Yet Another Snarlin' Arlen "I Told You So"

Long time readers will recall that I did not support the elevation of Senator Arlen Specter (RINO-PA) to the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In the latter link I posted the following prediction:

[Republicans have] handed the Judiciary Chair over to a man who is an ideological foe, an iconoclastic grandstander, and whose word has repeatedly proven to mean nothing. And it's not going to be long in coming back to bite them in the ass.

How ironic it is, then, to see Hugh Hewitt, one of Specter's biggest defenders last fall, post the following "dismaying" news this morning:

It is primarily because of this almost certain "manufacturing" of dirt about any nominee that I read the New York Times' account of Senator Specter's plans with dismay:

"Within hours of Justice O'Connor's announcement on Friday, Mr. Specter said he would probably hold confirmation hearings in September, a move that could upset conservatives, who would like to move a nominee along as quickly as possible in the hope of outflanking liberal groups that plan to use the summer months to prepare for a confirmation battle. Mr. Specter, though, says only that the Senate has 'an obligation to confirm the justice by the 1st of October" and that he intends to meet that deadline.'"

This is where the GOP leadership needs to communicate with Chairman Specter that August hearings are indeed what the caucus, the President and the party wants, and that his cooperation in such scheduling was presumed when he won the chairmanship late last year. Specter's been a good Chairman to date, but he needs to get this train moving before the left gets its mob organized.

Republicans could have assured prompt scheduling of these hearings by passing over Specter for Judiciary Chairman and giving that gavel to Senators Grassley or Kyl, Pachyderms who could be relied upon to carry out their responsibilities loyally and dependably. Instead Snarlin' Arlen is giving the far left-wing an extra month to stir up their shitstorm, and trust me, their "mob" is already "organized."

Ass-biting time has arrived. But those wounds, as I forecasted nearly eight months ago, will be entirely self-inflicted.

UPDATE: Never mind Specter, says Bradford Berenson - why is the White House dragging its feet?

UPDATE - 7/4: NRO also serves up timely reminders of Snarlin' Arlen's liberalism and recent smear against Robert Bork and his staunch belief in judicial supremacism.