Nan Aron Puts A Finger On It
August 21st, 2007at 11:46am Posted by Eli
Nan Aron hits all the highlights on the Leslie Southwick nomination:
Sen. Richard Durbin asked Southwick whether he could think of one example of an unpopular decision he had made in favor of the powerless, the poor, minorities or the dispossessed. The judge said he could not.
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A nominee’s record is the best predictor of what he or she will do on the bench. Southwick’s record predicts that those in the 5th Circuit’s jurisdiction have much to fear regarding their legal rights and protections. Moreover — and overlooked by The Post — the patterns in Southwick’s record fit this administration’s pattern of behavior. For with the assistance of conservative activists, allies in the Senate and in well-funded interest groups, and the amen chorus of commentators such as Will, George W. Bush has appointed a succession of appellate judges who will serve his administration’s ideological agenda long after he has left office.
With the regrettable votes of Sen. Dianne Feinstein and all the Judiciary Committee Republicans, Leslie Southwick’s nomination has progressed to consideration by the full Senate. The senators who lamented their inability to block Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito must take a stand. They’re the last line of defense between our third branch of government and the Bush administration’s court-packing program. Rather than voting their hopes, as some Democrats have in the past, they must vote according to the facts at hand.
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We cannot let this administration pack our courts with judges who share its disrespect for law and lack of compassion for the powerless. These nominees have turned their backs on our most fundamental rights and freedoms. The Senate should turn its collective back on Leslie Southwick and those like him.
I will bet cash money that Reid makes no attempt to block the nomination, and that Schumer does not lead a charge for a filibuster, and that the usual “centrist” suspects (Lieberman, Landrieu, Pryor, Feinstein, Nelsons) vote to confirm.
The useless Democratic leadership has shown little appetite for opposition, and I see no reason to expect them to work one up here.
Entry Filed under: Bush,Judiciary,Republicans,Wankers
