Vetoing the Most Qualified

Sen. Al Franken is trying to use a traditional Senate prerogative of home-state Senators to veto judicial nominations. His reason?
“I have grown concerned that, if confirmed to the federal bench, Justice Stras would be a deeply conservative jurist in the mold of Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, justices who the nominee himself has identified as role models,” Franken said.
So, in other words, he's unfit to be a judge because he's the kind of judge who sometimes becomes a Supreme Court Justice?

It doesn't really get any better. It's a problem for Franken that he works with the Federalist Society, like it's a problem for Feinstein that a nominee is an orthodox member of the Catholic Church. The cultural warfare is moving into a higher gear.

5 comments:

  1. Nothing new, really. Miguel Estrada became one of the first filibustered judges after W nominated him to a seat on the DC Circuit mostly to deny him the foundation for an eventual nomination to the Supreme Court.

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  2. Christopher B - I had forgotten that. Thank you.

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  3. raven1:05 PM

    This is a vote? And Franken is involved? So how many times do we count?
    Can't to too sure, ya know.

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  4. So, in other words, he's unfit to be a judge because he's the kind of judge who sometimes becomes a Supreme Court Justice?

    It's more basic than that. He's unfit, in Franken's and Progressive-Democrats' eyes, because he's likely to rule on the basis of the Constitution or the statute instead of "interpreting" either to suit Franken's or Progressive-Democrats' particular political agendas.

    As to the "veto" of judicial nominations, that only exists to the extent the Majority Leader or the committee chairman kowtows to it. The Blue Slip is a tradition, not even a Senate Rule. It can be ignored with impunity, other than the terror of the other party's opprobrium.

    Eric Hines

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  5. other than the terror of the other party's opprobrium.

    McConnell's wetted-pants collection grows again.

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