Posted on 03/15/2002 10:47:57 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia warned fellow Democrats on Friday they may pay a political price in the South for preventing a Mississippi judge from getting a seat on a federal appeals court.
"The political repercussions are too obvious to ignore," Miller said a day after the Democratic-led Senate Judiciary Committee (news - web sites) rejected President Bush (news - web sites)'s bid to elevate U.S. District Judge James Pickering of Mississippi to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (news - web sites).
On three party-line votes of 10-9, the panel refused to send Pickering to the full Senate for consideration, contending he cannot be trusted on civil rights. It brushed aside Bush's contention he has had a good record on this front.
Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi called the committee action "a slap" at his home state. And Miller, who has frequently broken ranks with Democrats on Capitol Hill, suggested on Friday the sting may be felt across the South.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, brushed off Miller's warning, saying, "I don't look at judicial nominations through a political prism."
Leahy said his job is to help determine if nominees are "qualified or not." In opposing Pickering, Leahy said during 12 years on the federal bench, the judge often put his own beliefs above the law.
Miller said he was "very disappointment" by the defeat of Pickering, calling him a "good and brave man," and warned of possible repercussions.
"This action may very well elect a Republican governor in Mississippi and it will certainly make it even more difficult for Democratic candidates to be successful in the South," Miller said in a statement.
Democratic Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove's term does not end until 2004. Members of Congress across the South are up for reelection this November.
Oh, I've been working in the trenches since I was kid, although only been freepin' for a couple of years.
And it ALWAYS matters, that's why we have integrity and they have 'people' like Beezel-Bubba.
Even if I'm the last conservative on the planet, I'm a goin' down swingin'!
We have two pro abortion RINOs here in Maine (Snowe and Collins)who would vote against his nomination anyway.
David
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.