Posted on 12/11/2001 5:24:34 AM PST by Stand Watch Listen
Every time you turn around here in Washington, you step in another one. Just when you thought you'd heard the most ridiculous piece of propaganda, the most blatant lie, the most misleading spin, the bird of partisan poop plops another pile right on your head.
Washington, after all, is the where increases in spending are called spending cuts - because the increase was smaller than it could have been.
Well, nothing tops the debate about judicial confirmations for outright lies, deception and cover-up. There was the claim by Senate Democrats that Republicans had blocked more than half of President Clinton's appeals court nominees when they ran the Senate. Turns out the Dems were actually counting nominations rather than nominees. That way they could double and triple count nominees who were not confirmed in one Congress, then re-nominated and confirmed in the next. Yes, Democrats were counting as blocked nominees many individuals who are today federal judges.
There was the claim that Democrats today are ahead of the confirmation pace in the first year of the Clinton or previous Bush administrations. Turns out the Dems were actually comparing confirmation totals rather than confirmation rates. That way they did not have to admit that while the Senate confirmed as many available nominees as they could in 1993 and 1989, the Senate this year confirmed as few as they possibly could.
That misleading argument does not even work anymore; since the Senate in 1993 confirmed 27 nominees by December 1 and this year the Senate confirmed only 18.
Part of the Democrat strategy is to chuck as much crap, er, stuff out there as possible. This manure spreading operation shields their partisan obstruction campaign in four different ways.
* First, whether the stuff is true or false, if people believe any of it they will think the Dems are doing as much as they can to confirm President Bush's judicial nominees. No one can fault them for doing their best, especially since September 11.
* Second, though most of the stuff is false, there will be so blasted much of it that correcting it all will be simply impossible.
* Third, the flurry of numbers, claims, and corrections will eventually become like rain on the roof or muzak in the dentist's office. Just background stuff that no one pays any attention to.
* Fourth, since practically everyone believes that practically every politician lies about practically everything anyway, no one will care that the stuff is false.
And the crap just keeps coming. The latest chunk, thrown by both Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, is that the many judicial vacancies today are President Bush's fault for not making enough nominations.
Give that baby just a second of thought. The Senate has confirmed just one-third of the nominees the president has sent them - and they're using as an excuse for that slow pace that the president has not sent them even more? They're claiming as the reason they're so far behind that they could be further behind?
The Senate has confirmed only 21 nominees all year, less than half the number President had sent them by the end of July. Forty-three more are waiting for confirmation. Only three of the eleven appeals court nominees the president announced on May 9 have even had a hearing. The only nominees that matter to the Senate are the ones on their plate now, not the additional ones the president may send them later.
Plus consider this. President Bush started nominations months earlier than previous presidents and has made a record number of nominations in his first year. A record number of nominations. Did I mention that President Bush set a record for first-year nominations? He had made 44 nominations by the time President Clinton had made a single one. Senate Democrats are saying they have been so slow in confirming judges because a record number of nominations is not high enough........
Senator Leahy Does Not Meet His Own Standards
Source:.cnsnews.com; Published: December 07, 2001
Author: By John NowackiSenator Daschle Must Remove 'Leaky Leahy' From Judiciary Committee
Source: Too Good Reports; Published: December 4, 2001
Author: Rev. Louis P. SheldonA Disgraceful Blocking of Nominees
Source: The Wall Street Journal (ltr to ed) Published December 3, 2001Mr. Leahy's Fuzzy Math
Source: Washington Times;Published: December 3, 2001
Author:EditorialSen. Patrick Leahy; Our Constitutional Conscience?
Source: Too Good Reports; Published: December 2, 2001
Author: Paul E. ScatesJudicial confirmations called significantly low
Source: Washington Times; Published: November 30, 2001
Author: Audrey HudsonPatrick Leahy - Words Do Kill
Source: PipeBombNews.com; Published: November 29, 2001
Author: William A. MayerJudicial Profiling
Source: The Wall Street Journal; Published: November 27, 2001Sen. Leahy's judicial hostages
Source: Washington Times; Published: November 21, 2001Judges Delayed is Justice Denied
Source: CNSNews.com ; Published: November 20, 2001;
Author: Thomas L. JippingPartisanship is Prevalent with Leahy's Judicial Confirmations
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: November 15, 2001
Author: John NowackiLeahy And Daschle Are Coming Face To Face With Their Own Words
Author: John NowackiObedient Democrats
Source: CNSNEWS.com; Published October 26, 2001
Author: Thomas L. JippingWhy is Daschle Blocking Judges needed to Try Terrorists when we Catch them?
Source: Banner of Liberty; Published:October 26, 2001
Author: Mary MostertPat Leahy's Passive Aggressive Game
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: October 25, 2001
Author: John NowackiOperation Obstruct Justice
Source: Washington Times; Published: October 25, 2001
Author: T.L.JippingDaschle wins struggle over judicial nominations
Source: The Washington Times; Published: Oct 24, 2001
Author: Dave BoyerLeahy doctrine ensures judicial gridlock
Source: Washington Times; Published October 22, 2001Senate's judicial powergrab: Tom Jipping tracks Dems' assault on courts
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: June 28, 2001
Author: Tom Jipping
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