Senator Orrin Hatch recently criticized my suggestion that Senate Republicans are preventing President Barack Obama from appointing federal judges and urged me "and other apologists
facts straight, tell the whole story, and realize that our nation's leaders are responsible for their choices and priorities." We actually agree on more than his critique suggests. However, with all due respect to the senator, who has long served with distinction on the Senate Judiciary Committee, I disagree with several of his ideas.
The Whole Story
Unfortunately, Senator Hatch seemed to discount his lengthy experience with the confirmation process and recounted an abridged story. The senator repeats the assertion made by numerous mainstream media reporters that Obama has nominated too slowly, tapping half the number whom President George W. Bush had at the same juncture of his administration. However, the White House is not the source of delay. Obama has steadily nominated sufficient well qualified nominees for the committee to efficiently process, and there is little reason to nominate more candidates than the Senate can effectively review. Obama's approach strikingly contrasts with those of Bush and President Bill Clinton, who often submitted large nominee packages as the Senate recessed, thus complicating smooth processing...
The Judiciary Committee, under the chairmanship of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), has promptly assessed, conducted hearings for, and voted on, nominees. However, the tendency of Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the ranking member, to place automatic holds on nominees, most of whom the panel then unanimously approved, has caused some delay.
The major confirmation bottleneck has been the Senate floor. As Senator Hatch knows, Justice Sonia Sotomayor's nomination and confirmation processes consumed three months during which time little other judicial selection activity occurred. Over this period, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the Minority Leader, insisted that lower court nominees not receive floor consideration. Thus, the Senate evaluated no Obama nominee until September because Justice Sotomayor was confirmed as the Senate recessed in August. Senator McConnell has also not cooperated as much as possible with the majority by entering into time agreements on floor debates and votes.
Delay as well has occurred on the Senate floor due to the GOP practice of placing anonymous holds on uncontroversial nominees. Republicans have concomitantly asked for much time to debate nominees on the floor but then used little of that time. A trenchant example is Judge Roberto Lange for whom the GOP requested two hours of floor debate but took five minutes after which the Senate confirmed him 100-0.
More:
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/commentary/20091204_tobias.html
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