Bush's Judges -- Well, personally I dislike the process the Democrats have used to block the nominations. And I dislike Bush's use of recess appointments. But sadly these are the games our politicians play.
I can live with the William Pryor appointment. I disagree with him, but I can live with it. Pickering, on the other hand, should not be elevated so high.
As a law student in 1959, Pickering wrote an article suggesting a way for Mississippi to strengthen its law against interracial marriage. Soon after his law school graduation, he formed a three-person law partnership with a man who ran for governor as a "total segregationist." Later, as a legislator serving in the all-white Mississippi state Senate, he voted against several measures intended to expand electoral opportunities for African- Americans. He also voted to continue funding for the Sovereignty Commission, a notorious state-funded agency founded to fight desegregation in Mississippi and to spy on civil rights and union activists.
Another Bush nominee, Priscilla Owen shouldn't even be on the bench. But we can get into her later.
As for your statement that "white southerners need not apply for judgeships" ... that is pure nonsense. Explain how SC's Dennis Shedd, NC's Allyson Duncan, KY's Michael McConnell, TX's Ed Prado, and AL's William Steele all were confirmed then?
Why is it that 99.999% of the country, basically anyone who does not work in the Senate, has no clue why these judicial nominees are being blocked? All people know is that 1) they include an oversample of women and minorities and 2) they were chosen by president Bush. This is exactly what the GOP wants the country to know, there hasn't been an argument coming from the other side- and the vote is next week.
The Democrats have screwed up once again. They should have run ads inserting the details of the nominees' past into the public spotlight. That would at least make the nation aware of the issues at hand. Instead, they've allowed the GOP senators to toe the line with absolutely no pressure at all.
