USA Today has this new article on the slow going that President Obama is having in getting federal judicial appointments approved by the Senate. The article is fairly typical of similar articles focusing on the confirmation delay during the past year or so.
The article notes that the President is appointing record numbers of non-white males:
So far he is setting records for the number of women and minorities nominated to lifetime appointments. Nearly half of the 73 candidates he has tapped for the bench have been women. In all, 25% have been African Americans, 10% Hispanics and 11% Asian Americans.
But delay is the name of the game for Republicans:
During his first 18 months in office, his administration has been thwarted by unprecedented delays. The situation, which has received little notice against the backdrop of a pending Supreme Court nomination and the administration’s complex legislative agenda, could undercut Obama’s effort to significantly infuse the federal courts with more women and minorities.
The article recognizes that the Obama administration is not blameless:
With few exceptions, Senate Democrats have yet to try to force Republicans’ hand. The Obama White House has been distracted by other issues — even on the judicial front, where the administration has had two high-court nominations.
Unfortunately, the article misses the point that a huge delay is the one by the President in making his appointments. It took President Obama a year and a half to nominate Carlton Reeves to the U.S. District Court despite the fact that everyone knew that Reeves would probably get the nomination after Obama won the 2008 election.
It took only eight months or so for the President to nominate Justice James Graves to the 5th Circuit. But again, that was too long of a delay given the fact that Graves was the front-runner from the day that Judge Barksdale took senior status. The delays in making the nominations of Reeves and Graves are 100% the fault of the Obama administration.
Sure now that the nominations have been made Republicans can be faulted for going into the 4–corners. But is that surprising? That’s how Republicans play politics and Republican Senate leaders argue that it came from the Democratic play book:
I don’t say all of this to say there is going to be payback,” Sessions said after Leahy earlier criticized GOP stall tactics. “I am saying this to set the record straight because I will not stand silent and have what is happening today be compared with the incredibly obstructive actions the Democrats took in early 2000.”
Football fans aren’t surprised and don’t cry when the team ahead starts taking a knee in the last two minutes of the game. Likewise, Democrats should stop crying over spilled milk and should be more proactive in making nominations in a timely fashion and pushing harder to get votes in the Senate.
Earlier posts on President Obama’s judicial appointments.
