Thursday, February 24, 2005
More words of advice from Specter
Arlen Specter has some (in his mind, at least) sage advice for the President. From the Washington Post:
Of course Specter's comments, while not endearing him to conservatives, did inspire the Post to gush about this oh-so-brave soul.
Hat tip to Kathryn Lopez.
Also posted at Confirm Them.
President Bush would be wise to "pick up the phone" and consult with Democrats before choosing a new Supreme Court justice. "The advice clause in the Constitution has been largely ignored." If there is a vacancy on the high court, "the far right is going to come hard at a nominee if it is not a nominee of their choosing. But I think there's a much broader base in America than the far right." Changing the Senate rules to prohibit filibusters of judicial nominees -- the "nuclear option" -- could have deleterious short-term effects and run the long-term risk of eroding the rights of the minority. "If we go to the nuclear option . . . the Senate will be in turmoil and the Judiciary Committee will be hell."The article goes on to note that
If you thought that his brush with losing the committee chairmanship had chastened the legendarily contrarian Specter, if you thought his recent diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease might have tempered his approach -- well, that wasn't the Specter on display in a visit with The Post editorial board yesterday. Instead, the discussion featured Specter Unbound: the Specter who voted against Robert H. Bork rather than the one who rallied to the defense of Clarence Thomas.You know, I could swear someone here warned about this happening. Anyway, the Post is right, Specter has not given any indication of being remotely chastened by either his narrow primary victory or the failed Judiciary Committee coup.
Of course Specter's comments, while not endearing him to conservatives, did inspire the Post to gush about this oh-so-brave soul.
This may be the Specter conservatives feared -- but it also seems like the chairman the committee (and the country) needs.Indeed. Surely the country needs a duplicitous, self-serving RINO chairing the committee which plays a vital role in shaping the judiciary, an individual with absolutely no loyalty to his party or president and who is seemingly committed to sinking true-blue conservatives before they breach the sanctity of our Courts, and who is well-trained in the John McCain school of kissing up to the press.
Hat tip to Kathryn Lopez.
Also posted at Confirm Them.
# posted by Paul Zummo : 9:16 AM
