You left out a couple of paragraphs......I figure the average racist, particularly ones who are in public office, try to hide their racist views as much as possible. By reading the commentary below, it looks to me that Pickering, like Lott, didn't do such a great job. But hey, I'm a liberal.
ted
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Despite giving ambiguous responses to the Democrats' questions about his uncertain past, Pickering received lavish praise from committee Republicans. While Democrats expressed genuine concern about Pickering's stance on abortion and civil rights, Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) commended Pickering for "moral courage" during the civil rights struggle. According to McConnell, if Pickering did not push for more progress in the area of civil rights, it was only because he wanted to bring change without inciting further violence.
Attacking what he called "leftist interest groups" for blocking Pickering's confirmation, Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) extolled Pickering for his supposed support of civil rights, in particular for founding the University of Mississippi's Institute of Racial Reconciliation. McConnell also dismissed charges that Pickering used the bench to proselytize. According to McConnell, groups that express concern about Pickering's assertion that the Bible should be the basis by which "all men's conduct should be judged" are simply displaying "hostility towards religion."
Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee raised important questions about Pickering, a man whose past actions speak more loudly than his present words.
The nomination of a candidate to the Fifth Circuit Court should not be taken lightly. The Republican-controlled Judiciary Committee certainly did not take the process lightly in 1995 when it summarily dismissed three of Clinton's four Fifth Circuit Court nominees without the courtesy of a hearing. A vote is currently scheduled for March 7, and NOW is urging its activists across the country to send the message to the Senate that we will not tolerate the appointment of Charles Pickering, an appointment that will undoubtedly put at risk many of our hard-won freedoms and rights. |
