Democrat Hypocrisy On Judicial Appointments
By David N. Bass (11/21/03)
The Republicans have finally filibustered the filibuster. In a lengthy jabber fest that ran several days the GOP put action behind its words and physically protested the Democrat’s blockade of President Bush’s judicial nominees. All I can say is, it’s about time.
The Democrats have successfully blocked four Bush appointments to the U.S. Appeals Court: Bill Pryor, Miguel Estrada, Priscilla Owen, and Charles Pickering. Two others, Carolyn Kuhl and Janice Rogers Brown, are expected to receive the same treatment.
Needless to say, Democrats poetically sounded off against this filibuster, and their rhetoric was remarkably similar to that of Jim Taylor’s cronies in the classic movie “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” Sen. Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) was quoted by CNN as saying, “I’m not participating in this…marathon, talkathon, blame-athon, whatever you want to call this. I’m not interested in that right now. I’m interested in the appropriations bill.” Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) claimed Republicans are ignoring “13 million hungry children in America” by filibustering, according to CNN.
That sounds nice and dandy. But unfortunately for Democrats, it flies right in the face of reason on several fronts and displays yet again the blatant hypocrisy that’s permanently woven into the Democrat party.
First, this new GOP filibuster was a direct result of the Democrats’ own filibuster. If Democrats would simply step aside and give President Bush’s nominees an honest up or down vote on the Senate floor, the GOP filibuster wouldn’t have been necessary. The Republican controlled Congress under former President Clinton did this. The Judicial Selection Monitoring Project reports that only one Clinton nominee out of 373 was rejected by the Senate in all eight years of Clinton’s presidency. Those 373 confirmed nominees are the second all-time record, topped only by President Ronald Reagan.
The Democrats would do well to learn from those numbers. Republicans have consistently maintained that all they want is an honest up or down vote–the same they gave Democrats during the last administration. Simple. But Democrats, true to form, have refused to budge.
Second, Democrats have historically been opposed to the methods they’re routinely employing today. According to the Congressional Record, in 1998 Ted Kennedy said in reference to Clinton nominees: “We owe to Americans across the country to give these nominees a vote. If our Republican colleagues don’t like them, vote against them. But give them a vote.” Strange considering his rabid quest to deny nominees just that–the dignity of an up or down vote.
The hypocrisy isn’t exclusive to Ted Kennedy, either. Again in reference to Clinton nominees, Tom Daschle was recorded in the Congressional Record in 1999 as saying: “I find it simply baffling that a Senator would vote against even voting on a judicial nomination.” Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said on the Senate floor in 1999, “I urge the Republican leadership to take the steps necessary to allow the full Senate to vote up or down on these important nominations.”
Why aren’t these past opinions ever brought to light, I wonder? Could it be the Democrats wouldn’t have a leg to stand on if they were? Could it be yet another Democrat double standard exposed?
Third, Democrats are continually tromping on their own party line by refusing to confirm these candidates who largely hail from minority groups. If Democrats truly cared about catapulting women and racial minorities into high positions, they wouldn’t be filibustering. This situation proves yet again that the Left will support women if and only if they’re feminists, and minorities if and only if they’re radically liberal. Anything else is useless to them.
I must admit it was nice to see the GOP stand up and make some noise. They’ve been so mousy lately that hearing them holler was refreshing. But if more serious action isn’t taken, I fear the GOP filibuster will accomplish little in the end. If the nation would wake up, call a spade a spade and vote the Democrats out in 2004 for their obstructionist tactics, we’d definitely see a change. But that’s difficult while mainstream media outlets refuse to report the nitty gritty about the Democrats and their hypocritical ways.
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