job of selling this to the public than during his first term, even if he ignores the individual judges and just makes the case that they deserve an up or down vote, one way or the other. I also like the maneuvering--last week Sen. Frist talks a little about the "nuclear option," and this week the Pres jumps onto the battle field with both feet. I think the message to the Dems is pretty clear: here we come, stop us if you want to, but keep playing games and we'll run you over.

And the Dem response? From Sen. Chuck Schumer:

"In this opening shot, the White House is making it clear that they are not interested in bipartisanship when it comes to nominating judges. This starts to poison the well when everyone on our side was hoping to make a new start."

Yep, EVERYBODY on your side was hoping to make a new start. Here's your new start--DO YOUR JOB!

Oh, and from the "No good deed goes unpunished" department:

It has been my hope that we might be able to approach this whole issue with some cooler perspective. I would have preferred to have some time in the 109th Congress to improve the climate to avoid judicial gridlock and future filibusters."

Who else but Arlen Specter? That's chutzpah for you. On the other hand, if he expresses these reservations, but then shepherds all of these through the committee and to a real floor vote, that would be quite a feat of political gamesmanship.

For me, in this election, the Judiciary was THE number one issue in the Senate race. I think for everyone out there like me, who was outraged by the treatment Bush nominees got by Senate Dems, this is a very gratifying act on the President's part. It more than justifies our efforts on his behalf on this issue.

Now, holding together that majority and getting anything done with these. . .that may be the real trick.
Posted by: Michael / 12/24/2004 03:33:00 AM

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