Should Bush Make Pickering a Recess Appointment?

AgapePress ^ | Chad Groening

[foreverfree]

Should Bush Make Pickering a Recess Appointment?

By Chad Groening

March 22, 2002

(AgapePress) - A constitutional attorney says President Bush should go ahead and use a recess appointment to get Judge Charles Pickering on the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Brian Fahling is senior policy analyst for the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy. He says many judges have been appointed by the recess procedure throughout our history, including two liberal jurists who have served on the U.S. Supreme Court.

"William Brennan and Earl Warren, two of the most liberal Supreme Court Justices in the history of our country, were recess appointments," Fahling says. "In fact, Earl Warren was sitting as a recess appointee during [the landmark civil rights case] Brown v. Board of Education."

Fahling says under such an appointment, the full Senate would then be able to confirm the nomination after the recess. "If you’re a recess appointee, it automatically goes for confirmation," he says. "It’s not a question of coming out of the Senate Judiciary Committee -- you are before the full body of the Senate."

The constitutional expert is confident Pickering would be confirmed. "It seems to me that President Bush might be well postured to go ahead and make a recess appointment of Judge Pickering because the body of the Senate, as a whole, would vote for him -- probably overwhelmingly," he says. "It's only the Senate Judiciary Committee which has served to obstruct his going to the floor for a full vote."

Fahling believes President Bush needs to fight for Pickering, otherwise it will be difficult to get any conservative judges appointed in the future.

© 2002 AgapePress all rights reserved.

[foreverfree]

Ok FReepers, I'm throwing this out to you.

foreverfree

[Pokey78]

Sounds good to me.

[pgobrien]

I love it! Hope President Bush sticks his thumb in their legislative eye!

[Clara Lou]

I'm not sure about repercussions if he did, but I'd love it.

[uncbob]

Well We will see if he still wants to play nice nice with the lefties or whether he likes hardball
If he doesn't make a recess appointment then Daschle will know he can be rolled whenever the democrats want to do it

[jackbill]

When I read the title, my first thought was no. But then, I was not aware that after the end of the session, the nomination would go to the full Senate. I'd say to the President - Go For It. Stuff it to Leaky Leahy.

[toddst]

Well We will see if he still wants to play nice nice with the lefties or whether he likes hardball If he doesn't make a recess appointment then Daschle will know he can be rolled whenever the democrats want to do it.

You are correct, IMHO. There is no down-side to George W. making this a recess appointment.

[Hildy]

Should he? Yes. Will he? No.

[pgkdan]

Of course he should! Rush was talking about this last week and was making no sense. He said that Bush shouldn't make recess appointments, that the best way to deal with Daschle and Leahy's obstructionism would be to wait until the next dem president and then sit on all his appointments! I thought that was the stupidest thing I'd ever heard Rush say. What in the hell does that do to resolve the problem we have now???

Oh well, the only way I see Bush getting any Conservatives on the Federal Judiciary is by recess appointment, and then let the whole Senate vote. I wonder if Bush has the b*lls...I used to think so, but lately I don't know.

[aristeides]

What day is the Senate scheduled to go on recess? Or is it on recess already?

[BnBlFlag]

A definite yes!

[MadelineZapeezda]

Here is a look at their scheduled days off. Looks like a they are off as of Monday 3/25.

[F16Fighter]

I think not only should Dubya go ahead and give Pickering a recess appointment, but he should begin nominated more conservatives to the judiciary, starting with JUDGE ROBERT BORK, he-he-heh...

[demkicker]

" Go For It. Stuff it to Leaky Leahy."

Yep, this will be a nice Easter gift for that obnoxious communist, Leahy! Hehehehehehe... e

[WatchOutForSnakes]

You are right. He should but he won't. He doesn't have the stomach for the fight. He still wants to "get along" with the democrats. It was his fathers downfall and it will be his too. I admire his foreign efforts but his signing of the CFR, letting Pickering fall and his support of amnesty for illegals are all domestic misakes, IMHO.

[Recovering_Democrat]

heh. Does a bear **** in the woods?

[Blake#1]

I hear ya! Appoint away W.

[Zoey]

I think you're right. Take a look at this. He just nominated another Democrat. Oh yeah, he's really showing them.

link

[dr_who]

...except for the question of constitutionality. Rememember that we took Clinton to task for this.

[Petronski]

Sounds like a clintonesque move to me.