The two nominees that Bush and Frist won't get ...

[Zen Democrat]

According to the New York Times, an unwritten agreement in the compromise is that two nominees, "Brett M. Kavanaugh and William J. Haynes - would not be confirmed and would be turned aside either at the committee level or on the floor."

Brett Kavanaugh was nominated for the D.C. Circuit. He was a general counsel for Ken Starr during the Great Inquisition, and of late he's been working in the White House as Bush's Senior Associate Counsel (2003) and Staff Secretary, 2003-present. Okay, this guy is off the table.

Next is William J. Haynes. This from Haynes own website: "Jim Haynes has served as the General Counsel of the Department of Defense since May 24, 2001. Appointed by President Bush ... Mr. Haynes is the chief legal officer of the Department of Defense and the legal adviser to the Secretary of Defense. He provides oversight, guidance, and direction regarding legal advice on all matters arising within the Department of Defense, including the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and oversees legal services delivered by the military and civilian attorneys in all Department of Defense components."

The People for the American Way has this to say about Haynes:

"We've already shared with you many problems surrounding the nomination of William Haynes to be a federal judge: he was an architect of detention policies in the war on terror; he signed off on allowing U.S. citizens to be stripped of their rights by being dubbed 'enemy combatants'; and he helped develop the military tribunals about which the Army's own Judge Advocates General have expressed grave doubts.

"But now it has emerged that Haynes, the Pentagon's top lawyer, oversaw a working group that provided the Bush administration with a report promoting unsettling policies on torture. Haynes' group actually argues that President Bush, in exercising his powers as commander in chief during times of war, is under no obligation to adhere to any rule of law - international or domestic - that bars the use of torture."

I'd say it was a good day when we denied lifetime appointments to these two neocon freaks.

[Zen Democrat]

1. Oh yeah, Kavanaugh WROTE the Starr Report. Thank God he's gone!!!!

[housewolf]

2. A VERY good day, I'd say

and here's what a Frist aide had to say about it all;

<snip>

But Frist, working with allied conservative groups ranging from the Family Research Council to the Judicial Confirmation Network, had invested many months of planning and advocacy to build support for a vote on changing the filibuster threshold.

In the end, there was no vote — and one could hear an inevitable sense of letdown in the voices of conservative activists.

It will be very difficult for First to rebuild the momentum for another effort to overcome Democratic filibusters.

“Everybody should be ashamed of this deal,” said former Frist aide Manuel Miranda, who heads the National Coalition to End Judicial Filibusters. “It dishonors the Constitution; it ignores the mandate of the 2004 election. It’s a horse trade of the worst kind. The White House has suffered a significant loss. The presidency is diminished as it relates to the Senate.”

<snip>

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7957783/


(Don't want to hijack your thread, just thought this fit in here well with your article).

[Zen Democrat]

3. Hannity hates the deal - Savage hates the deal - Dobson hates the deal

You KNOW Limbaugh hates the deal. I see a lot of light in this one.