Posted on 10/09/2002 7:25:37 AM PDT by FreedomWarrior
October 9, 2002 9:25 a.m.
Leahys Surprise Attack
Another Bush nominee is whacked by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Tuesday's meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee was supposed to be a routine affair a brief consideration of some lower-court judges, a discussion of pending legislation, and a quick adjournment so senators could move on to their next appointments.
It didn't work out that way. Instead, the routine gave way to an impassioned argument that revealed a level of bitterness inside the committee that has not been seen in more than a decade. And that bitterness is not just the result of profound ideological disagreements. Now, it is personal.
The subject was the nomination of Dennis Shedd to a place on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Shedd is well known and respected inside the committee. He is a former top aide to Sen. Strom Thurmond and served as chief counsel of the committee in the 1980s. He has been a U.S. District Court judge in South Carolina for the last eleven years and was nominated by President Bush for an appeals-court seat on May 9, 2001. He received the American Bar Association's top rating, and had a hearing before the committee on June 27 of this year.
But the committee has not voted on Shedd's nomination, meaning it cannot go to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. Shedd had been scheduled for a vote on September 19, but Democrat Edward Kennedy, who opposes the nomination, asked that the vote be delayed a standard procedure under the committee's rules. According to those rules, a nomination that has been placed on an agenda but then delayed will be taken up at the next business meeting.
That next meeting was Tuesday. Republicans were sure that Shedd would be on the agenda, but late Monday, they learned that committee chairman Patrick Leahy had removed Shedd's name from the list of nominations to be considered. Orrin Hatch, the committee's ranking Republican, was outraged. This is personal, Hatch said. Everyone knows Shedd, and knows that the committee usually shows some deference to former staff members. But in this case, Hatch charged, Democrats were attempting to "violate, ignore, and/or abuse this rule for the expediency of the desired outcome."
"I am struck by the irony," Hatch said at the meeting, "that several members of this committee who support the rule-breaking removal of the Shedd nomination talk a good game about the importance of judges following the law and not ignoring it when it would suit them to do so. Today we learn that such talk is just talk."
Even Thurmond, the terribly frail 99-year-old Republican who once chaired the committee and made Shedd its chief counsel, made an appearance at the meeting to express his anger. "In my 48 years in the United States Senate, I have never been treated in such a manner," Thurmond read from a prepared statement. "You assured me on numerous occasions that Judge Shedd would get a vote, and that is all that I have ever asked of you. I have waited patiently for over 17 months, and I have extended every courtesy to you."
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, several Republicans echoed Thurmond's charges and all but accused Leahy of lying to them. "I approached him several times" to talk about Shedd, said GOP senator Sam Brownback. "He assured me numerous times that he was going to see that this got through." Hatch also said Leahy had pledged a vote on Shedd. "He promised me," Hatch said. "He promised Senator Thurmond."
"This is all politics," Hatch said, "and it's rotten politics, at that."
It's not entirely clear why Leahy canceled the Shedd vote. It was widely believed inside the committee that at least one, and perhaps two or three, Democrats planned to vote for Shedd, which would easily send the nomination to the full Senate. But it is also true that in recent weeks civil-rights groups have ratcheted up their attacks on Shedd. On October 2, the Congressional Black Caucus sent a letter to Leahy repeating earlier charges that Shedd's record shows "a pattern of insensitivity toward the issues that most affect minorities." In July, NAACP delegates meeting at the group's convention in Houston voted to oppose Shedd's nomination. Shortly afterward, NAACP president Kwesi Mfume wrote Leahy a letter saying that "Judge Shedd's membership to [sic] the Fourth Circuit would further radicalize a court that has practiced judicial activism in a manner that hurts racial and ethnic minorities and disenfranchised Americans."
Now the Shedd nomination, after coming so close to a committee vote, appears to be in limbo. Late yesterday, Hatch, along with Thurmond and Iowa Republican Charles Grassley, sent a letter to Leahy invoking a rarely-used rule requesting a special meeting of the committee. If Leahy agrees, the meeting will be this week. But a meeting is just a meeting. Right now, there is no evidence that Leahy plans to allow Shedd to move forward.
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Pickering. Owen. Estrada. Shedd. And dozens in limbo.
Why, they are not lying, they are just communists,... err.. Democrats!
President Bush should RECESS APPOINT ALL NOMINEES that have waited six months or longer for hearings at the first opportunity after January 3, 2003. Time to play hardball with the commies.
Leahy is a snake. I cannot stand that man.
