More Democrat dirty tricks:
Memos of special interest on Hill *** Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have worked in close concert with outside special-interest groups to defeat President Bush's judicial nominees, according to internal Democratic staff memos.
In one memo to Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois obtained by The Washington Times, Washington lawyer Miguel A. Estrada is singled out as "especially dangerous" because "he is Latino." Mr. Estrada, born in Honduras, withdrew his nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in September after being filibustered for eight months.
In another memo, staffers for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts recommend that a Bush nominee to the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Tennessee Judge Julia S. Gibbons, be stalled until after that appellate court decided on the two major affirmative action cases dealing with the University of Michigan and its law school.
"The thinking is that the current 6th Circuit will sustain the affirmative action program, but if a new judge with conservative views is confirmed before the case is decided, that new judge will be able, under 6th Circuit rules, to review the case and vote on it," the staffers wrote. The 14 internal documents obtained by The Times — which did not come from a Senate staffer — appear to support some of the more serious accusations made by Republicans during the 39 hours of Senate debate over Democratic filibusters that ended yesterday morning.
Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have long proclaimed their independence from outside interest groups and angrily deny accusations that they considered the race of Mr. Bush's nominees before blocking them.***
I've been looking out the window, periodically, to make sure there isn't a flock of pigs flying over the neighborhood.