Friday, May 13, 2005

Harry Reid = chickens**t

The Senate Democrats' other key principle: If you cannot win on the merits, just throw slime by the barrel.

Harry Reid stoops to a character assassination technique that cannot be countered on the merits:

Minority Leader Harry Reid strayed from his prepared remarks on the Senate floor yesterday and promised to continue opposing one of President Bush's judicial nominees based on "a problem" he said is in the nominee's "confidential report from the FBI."

Those highly confidential reports are filed on all judicial nominees, and severe sanctions apply to anyone who discloses their contents. Less clear is whether a senator could face sanctions for characterizing the content of such files.


Typical of Reid and the Democrats.

UPDATE: The Captain notes that "The entire point of the FBI investigation is to determine whether a nominee can receive a security clearance in order to access the files a federal appellate-court justice might need to see. If he couldn't get that clearance, he wouldn't be up for confirmation, which should end speculation on the contents of Saad's file. Obviously the FBI has given the green light to Saad."

Byron York says that one reason why Reid is willing to allow the three other Sixth Circuit nominees to be confirmed but not Saad -- Debbie Stabenow's most recent hissy fit. Note that the Dems also don't want Saad to get a Sixth Circuit spot because he's of Arab descent, from Michigan, a Republican and therefore would gain extra prominence among the large Arab-American Michigan population that Democrats count on to help swing Michigan elections in their favor.

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