Best of the Web Today - November 19, 2004
By JAMES TARANTO
Here Come the Judges
We've been hearing a lot of late about the big battles ahead in the Senate over President Bush's judicial appointments. But it may turn out that the battles will already have been won before the president submits his first nomination to the 109th Congress. Senate Republicans, with their enhanced majority, seem to be moving to consolidate their power over the confirmation process.
The Arlen Specter kerfuffle seems to have come to an end. Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans agreed yesterday to support the moderate-to-liberal Pennsylvanian's bid to chair the committee. Specter's fellow committeemen doubtless were a tough audience; they include Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, whose 1986 judicial nomination Specter helped kill.
In exchange for the chairmanship, Specter delivered a written agreement, quoted by John Tabin in The American Spectator online: "I have assured the president that I would give his nominees quick committee hearings and early committee votes so floor action could be promptly scheduled." Our guess is that Specter will be sufficiently chastened that he also will vote for all Bush's appointees, which means that every prospective judge will begin with 52 votes virtually assured. (We're counting Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine--all liberal Republicans from liberal states--as potential dissenters, though none have so far voted against any Bush nominee.)
If the president's nominees have a guaranteed majority and support from the Judiciary Committee, this leaves one obstacle: the filibuster. Under current Senate rules, opponents need only 41 votes to prevent a floor vote, and in 2003-04 the Dems did just that to several would-be judges, especially targeting minorities and women.
It sounds to us as though the Republicans are planning pre-emptive action to stop the filibustering of nominees; Specter also pledged to "use my best efforts to stop any future filibusters. . . . If a rule change is necessary to avoid filibusters, there are relevant recent precedents to secure rule changes with 51 votes."
The filibuster has turned out to be a problem for the Democrats, and it could be a much bigger one next year. Obstructionism cost the Dems at least one Senate seat, that of Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, and although it may not have been decisive elsewhere, it certainly didn't help them. Even under current rules, breaking a filibuster would be easier than before; Republicans would have to peel off only five Democrats instead of nine. The 16 Democratic senators from states Bush carried must be looking nervously at the Daschle precedent.
One of those 16 is the new minority leader, Harry Reid. Although Reid's Nevada is much more closely divided than Daschle's South Dakota, Reid's own political leanings seem to be more conservative than Daschle's. Both Reid and Daschle voted against Clarence Thomas in 1991, but Reid had announced his support, withdrawing it only after Anita Hill came forward with allegations of office ribaldry.
The likelihood of one or more Supreme Court vacancies in the next year or two makes a filibuster all the more perilous for Democrats. Appellate-court nominations are fairly low-profile affairs, but not Supreme Court battles. If the Democrats tried to filibuster a high court nomination, everyone in the country would know that they are using an undemocratic procedure to prevent their colleagues from voting on someone who has the support of a Senate majority.
The political effect on Democrats would be even worse if the nominee is Hispanic--say, Miguel Estrada, whose nomination to the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit the Dems filibustered to death. With the GOP having scored big gains among Latino voters this year, do the Dems really want to be in a position of keeping the first Hispanic off the court?
For these reasons, some Democrats may well be hoping the Republicans succeed in abolishing the filibuster for judicial nominees. That would save Reid from having to expend political capital holding together a filibustering minority, and his red-state colleagues from the awkwardness of having to decide between their party and their own political interests.
Then He Said, 'Kiss It'
"Clinton Unveils His 'Gift to the Future' "--headline, Associated Press, Nov. 18
Kerry Blames bin Laden
While some Democrats are blaming John Kerry for losing the election, Kerry himself "believes he lost to President Bush because of the video from Usama bin Laden that surfaced just days before the Nov. 2 presidential election," Fox News Channel reports:
The Massachusetts senator told FOX News' senior correspondent Geraldo Rivera that he believes he lost because the tape may have scared the American electorate. . . . Rivera said Kerry said the tape came out too late for his camp to rebut and the Democratic campaign couldn't counteract it in time for the Tuesday election.
But another possible explanation comes from a pre-election remark by John Henry, owner of the Boston Red Sox (last item). At a Kerry rally in Manchester, N.H., Henry said, "In October, New England won the World Series. And in November, New England's favorite son is going to win the presidency of the United States."
Sure enough, on Nov. 2, Bush, a native of New Haven, Conn., beat Colorado-born Kerry.
