June 08, 2005
Rogers Brown finally confirmed
In a 56-43, primarily party-line vote, the US Senate finally confirmed the nomination of California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown to the federal appeals court, ending more than two years of partisan wrangling, back-biting and finger-pointing by Democrats who felt she was an "activist jurist."
Rogers Brown was called all sorts of names, including some racially-tinged ones, by Democrats who felt that she had some sort of an obligation as a black woman to be more in line with their politics.
Senators quickly followed by ending another long-term filibuster, clearing the way for a vote Thursday on former Alabama Attorney General William Pryor as outlined in an agreement last month that averted a showdown that could have brought Senate action to a halt.But behind all of this, at least one Supreme Court nomination is waiting in the wings. I'm all but certain that Chief Justice William Rehnquist will announce his retirement later this month.The Senate voted 56-43 to confirm Brown to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and 67-32 to end the filibuster of Pryor's nomination to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals -- the last of the three nominees Democrats agreed to clear in exchange for Republicans not banning judicial filibusters.
If that happens, all this posturing will seem like child's play. And the "gentlemen's agreement" brokered by the "Gang of 14" will go up like so much charcoal in a barbeque pit.