For all the talk that Dems are too anxious to oppose every offensive Bush nominee that comes down the pike, let’s not forget that plenty of Republican senators are engaged in some “obstructionism” of their own.
A couple of months ago, Sens. Richard C. Shelby and Jeff Sessions, both Republicans from Alabama, blocked the confirmation of a top Army official. Shortly before that Trent Lott (R-Miss.) blocked a Senate vote on Bush’s nominee to head a base closing commission. Now, Sam Brownback is getting in on the fun.
Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas has quietly put a hold on Bush’s nomination of Julie Finley to be U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe because of her fervent support for abortion rights. Finley has been a major contributor to Bush and is a longtime Republican leader in the District of Columbia.
The White House contends that Finley’s proposed diplomatic post has nothing to do with abortion.
If the Bush gang thinks that matters, they must be new in town. This is the Republican Party of 2005 — it doesn’t matter if it’s a low-profile diplomatic post, the postmaster general, or a presidential council on physical fitness. If a Bush nominee doesn’t toe the party line on conservative social issues, then the nominee simply isn’t acceptable.
It’s also interesting the way in which GOP lawmakers will be so selective in applying their deeply-held beliefs. They say every presidential nominee deserves an up-or-down vote, except when Republicans decide they deserve no such thing. They say it’s wrong — and possibly even unconstitutional — to use Senate procedure to interfere with the nominating process, except when Republicans feel like utilizing those same procedures. They say it’s wrong when Dems apply an ideological litmus test to Bush nominees, but it’s fine when Republicans apply their own litmus tests to different Bush nominees.
We’re dealing with people of principles. Weak, malleable, and easily-forgotten principles.