Shedded by Judiciary: Senate Democrats cast off another appointee
Source: Wall St Journal; Published: October 9, 2002Miguel Estrada May be Next Victim Of Judiciary's 'Gang Of Ten'
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: September 09, 2002; Author: Paul M. WeyrichToward Priscilla Owen, Not Even The Pretense Of Fairness
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: August 01, 2002; Author: John NowackiThe Owen Nomination: Liberals Don't Let Truth Stand In Their Way
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: July 18, 2002; Author: John NowackiDemocrats Hold Judicial Nominations for 406 Days and Counting
Source: CNSNEWS.com; Published: June 21, 2002; Author: Christine HallJudge The Senate Judiciary Committee Not By What It Says, But What It Has Done
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: | June 06, 2002; Author: John NowackiThe Left Keeps Trying -- And Failing -- To Smear Brooks Smith
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: May 16, 2002; Author: John NowackiPickering Battle Places Congress on Verge of 'Institutional Crisis'
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: March 07, 2002; Author: Jeff JohnsonMake them pay for 'Borking': David Limbaugh rebukes spineless Republicans to support Pickering
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: March 5, 2002; Author: David LimbaughThe GOP's Post-Pickering Strategy
Source: National Review Online; Published: March 1, 2002; Author: Byron YorkPickering Fight Shows Liberals At Their Worst
Source: Roll Call.com; Publblished: February 21, 2002; Author: Mort KondrackeStill Pestering Pickering
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: February 19, 2002; Author: John NowackiDismantling Democracy through Judicial Activism
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: February 12, 2002; Author:Tom Jipping'A Troubling Pattern': Ideology Over Truth In Judicial Confirmations
Source: Too Good Reports; Published: February 10, 2002; Author: Paul E. ScatesDemocrats Blast Bush Judicial Nominee
Source: CNSNEWS.com; Published: February 08, 2002; Susan JonesThe Next Big Fight: The first major judicial-confirmation battle of the Bush administration.
Source: National Review: Published: Feburary 6, 2002; Author:Byron YorkSYMPOSIUM Q: Should the Senate Take Ideology into Account in Judicial Confirmations
Source: INSIGHT magazine; Published: February 4, 2002;
Authors:
Ralph G. Neas -- YES: The ideology of nominees for the federal judiciary matters more now than ever
Roger Pilon -- NO: Since judges apply law, not make it, the Senate's concern should be with judicial temperamentWhat is the Judiciary Committee Trying to Hide?
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: January 29, 2002; Author: Thomas L. JippingBlasting Conservative Judges: Liberals Launch Their Campaign
Source: cnsnews.com; Published: January 24 2002; Matt PyeattJudicial Confirmation Lies, Deception and Cover-up
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: December 11, 2001; Author: Thomas L. JippingSenator Leahy Does Not Meet His Own Standards
Source:.cnsnews.com; Published: December 07, 2001; Author: By John NowackiSenator Daschle Must Remove 'Leaky Leahy' From Judiciary Committee
Source: Too Good Reports; Published: December 4, 2001; Author: Rev. Louis P. SheldonA Disgraceful Blocking of Nominees
Source: The Wall Street Journal (ltr to ed) Published December 3, 2001Mr. Leahy's Fuzzy Math
Source: Washington Times;Published: December 3, 2001; Author:EditorialSen. Patrick Leahy; Our Constitutional Conscience?
Source: Too Good Reports; Published: December 2, 2001; Author: Paul E. ScatesJudicial confirmations called significantly low
Source: Washington Times; Published: November 30, 2001; Author: Audrey HudsonPatrick Leahy - Words Do Kill
Source: PipeBombNews.com; Published: November 29, 2001; Author: William A. MayerJudicial Profiling
Source: The Wall Street Journal; Published: November 27, 2001Sen. Leahy's judicial hostages
Source: Washington Times; Published: November 21, 2001Judges Delayed is Justice Denied
Source: CNSNews.com ; Published: November 20, 2001; Author: Thomas L. JippingPartisanship is Prevalent with Leahy's Judicial Confirmations
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: November 15, 2001; Author: John NowackiLeahy And Daschle Are Coming Face To Face With Their Own Words
Obedient Democrats
Source: CNSNEWS.com; Published October 26, 2001; Author: Thomas L. JippingWhy is Daschle Blocking Judges needed to Try Terrorists when we Catch them?
Source: Banner of Liberty; Published: October 26, 2001; Author: Mary MostertPat Leahy's Passive Aggressive Game
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: October 25, 2001; Author: John NowackiOperation Obstruct Justice
Source: Washington Times; Published: October 25, 2001; Author: T.L.JippingDaschle wins struggle over judicial nominations
Source: The Washington Times; Published: Oct 24, 2001; Author: Dave BoyerLeahy doctrine ensures judicial gridlock
Source: Washington Times; Published October 22, 2001Senate's judicial powergrab: Tom Jipping tracks Dems' assault on courts
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: June 28, 2001; Author: Tom JippingDems Will Shut Down Judicial Confirmations
Source: CNSNews.com Commentary from the Free Congress Foundation; Published: June 13, 2001;
Author: Thomas L. Jipping
And not just about this issue!
God Bless ol' Strom.
And may Leahy rot in H#!!.
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