Judicial appointments have lagged this year...even more than last year. Harry Reid, Majority Leader in the Senate, had promised in a June letter that he would "treat President Bush's judicial nominees with more respect than President Clinton's received from a Republican Senate".
He has until the end of September when this Congress calls it quits to live up to that commitment and it isn't at all likely to happen. President Clinton, in his last two years in office, had 15 circuit judges and 57 district court judges confirmed. As of today, the Democrat Senate under Harry Reid would need to confirm 5 additional circuit court judges and 9 district court judges just to equal that Republican Senate he decried.
We all know this is not going to happen. Harry Reid has proved to be not only a poor Majority Leader, but has also demonstrated that his word is certainly nothing upon which anyone should rely. There actually was a time when a politician's word meant just what it was supposed to mean. My sense is that this has gone by the way. We all suffer as the result since much 'horse trading' is involved in virtually every bill that is passed or not passed. Even the horse traders of yesteryear were good to their word.
One other thought stays with me through this debacle we're witnessing. The Republicans continue to think that bipartisanship means that they have to give on every issue. That is just flat wrong. The Democrats have consistently outmaneuvered the Republicans this term and that was essentially caused by the lack of will power and commitment to positions taken amongst too many Republicans.
As a conservative, I am accustomed to being perturbed with Republicans. However, this mass surrender on such important issues as judicial appointments is simply a travesty! We'll all live with the results over many years to come. Witness the Supreme Court appointments that continue to hurt the conservative cause.
The Democrats are hopeful that they'll see their slate elected to the Executive branch, and expect that they'll dominate both houses of Congress when the November elections are over. If the McCain/Palin ticket continues to gain strength, as is currently the case, maybe the Democrat gambit will have been a failure, but that remains to be seen. Republicans seem to forget that they can take the Senate's inaction out to the voters as has been done in the past. Let us decide if we like that 'stalling' approach or not.
Sometimes a 'do nothing' Congress is the best thing we could have.
