Anthrax and the war in Afghanistan notwithstanding, Senate Republicans haveelected to play domestic hardball. Recently, they delayed a foreign-aid bill toprotest what The Wall Street Journal editorial page called "unprecedentedstonewalling" on the president's judicial appointments by the Senate JudiciaryCommittee chairman, Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont. Yet what may be trulywithout precedent is the numeric sleight of hand used to condemn Leahy. The WallStreet Journal complains that "10 months into this Administration Mr. Leahy hasconfirmed a mere eight of the 60 judicial nominations Mr. Bush has made." Leahy,however, has only been Judiciary Committee chairman since June 6, when Democratstook full control of the Senate.
Extending its calendrical games further, the Journal notes that Bush made 44of his 60 nominations "by the August recess," suggesting that Leahy has hadplenty of time to consider them. But as of October 18, the day the Journaleditorialized, Leahy had had just a month and a half since Congress returned fromrecess in early September. That's not much time. A recent study by People for theAmerican Way (PFAW), based on Congressional Research Service reports, found thateven during the George H.W. Bush administration--long before squabbling overjudicial appointments became a Senate pastime--it took an average of 77 days foran appellate court nominee to get a hearing.
And these are just the most transparent deceptions. Because of the differenttypes of judicial appointments (circuit, district) and the many different timeframes by which you could measure the Senate's pace in dealing with them (atwo-year Congress, a full presidential term, a month, a day), you can tellvirtually any tale you'd like about nominee blocking and dress it up instatistics. Citing a meeting with Senator Orrin Hatch in which he divulged"statistics" that made a "convincing case" that Leahy was stalling, the NationalReview Online's Kate O'Beirne convolutedly observed:
Under both Democratic and Republican Senates, with asingle exception ... the judicial nominees of President Bush's predecessors, whennominated before Labor Day, all were confirmed by the end of that year. UnderChairman Leahy, only eight of President Bush's 44 judicial nominees have made itto the Senate floor for approval. So, in contrast with his predecessors, whosejudicial nominations enjoyed confirmation rates ranging from 93 percent to 100percent, President Bush currently has an 18 percent approval rate for hisnominees.
The most obvious manipulation here is the old one--pretending that the partydefection of James Jeffords never happened and blaming Leahy for the whole yearof 2001 even though he took over only in June. O'Beirne's claim that Bush's"predecessors" had confirmation rates ranging from 93 percent to 100 percent,meanwhile, elides the whole history of Republican holds on Clinton's judicialnominees. Here's a less twisted figure: During the 106th Congress, the last ofClinton's presidency, more than half of his appellate court nominees were blockedby the Republican Senate.
Osama bin Laden: Spook
Even as forensic geologists try to pinpoint Osama bin Laden's location inmineral-rich Afghanistan by examining the rock face shown in his jihad-rousingvideo, The American Spectator's R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., in a lame attempt athumor, wonders if bin Laden could be a hoax. "Have you noticed that he is wearinga Timex Ironman Triathlon wrist watch and camouflage clothes that are either Armysurplus or right out of the National Rifle Association catalogue?" asks Tyrrell ina recent column published in The Washington Times. "And does anyone doubt thatthe beard is a fake? It looks like horsehair to me."
Tyrrell concludes that the bin Laden video is "obvious propaganda from Westernintelligence." Interestingly, some have suggested roughly the same thing aboutthe image of Bert from Sesame Street that has been appearing on protest postersfeaturing Osama bin Laden in Bangladesh. Tyrrell and al-Qaeda are partners inconspiracy theories.
