Left with no other options, Senate Dems have blocked a handful of Bush’s most extreme judicial nominees with filibusters. Republicans would have us believe this contributed to Dem setbacks on Election Day. This is utter nonsense.
Jubilant over their Election Day domination, GOP senators say those results prove that Democrats should stay away from filibusters and other tactics they term “judicial obstructionism” the label conservatives used to help defeat Democratic leader Tom Daschle.
“I’m wondering if they have the heart to try it again,” Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said. With one or even more Supreme Court vacancies possible in the future, Republicans are trying to create a link between the GOP’s gains and the blocking of 10 of President Bush’s judicial nominees by Senate Democrats over the last four years.
Have the heart? This has to be one of the more transparent psyche-out attempts in recent memory. The election results offer no clues as to how voters want Senate Dems to proceed with regards to right-wing judicial nominees, but the results do show that there’s no reason for the Dems to break with their previous strategy.
1. One Dem incumbent lost this year, but it had nothing to do with the filibusters — Out of all the Dems who helped block a handful of would-be judges, just one (Daschle) lost last week. And even that race had virtually nothing to do with Senate voting procedures and everything to do with a conservative state backing a conservative candidate. It was hardly a stinging national indictment against the Dems’ only remaining tactic.
2. People don’t know what a filibuster is — This is “inside pool” for most Americans, who don’t really understand the process anyway. With a Republican Senate, Republican House, and Republican White House, few are prepared to blame Dems when the GOP doesn’t get its way.
3. No one in the history of American politics has ever lost an election because of a filibuster — Name one; it’s impossible. If voters aren’t going to punish lawmakers for this, why should the Dems stop now?
4. It worked for their side — Congressional Republicans filibustered constantly in 1993 and 1994 when the situations were reversed (Dem WH, House, and Senate). I seem to recall it didn’t exactly hurt the GOP in the 1994 mid-term elections. If the Republicans can filibuster and get rewarded for their efforts, Dems hardly have a disincentive.
Ironically, the broader controversy is largely moot anyway. More than 200 judges were confirmed during Bush’s first term — more than any of the first terms of Clinton, Bush I, and Reagan — and the vacancy rate on the federal bench is the lowest it’s been since Carter.
Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on. Should a controversial nominee get blocked, Republicans will surely say that the move will cost Dems politically. Don’t believe them.