Justice obstructed in the U.S. Senate

Boston Herald ^ | 7/08/04 | Boston Herald editorial staff

[kattracks]

It's a clear case of obstructing justice, and it ought to be a crime. Problem is, the obstruction is going on in the U.S. Senate. And though he's just a freshman, John Edwards [related, bio] has already become a master of the game.
      Yesterday President Bush [related, bio] attempted to blow the whistle - again - on the cynical games being played by Democratic members of the Senate who have held up the nominations of dozens of members of the federal judiciary.
     Yesterday Bush visited North Carolina and Michigan where a total of nine vacancies exist on the federal bench because the senators from those states refuse even to grant some nominees a hearing.
     All of the nominees, by the way, have been rated well qualified or qualified by the American Bar Association, so competence is not the issue. However, the raw exercise of political partisanship is.
     For example, the nomination of Terrence Boyle, chief judge of the federal district court for eastern North Carolina, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit has been pending since May 9, 2001 - thanks entirely to John Edwards.
     Eight of the nine nominees have been on hold for more than 1,000 days. In six of those cases the vacancies have created a genuine judicial emergency.
     ``You're being hung out by a handful of United States senators,'' Bush said he told three of his judicial nominees after meeting with them privately in North Carolina.
      In addition to holding up the Boyle nomination, Edwards has delayed confirmation hearings on a federal judgeship for Robert Conrad, a former U.S. attorney in North Carolina. Apparently that's a bit of payback for Conrad urging former Attorney General Janet Reno to appoint a special counsel to investigate Al Gore's 1996 fund-raising.
      Imagine the pettiness of a senator acting that way. Imagine that level of pettiness in the White House.
     

[ScaniaBoy]

Oh c'me on. Give the man a break. Edwards has been sooo busy.

/sarcasm

[farfromhome]

[samtheman]

obstruction alert

[EQAndyBuzz]

I believe that Rove, once Bush is reelected will do everything he can to ensure that there is not another liberal judge appointed to any seat on the bench over the next 20 years.

This game is starting to get serious. In 117 days everyone shows their cards.

[votelife]

from your keyboard to God's ears!