John Podhoretz:
NICE try, Chuck Schumer, but you lose: John Roberts is sailing toward easy confirmation as chief justice of the United States after a 13-to-5 vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee, with three Democrats (Pat Leahy of Vermont and the two Wisconsin guys, Feingold and Kohl) joining all 10 Republicans in voting for him.The years-long effort by Schumer and others to make it acceptable to block judicial appointments solely on ideological grounds has become too big a pill for some Democrats to swallow.
It was on ideological grounds alone that Schumer and others blocked a dozen Republican judicial appointments by using the filibuster — something that had never been done before. (Even though Democrats only have 45 out of 100 votes in the Senate, they need to score only 41 votes to sustain a filibuster and so prevent a vote.)
With Republicans seriously threatening to alter Senate rules to end those filibusters, seven Democrats agreed to a compromise maneuver that let some of those nominations move forward.
That maneuver (which came under withering criticism from conservative pundits) was in fact the first major blow to the Schumer strategy. The certain Roberts victory is the second major blow.
Schumer argued yesterday "being brilliant and accomplished" didn't make Roberts qualified. Why? Because "there are many who would use their considerable talents and legal acumen to set America back. So, while legal brilliance is to be considered, it is never dispositive . . . . Roberts is clearly brilliant and his demeanor suggests he well might not be an ideologue. But he did not make the case strongly enough to bet the whole house."
This is what a bad argument looks like — pressing an ideological assault against someone by claiming that person could be an "ideologue." The refusal of Schumer and four other Democrats to vote for Roberts indicates that no Bush nominee will ever be acceptable to them.
...
Comments
Post a Comment