Should Republicans go ahead and add Supreme Court Justices to head off Democrats

The Dem's Magic 8 Ball

NY Times:

Just days after a bipartisan group of senators agreed to defuse a standoff over judicial confirmations, Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, found a new tool for interpreting their compromise: a Magic 8 Ball, the fortune-telling toy.

Mocking the agreement's provision that Democrats can block judicial nominees in "extraordinary circumstances," Dr. Frist suggested in a dinner speech on Wednesday that the Democratic leaders might gather around a Magic 8 Ball to decide how the phrase applied to each judicial nominee.

"Will Brett Cavanaugh get an up-or-down vote? The Magic 8 Ball says, 'Don't count on it,' " Dr. Frist said, pulling out the toy in a speech to the conservative group Gopac. "Will William Myers get an up-or-down vote? The Magic 8 Ball says, 'Better not tell you.' "

As senators headed home for a Memorial Day recess, the delicate compromise was under mounting pressure from Republican leaders and conservative groups who want to disarm the power of the Democratic minority to block votes on judicial nominees.

With the possibility of a Supreme Court vacancy when the court finishes its term at the end of next month, some conservative groups and members of the Republican caucus are pressing Dr. Frist to revive the fight over the confirmation rules as soon as he can by moving ahead with a vote on Mr. Myers.

...

"Get to William Myers and see what that means," Mr. Allen said. "Let's see what 'extraordinary circumstances' means." Mr. Allen noted that Mr. Myers was a nominee to the Ninth Circuit, a relatively liberal court that is a favorite target of conservatives, especially since it ruled against the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Senator Larry Craig, Republican of Idaho, Mr. Myers's home state, said he believed Dr. Frist would begin moving toward a vote on Mr. Myers "as soon as we get back from recess."

"Is he 'extraordinary'? No," Mr. Craig said. He said that all the Republicans involved in the compromise had assured him that Mr. Myers's nomination would come up for a vote, without a Democratic blockade. "We will find out how committed the agreement is," he said.

Democrats and liberal groups, however, have steadfastly opposed the confirmation of Mr. Myers, whom Mr. Bush named solicitor of the Department of the Interior. Their main complaint is that he previously worked as a lobbyist for mining and cattle industries that are often parties to disputes over environmental regulations before the Federal Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the minority leader, said he expected Democrats to block Mr. Myers.

"It was done before and he wasn't part of the deal," Mr. Reid said.

This betrayel should not stand. I think Graham and DeWine are just begining to hear how unhappy people are about what they did.