Back To The Appellate Graveyard

Long about a week ago came this blurb in the Evans-Novak Report (h/t Powerline):

After months of laying off the judiciary issue, the Senate is now expected bring up the judicial nominations of D.C. Circuit Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and 4th Circuit nominee Terrence Boyle. Republicans hope to hold votes that will put political pressure on key Democrats. The strategy of filibustering judicial nominations has been disastrous for Democrats so far, and in key Senate races - especially in heartland states such as Minnesota, Michigan and Ohio - their intransigence could be a good issue for Republicans, even if confirmations prove impossible.

Of course it's a good issue for Republicans. It has been for years. Even better would be for the Democrats to resort reflexively to the filibuster weapon (aka the REAL "nuclear option"), as in fact their rhetoric and tactics of the past few years, as well as the runaway rabid extremism of their base supporters, makes well-nigh unavoidable. That would open the door for the 'Pubbies to trigger the Constitutional Option, ban judicial confirmation filibusters once and for all, and provide their core supporters with a reason to cheer them for the first time in months (and in front of the upcoming mid-term elections as well). It is, in short, a no-brainer.

This week Harry Reid is showing us why:

The Senate's top Democrat on Tuesday said he is considering a filibuster of two of President Bush's judicial nominees, saying one may have been involved in the Administration's policy on torture and the other ruled in a case in which he had a clear conflict of interest.

"The answer is yes, a possible filibuster, of course," Reid told reporters in answer to a question about the nomination of White House aide Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

The other nominee is federal judge Terrence Boyle, who Bush wants to send to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.

Kavanaugh's negatives, Reid added, "pale in comparison to Boyle." Reid said he had read in an online article that Boyle had bought stock in General Electric midway through presiding over a pension lawsuit against the company. Then Boyle ruled against the plaintiff's claims of long-term and pension disability benefits.

"He not only shouldn't be a trial court judge as he is, but to think that he should be elevated to a circuit court of appeals is outrageous," Reid said. [emphasis added]

These are two pre-conceived partisan filibusters in search of a flimsy justification. As if Dirty Harry thought to himself, "Geez, I have to have some reason to offer up for why we're going to filibuster these two fascists; lemme cruise through the "reality based" blogosphere and see what I can find on them."

The White House itself, for a change, blasted Reid's second-hand smear of Judge Boyle out of the water:

"There were a handful of cases over the years in which it appears that recusal was warranted," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. "But Judge Boyle has never intentionally participated in any matter in which he should have recused himself, nor has there been any suggestion that he overlooked any conflict or used his office for private gain."

As Ed Whelan needs little time in explaining, Reid's attack on Kavanaugh is equally fecal, if not moreso:

Here's what [Dirty Harry] has just been reported to have said today about Brett Kavanaugh's nomination:

"Here's a person who has been involved in a lot of things dealing with torture, and his experience is nonexistent, basically — 41-years old. I'm not sure he's ever been in a courtroom."

In fact, I am reliably informed that Kavanaugh had zero involvement in Administration policy on detainees. And Kavanaugh has, among other things, argued cases in the Supreme Court and court of appeals.

Whelan does go on at greater length today on Kavanaugh's ample qualifications for his appointment to the federal appellate bench, and the Donks' sole, and wearisomely familiar, reason for turning it into another jihad:

Democrats will....try to translate their own unprincipled and partisan opposition to Kavanaugh into the charge that Kavanaugh himself is somehow too partisan. But they have no evidence to support this charge—and a long tradition to defy. Unhinged by their own frenzied hostility to President Bush and former independent counsel Ken Starr, the Democrats, supposed champions of public service, will really be punishing Kavanaugh for his highly commendable record of public service.

The operative phrase, of course, being, "Unhinged by their own frenzied hostility to President Bush..."

It was Majority Leader Bill Frist who finally started this process moving again, and John Cornyn of Texas declared yesterday, "If the Minority Leader is looking to pick a fight on judges, we're ready."

You'd better be, Senator. It may be your caucus' last chance at self-preservation.