Posted on 01/24/2005 9:37:26 PM PST by Salmonslayer
Sen. Arlen Specter's latest hire is former NAACP assistant general counsel Hannibal G. Williams II Kemerer. The American Prowler has the gory details:
Kemerer was a protégé of Elaine Jones, who three years ago, as head of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, lobbied Sen. Ted Kennedy to delay confirmation of many of President Bush's judicial nominees to a federal circuit court where her group had pending litigation. When Jones and Kennedy's deal was revealed, she was forced to resign.
Specter hired Kemerer to deal specifically with the nominations and vetting of federal judicial nominees, a position many conservatives were led to believe by Specter would go, at the very least, to a Republican, and most likely to a conservative.
Specter, according to a longtime conservative judicial observer, made those promises during a meeting in late 2004 at which Specter was pleading for an opportunity to serve as Judiciary Chairman.
When word of Kemerer's hiring spread within the NAACP and Democratic Senate ranks, virtual whoops of glee were being emailed about.
As word earlier this week began to leak of Kemerer's employment, Specter slid his new hire into a staff position on the committee dealing with civil litigation issues and tort reform. And according to the Judiciary source, word is that all remarks made to the press are to make clear that Kemerer will not be working on judicial nominations.
But Specter, according to some close advisers, has told them as well as Kemerer that Kemerer will play a "critical" role on the Judiciary Committee.
"What everybody seems to be forgetting is that this guy is going to have access to all of our files, to all of our briefings. He will have access to everything because he is on the majority staff. If he were a Democratic hire, it might be another matter," says the Judiciary staffer. "But theoretically he is one of us."
Specter has further inflamed both the White House and Republican leadership in the Senate by his request that all judicial nominees -- even those who previously were cleared by the Judiciary Committee -- go through committee hearings. This would mean that someone like filibustered Texas supreme court justice Priscilla Owen would have to face full committee once again. "That hasn't gotten out too far, as far as I know," says the committee staffer. "But conservative legal groups are livid."
Looks like those of us who warned about the bane of Specter are being proven right. Will any of the conservatives who supported giving the Judiciary Committee chairmanship to Specter now admit to having second thoughts?
Ramesh Ponnuru is on top of it, as usual, while Sabertooth notes a separate disturbing Specter appointment.
Lets wait to see how he handles his first judicial hearing on a Superior Court Nomination. I think he did OK handling the Gonzalez confirmation hearing. We all know Specter is a Moderate to Liberal Republican, lets see how he does before lynching him
Malkin Nails Specter Ping
Specter was a mistake beforehand, and is a mistake now. When are the Repubs going to quit playing "Let's Make a Deal" in Washington and get serious about running this country right, and for the right, to get it back on course.
Just keep an eye on Specter, Malkin has his number, and so do we.
(Specter hired a 'NAACP' former executive for an important key position on the Legislative Committee. My quesiton is: "Shouldn't President Bush have seen this coming and if he did - what is wrong with this picture?"
Question: When is a 'conservative' not a conservative? =========================================
Specter hired Kemerer to deal specifically with the nominations and vetting of federal judicial nominees, a position many conservatives were led to believe by Specter would go, at the very least, to a Republican, and most likely to a conservative.
Specter, according to a longtime conservative judicial observer, made those promises during a meeting in late 2004 at which Specter was pleading for an opportunity to serve as Judiciary Chairman.
When word of Kemerer's hiring spread within the NAACP and Democratic Senate ranks, virtual whoops of glee were being emailed about.
fnord On Sept 8th CBS reported they had documents purported to be from Jerry Killian that reflected badly on Dubya, but 6 months earlier Dubya released his military records including an actual Killian document recommending Dubya become an officer. The document said…
Lt Bush is a dynamic outstanding young officer. He clearly stands out as a top notch fighter interceptor pilot. Lt Bush is possessed of sound judgment, yet is a tenacious competitor and an aggressive pilot. He is mature beyond his age and experience level as evidenced by his recent participation in the unit firing deployment.
One might logically assume this document would be the first thing mentioned after the CBS story. According to the Washington Post In Rush to Air, CBS Quashed Memo Worries (washingtonpost.com) the White House had 4 hours to respond to the documents and never even tried to deny the authenticity of the fake memos. Instead the White House gave the document to the AP and said…”Hey, look at these.” Why?
Dubya could have become overcome with righteous indignation and screamed that the MSM was persecuting him, but by waiting he let CBS dig the hole deeper. He let CBS implode without even working up a sweat.
That is cool thinking level headed strategy. The same strategy I saw when Dubya set into motion the war on Iraq. He made the case to the American people, the rat controlled Senate, and the socialist UN. And he got their approval. He timed it so the rats in Congress would be on record as supporting or condemning the war before the elections. In Jan of 2002 Dubya declared Iraq part of the Axis of Evil. 15 months later the talking was over and the toppling of statues began.
fnord In my opinion Dubya has done a brilliant job of electing Republican Senators. In 2002 Dubya bucked the trend by actively supporting and winning seats for Senate candidates. A vain man might try to win a huge 2nd term electoral point victory like Reagan and Nixon did, but in 2004 Dubya did just enough to win re-election and focused his attention on winning more Senate seats. Why?
So he could watch his legacy go down the tubes at the hands of Specter? The man he helped re-elect? Don’t make me laugh. I don’t know what Specter was promised or threatened with for his vote but you are watching a show. The vote on Dubya’s nominees is a done deal.
Gonzalez is a pro-abortion gun-grabber. Of course he won't have a problem with Specter.
Specter will be 75 next month and these are his last
years in the Senate. He's always been a strong-minded
liberal and certainly is NOT going to change now for
Bush or anyone else -- and now that he's enconsed as
Judiciary chairman (thanks to Bush & Santorum) he's going
to oppose conservative nominees. He is that rare politician
who is now beyond all accountabilty -- he has no reason
to fear the electorate, the President, or the party. He's
home safe -- and the prospective nominees are UNsafe!
ProLife Ping!
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Specter's promises are absolutely meaningless so there is no surprise about his latest hiree.
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