Sunday, 03/16/03

With all the attention on Miguel Estrada, the Ninth Circuit just got 3.6% less lovable.

From that article, I couldn't figure why neither Feinstein or Boxer blocked his appointment (their prerogative as senators from the candidate's home state). Sure, it's politics a la Jesse Helms, but they're not shy, and at this rate we're going to standardize on the Fourth Circuit (where Bybee clerked) by the time the executive branch gets its ass regime-changed.

The article calls Bybee an "Oakland native", but the Congressional record says he's from Nevada, whose senators both voted to confirm. The Ninth Circuit press release says he was born in Oakland, and I thought that's what counted. Otherwise all those judges Helms blocked could have just moved to another state for six months.

The CR roll call on the Bybee vote includes this comical postscript from Minnesota Democrat Mark Dayton:

Mr. President, on rollcall vote No. 54 [Bybee's confirmation], I voted aye. It was my intention to vote no. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to change my vote since it will not affect the outcome of the vote.

And there you have it, the modern Democratic party in a nutshell.

I find it pretty reprehensible that Maria Cantwell, the junior senator from Washington, voted to confirm this guy. Not that Slade Gorton would have made me happier, but hell, he wouldn't be making me meaningfully less happy. I can't think of an elected official I like less for whom I've voted. 10:26PM «

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