Schumer: No More Free Rides For Bush SCOTUS Nominees
Posted on Fri Jul 27, 2007 at 06:59:07 PM EST
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Chalk this one up as better late than never:
New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer, a powerful member of the Democratic leadership, said Friday the Senate should not confirm another U.S. Supreme Court nominee under President Bush “except in extraordinary circumstances.”“We should reverse the presumption of confirmation,” Schumer told the American Constitution Society convention in Washington. “The Supreme Court is dangerously out of balance. We cannot afford to see Justice Stevens replaced by another Roberts, or Justice Ginsburg by another Alito.”
. . . Senators were too quick to accept the nominees’ word that they would respect legal precedents, and “too easily impressed with the charm of Roberts and the erudition of Alito,” Schumer said. “There is no doubt that we were hoodwinked,” said Schumer, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee and heads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Yes, Senator. You were. More.
In Friday’s speech, he said his “greatest regret” in the last Congress was not doing more to scuttle Alito. “Alito shouldn’t have been confirmed,” Schumer said. “I should have done a better job. My colleagues said we didn’t have the votes, but I think we should have twisted more arms and done more.” . . . Schumer said there were four lessons to be learned from Alito and Roberts: Confirmation hearings are meaningless, a nominee’s record should be weighed more heavily than rhetoric, “ideology matters” and “take the president at his word.” “When a president says he wants to nominate justices in the mold of [Antonin] Scalia and [Clarence] Thomas,” Schumer said, “believe him.”
Yep.
Update [2007-7-27 22:12:42 by Big Tent Democrat]: I told you so:
Well, I don't know what Dems in Washington are thinking, but it is my view that we fight over this SCOTUS nomination AND the next one, if Bush puts up unacceptable nominees.Robert is slated to replace the swing vote on many, if not most, of the momentous issues facing the Court. The Bush Administration has stonewalled and covered up Roberts' record on the key issues. Privacy. The Commerce power. Executive power. Civil rights. Federal jurisdiction. Right now, Roberts has not demonstrated his worthiness for the Court and has a paper trail of opposing privacy that makes him unacceptable. Today, he must be filibustered based on the record made available for review by the Bush Administration.
So, the SCOTUS fight is this nomination and the next. The Senate must have the information necessary to determine whether Bush's nominees are out of the mainstream. So far, even on the sparse record, it appears Roberts is clearly out of the mainstream and unacceptable.
What Democrats must do is establish a clear standard of acceptability and stick to it. I think Justice O'Connor sets the bar. Bush should nominate judges with Justice O'Connor's temperament and views. A conservative Justice in the mainstream with demonstrated respect for the institution and for stare decisis. This is fair and right and what the American people desire.
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