Bush Resubmits 20 Nominations for Federal Judgeships

I want to bring this article to your attention because judicial nominations will soon become a big part of the news and something worth following.

Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. President George W. Bush will resubmit 20 federal judicial nominations, reigniting a battle with Democrats over their views on abortion, civil rights and the environment.

The list includes seven of the 10 candidates whose nominations failed during Bush's first term because of Democratic filibusters that blocked Senate confirmation votes. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid called the nominees ``extremist'' and said the Senate shouldn't reconsider them.

Bush will have a bigger Republican majority in the Senate in January than in his first term -- 55 of the 100 seats. That's still five votes shy of the 60 needed to end filibusters.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush's nominees are ``highly qualified.'' The Senate has a ``constitutional obligation to vote up or down'' on them, McClellan said in a statement in Washington.

The president's list includes William Pryor, who is serving on the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after the president appointed him on a temporary basis while Congress was out of session. As a recess appointee, Pryor needs Senate confirmation to stay on the court.

Bush also is re-nominating Priscilla Owen for the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit, Richard Allen Griffin, David W. McKeague and Henry Saad for the Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit; Janice Rogers Brown for the D.C. Circuit; William G. Myers III for the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit. Senate Democrats blocked votes on them during Bush's first term. Other nominations on Bush's list never reached the Senate floor.

Opponents say many of the stalled nominees were hostile to abortion rights, preservation of the environment and civil rights safeguards. Nan Aron, director of the Alliance for Justice, which opposes a number of Bush's nominees, called the White House announcement ``a show of contempt for many of the issues Americans care about the most.''

Bush used the stalled nominations as an issue in his re- election campaign this year. Democrats such as Tom Daschle, the Senate minority leader who lost his re-election race in South Dakota, pointed to the Senate's confirmation of the bulk of Bush's nominees. The Senate approved more than 200 judicial nominees during Bush's first term.


The fight over nominations is ``symbolic to a large degree,'' said Howard Bashman, a Philadelphia lawyer whose ``How Appealing'' Web site focuses on appellate litigation. ``Many conservative nominees have made it through the confirmation process. It does appear the Democrats are picking and choosing selectively who to filibuster.''

Republicans are considering changing the filibuster rules so that a majority could force a vote on any judicial nomination.

Battles over the appellate nominees may be a preview of an even higher-stakes fight over the Supreme Court. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, 80, is being treated for thyroid cancer and hasn't attended a court session since October.

``This move suggests that Bush has no intention of negotiating with the Senate Democrats on judicial appointments,'' said Thomas Mann, a fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. ``Confrontation and war are the strategies of choice.''

Twelve of Bush's nominees are for seats on federal appeals courts. Eight others would serve on federal district courts.

OPINION

Not that I blame him, but the GOP definitely thinks it is here to stay. Bush has four years ahead of him. Four years that if governed well could lead to another four years with a different Republican. The Republicans simply do not want to listen to Democratic arguments anymore. As you can see, rules are being changed to make that more possible. Some people are ignoring the thoughts of nearly half of America. Do I think it's ok? Nope. What will happen is they will become too powerful. And you know what happens when one group becomes too powerful? People begin to fear the possibilities. It's happened in our history. I do not feel like giving a history lesson right now (I will give one upon request) but definitely, someone will say that the Republicans are too powerful some day. And it is possible that people will listen to that someone.