Liberal D.C. Paper Critical of Democrats’ Foot Dragging



By Fred Jackson and Jody Brown

One of the nation's more liberal newspapers is chastening the Democrats over their handling of President Bush's judicial nominees.

The criticism is significant because of the source: an editorial in The Washington Post, a paper that tends to endorse the Democrats' political agenda. Although noting that the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, has done better in recent weeks, the Post's editorial concludes his pace of dealing with Bush's nominees falls far below his recent predecessors.

For example, Ronald Reagan saw all but one of his 88 nominees confirmed in his first two years in office. And when Bush's father was in the White House, 70 of his 74 nominees were confirmed in the same time period. Bill Clinton faired just as well, with 126 of his 140 nominees receiving quick hearings.

In contrast, the Post says Leahy has seen fit to deal with only 59% of President Bush's 123 nominees. The editorial also notes that eleven of Bush's circuit court nominees have waited more than a year for a hearing — an “indignity” the Post points out no nominees suffered during the first two years of the past three administrations.

The Post fails to offer an explanation for this. But many pro-family groups have charged that the foot-dragging of Leahy has to do with a political agenda that favors liberal activist judges. They say nominees with conservative values do not fit that Democratic agenda.

John Nowacki of the Judicial Selection Monitoring Project, in an editorial for The Washington Times earlier this year, points out Senator Leahy is not following the standard of fairness for dealing with nominations — a standard the senator himself set forth two years ago. At that time, Leahy stated a judicial nominee ought to be voted upon in the Senate within 60 days after nomination. [See Washington Times Editorial]

(This article courtesy of Agape Press.)

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