Posted on 11/14/2002 9:41:19 AM PST by deport
By JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Democrats on Thursday agreed to send two of President Bush (news - web sites)'s nominees for the federal appeals court to the full Senate for confirmation, despite opposition from civil rights and anti-abortions groups who said the men were too extreme.
The Democratic-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee (news - web sites) by voice vote sent the U.S. Appeals Court nominations of U.S. District Court Judge Dennis Shedd and University of Utah professor Michael McConnell on to the full Senate as an olive branch to Republicans who will be in charge next year.
Shedd wants a seat on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (news - web sites) in Richmond, Va., and McConnell wants to sit on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. Approval of the two nominees is considered likely during the Senate's last-minute rush to clear the pending nominations.
In a nod to the Republicans, outgoing Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., did not call for a roll call vote on either of the nominations in the committee — which has 10 Democrats and nine Republicans — and judged that there were enough "yea" votes to consider Shedd approved.
It was the first time that Leahy had not called for a roll call vote on a U.S. Appeals Court nominee since Democrats took over the Senate in June 2000.
Shedd has been criticized by civil rights groups, which accused him of having a "deep and abiding hostility toward civil rights cases" as a district court judge.
But Sen. Orrin Hatch (news, bio, voting record), R-Utah, and the incoming Senate Judiciary chairman, called Shedd a "decent, honorable, fair-minded person" and called for his confirmation as a nod to Sen. Strom Thurmond (news, bio, voting record), R-S.C.
The 99-year-old Thurmond has asked for Shedd's confirmation before his January retirement after a 48-year career. Shedd is a former aide to the senator.
McConnell also was approved by the committee on a voice vote. Liberal groups have denounced McConnell, an anti-abortion advocate, saying his lifetime of work for conservative causes makes him too biased to be a judge. But "I trust that Professor McConnell will not seek to undermine women's reproductive rights," Leahy said.
Hatch, who is McConnell's patron, said he would make a fine judge on the regional courts that are one step below the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites).
The GOP gains power in the Senate when the 108th Congress begins in January.
Shedd and McConnell now join other nominees awaiting final Senate action.
Senate aides have said Democrats are unlikely to clear all of the judges, ambassadors, federal boards and other positions languishing in the Senate nominees unless Democratic nominees are approved as well.
Among them are Jonathan S. Adelstein, a longtime aide of Democratic leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., who was nominated to the Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites).
Daschle said Wednesday there was still hope. "My goal is that before the end of the session we will have cleared all or just about all of the executive calendar," the Senate majority leader said.
The Democratic-controlled Senate has confirmed 81 of 130 U.S. Appeals and District Court nominees.
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On the Net:
Senate Judiciary Committee: http://judiciary.senate.gov
So let me see if I get this right. A man beats another man until he knocks him on the ground. Then, while standing above him with a knife and cackling maniacally, the man on the ground suddenly produces a pistol from his coat pocket. The man with the knife then throws his weapon aside, reaches out his hand and says, "Hey, can't we just get along. Here, I'll help you up."
That's "offering an olive branch"? No, that's hoping that your opponent isn't a pr**k like you have been. And honestly, I hope we aren't. I hope that the Republicans can act forcefully, but with respect when holding power. This will make the non-political, yet voting, people in the country feel that they are safer with the mature Republicans in charge. No red meat politics for a while, let's just get our stuff passed and get on with increasing liberty and reducing government.
Revenge is best served cold, and taking Daschle's seat in SD is the best revenge we could get. Let's make him irrelevant in the next 2 years.
They're beginning to realize why they lost in the midterm elections.
One "for instance" lies in Patrick Leahy's blocking one fine Hispanic judge -- Miguel Estrada -- a genuine Mexican immigrant success story.
These AP guys need to learn the terminology. YOUR team (the opponents) are pro-abortion. OUR team (the victors) are the anti-abortionists, but we'd really rather you'd call us pro-life!
The White House is also calling for swift committee action on appeals court candidate Kentucky law professor John Rogers.
When the 108th Congress convenes in January, the administration intends to re-nominate two judges Democrats rejected in party line votes — Judge Charles Pickering of Mississippi, and Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen.
Expect a long-delayed committee vote on Miguel Estrada, the Hispanic judge regarded as a likely Supreme Court candidate.
And as the White House works on its Supreme Court short list, another strong contender will be White House counsel and Bush ally Alberto Gonzales.
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