Republican Activists in Congress Choke Courts

[usregimechange]

The Republican wave that swept through Congress has House victors declaring they’ll kill Obamacare, slash spending, ease up on Wall Street reform and crank out subpoenas to delve deep into administration misdeeds.

But another agenda item looks more likely to succeed. And it will play out in the Senate, where Democrats held on to its majority. I am talking of federal judges. Pushing the judiciary rightward has been a staple of Republican campaigns for decades.

Part of the strategy, used by both parties, is to block judicial candidates named by a president of the opposite party. This became easier last week for Republicans, who were already doing quite well at it.

Republicans have managed to stall more than a score of President Obama’s nominees to the bench so far, although they number only 41 senators, barely enough to keep a filibuster going.

With six more Republican senators narrowing the gap in January, the minority party in the Senate will have more muscle to use against the president’s choices.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-09/republican-activists-in-congress-choke-courts-commentary-by-ann-woolner.html

[Drale]

1. One of the democratic senators

needs to punch one of the republican senators in the nose.