Free Republic

A panel designed to take the political rancor out of selecting federal judges finds itself heaped in rancor as California Republican Party leaders squabble over whether the candidates are conservative enough for the bench. It is the latest in a power struggle between White House-backed moderates trying to steer the party toward more election victories and conservatives who resent the intrusion. And it threatens to deepen the chasm between warring Republicans when they need unity to win back the governor's office. "The conservative base of the Republican Party is very unhappy with this process," said Michael Schroeder, a former state...

Feinstein Link to Attack on Pledge West Coast's 9th Circuit Court May Face Break Up Los Angeles Times 09-22-97 WASHINGTON - The judges of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have called it "idiotic," "silly" and "very odd." No, they were not referring to their usual nemesis, the U.S. Supreme Court. Rather, the target of their complaints was a plan by Senate Republicans to break up the West Coast's large and liberal-leaning judicial district. In July, shortly after the 9th Circuit suffered a rapid-fire round of reversals in the Supreme Court, the Republicans pushed through the Senate a...

<p>WASHINGTON - Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said Friday that she had repeatedly tried to warn the White House last summer about serious problems identifying potential terrorism, but was finally told by a top official the day before the Sept. 11 attacks that it would be six months before he could review her remedies.</p>