Kerry Coughs Up
"Under friendly fire, Sen. John Kerry likely will donate a substantial portion of his excess presidential campaign cash to help elect Democratic candidates in 2005 and 2006," the Associated Press reports from Washington. Kerry aides note that "he donated $40.5 million to Democratic causes in 2004, including $3 million each to the party's House and Senate campaign committees"--yet now they want a cut of his remaining $10 million or so. Ingrates!
Fog in Channel; Continent Cut Off
Canadian censors are likely to approve Fox News Channel for airing on digital television starting next year, reports Toronto's Globe and Mail. The far-left newspaper describes Fox as "the Canada-baiting house organ of the U.S. right."
"Canada-baiting"? We watch Fox almost every day, and we even appear on the network from time to time. "Canada-baiting" is about the last term we'd have thought of to describe it.
Canada, a nation of 32.5 million, sprawls across more than 3.8 million square miles of mostly barren North American land.
Secrets and Lies
Yasser Arafat's nephew Nasser al-Kidwa apparently will have access to Arafat's medical files, but it's not clear if the cause of death will ever be made public. The New York Times reports:
In Gaza City, a senior Palestinian official said Mr. Kidwa, who is the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, would bring the medical report back to the Palestinian leadership. "The report will remain secret and we won't reveal what's in it,'' he said. "We will release some facts, but not all the details.''
This leads one to suspect that if Arafat died of a "shameful disease," we won't soon know about it.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party USA is eulogizing Arafat in its People's Weekly World (not to be confused with the Weekly World News):
Despite incessant efforts by the Israeli government to vilify and discredit him, despite all the slanders and snubs (including by President George W. Bush, who shunned the Palestinian leader in his last years), Arafat remained until the very end a dignified symbol of resistance to colonial occupation and aggression, and a steadfast champion of freedom and justice.
Whether he was presenting the case for the human and national rights of the Palestinian people before the United Nations, or building the PLO, or meeting with leaders of the Israeli and U.S. peace movements--which he frequently did--Arafat was untiring in his search for a just resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Arafat is in stable condition after dying in a Paris hospital.
Is This a Man-Bites-Dog Story?
"Crowe Turns Hero to Help Snake Bite Boy"--headline, Ireland Online, Nov. 15
They Must've Heard From the Bar Association
This correction appeared in Wednesday's Los Angeles Times: "The Inside Politics column in the Nov. 8 California section contained an item about an election night celebration that said several local prosecutors appeared to have made frequent trips to the open bar. It was a cash bar."
This Just In
"Korean Food Served in Pyongyang Restaurants"--headline, KCNA (North Korean "news" service), Nov. 18
OK, We'll Bite. What Sex Crime Is Known for That?
"Man Charged With Sex Crime Known for Helping City"--headline, Mobile (Ala.) Register, Nov. 18
What Would We Do Without Authorities?
"Authorities: Gunman in St. Petersburg Shooting Had 'Anger' Issues"--headline, Associated Press, Nov. 19
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Toonces Rides Again
"Animal-Caused Fatal Crashes Hits Record"--headline, Associated Press, Nov. 18
Till Death Do Them Part?
"Right-to-Die Groups Plan to Merge Next Year"--headline, (Portland) Oregonian, Nov. 19
Space Shuttle Doubles as Time Machine
"Discovery Puts Humans in S. Carolina 50K Years Ago"--headline, USA Today, Nov. 18
Zero-Tolerance Watch
"While setting up for a school dance this fall, two students in Gilbert thought they'd get in a few squeaky giggles after inhaling balloons filled with helium," reports the Arizona Republic:
Their principal saw the gag as a violation of district policy on the non-medical use of inhalants. For that, she issued five-day suspensions, which she later reduced to one day.
Gilbert Public Schools spokeswoman Dianne Bowers said administrators must err on the side of caution when it comes to student safety.
We have a confession to make: Back when we were in high school, we used to inhale a gaseous cocktail that was about four parts nitrogen to one part oxygen, with smaller quantities of carbon dioxide and argon (an inert gas, like helium). It produced a feeling of well-being and enhanced both academic and athletic performance, but it was also highly addictive. Deprive us of it for more than a minute or so, and we'd experience intense withdrawal symptoms. Good thing today's schools keep kids safe from such things. |
