Here Come the Judges
The names of more than 20 judicial nominees will be sent to Congress in the near future, so says Karl Rove and Harriet Miers. The White House has been sitting on their hands far too long on these nominations. It's about time that there has been some movement.
The delay, and probably other factors, caused some people to boycott the Rove-Miers meeting...
Rove sees this as an issue to take into the midterm elections. It's not a bad plan, especially considering the current state of their political base. Approval numbers don't get that low without your own supporters being pissed off at you. Give people something to support. Make a push to fill these vacancies with outstanding candidates. And when the Democrats try to fight them, fight back.
I'm very eager to see the slate of names. I have my own dream list in my head, but I understand that the realities of the federal judiciary will keep most of them out of the running. Beyond that, there is another issue about attracting solid nominees to the federal bench: money. I spotted this in an interview with Judge Richard Posner...
The delay, and probably other factors, caused some people to boycott the Rove-Miers meeting...
Prominent conservatives who have played instrumental roles in the battle over the federal judiciary but skipped the meeting included Leonard Leo, executive vice president of the Federalist Society; former Attorney General Edwin Meese, chairman for the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies; and Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice.Gentlemen, I understand your anger with the White House on this issue, but this does us no good at all. If judges are being discussed and nominations about to be made, I want these three men involved in the process. I may not agree with them 100% of the time, but I trust them more than Rove and Miers on these nominations.
Rove sees this as an issue to take into the midterm elections. It's not a bad plan, especially considering the current state of their political base. Approval numbers don't get that low without your own supporters being pissed off at you. Give people something to support. Make a push to fill these vacancies with outstanding candidates. And when the Democrats try to fight them, fight back.
I'm very eager to see the slate of names. I have my own dream list in my head, but I understand that the realities of the federal judiciary will keep most of them out of the running. Beyond that, there is another issue about attracting solid nominees to the federal bench: money. I spotted this in an interview with Judge Richard Posner...
I hadn't previously had any thought of becoming a judge. My principal concern in accepting the judgeship was the financial sacrifice, because I had a large income from consulting.Compared to private practice in major firms, judges don't make a hell of a lot. I'm hoping that the White House was able to persuade some real legal stars to accept nominations.
