Senate Confirms Long-Stalled Cook Nomination

iwon.com ^ | 05/05/2003 | Thomas Ferraro

[warped]

Senate Confirms Long-Stalled Cook Nomination

May 5, 7:17 pm ET

By Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Judicial nominee Deborah Cook, denied even a hearing let alone a vote by the previous Democratic-led Senate, won confirmation on Monday from the Republican-controlled Senate.

On a largely party-line vote of 66-25, the Senate approved President Bush's nearly two-year-old bid to elevate the Ohio Supreme Court justice to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

Also on Monday, Republicans tried and failed for a fifth time to remove a Democratic procedural hurdle against another long-stalled judicial nominee, Miguel Estrada.

The Senate voted 52-39, eight short of the needed 60, to cut off debate and move to a confirmation vote on Estrada, a Washington attorney who Bush wants to put on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Democrats have also thrown up a procedural hurdle to a vote on Priscilla Owen, a Texas Supreme Court Justice who Bush has nominated to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

Cook, Estrada and Owen were among 31 Bush judicial nominees who the Democratic-led Senate failed to confirm last year. All were renominated in January after Republicans won back control of the Senate in the 2002 congressional elections.

While Bush contends all are highly qualified, Democrats portray many of them as part of what they call his drive to pack the courts with right-wing ideologues.

Bush, in a statement on Monday, commended the Senate for finally confirming Cook, and urged it to move on other stalled nominees. "I again call on the Senate to put an end to the delays and to hold an up-or-down vote on all judicial nominees," the president said.

The previous Democratic-led Senate, while holding up many nominees, did confirm 100 of Bush's judicial candidates. So far this year, with the help of some Democrats, the Republican-led Senate has confirmed another 21.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, helped lead the charge against Cook on Monday. He said her record as an Ohio judge "demonstrates the extreme length she will go to protect corporations and deny the rights of injured workers, victims of discrimination, religious minorities, school children and others."

Sen. Mike DeWine, an Ohio Republican, rose to Cook's defense, describing her as a fair-minded and widely respected judge. DeWine said Cook had also done plenty of charitable work, including starting a program with her husband to pay for the college tuition of poor children.

"These activities demonstrate a commitment to community and dedication to helping the disadvantaged that we would like to see in everyone," DeWine said.

[warped]

Okay, this is good, but how is 66-25 a party line vote???? Talk about biased analysis.

[Political Junkie Too]

The Senate voted 52-39, eight short of the needed 60, to cut off debate and move to a confirmation vote on Estrada...

This also shows the absurdity of the situation. Not only did Estrada not get 60 votes for cloture, the Democrats didn't even have to have the 40 vote minority to block it. The burden, apparently, is on the 60 to stop debate, not the 40 to keep it going. The rule should be that 40 have to vote NO, not 60 to vote YES, to block a vote (in my world, anyway, that would be the rule).

-PJ

[3D-JOY]

Yes, then the other 9 could not hide and not vote at all!

[CedarDave]

If this continues, I hope the President uses some political capital and makes a recess appointment. Then the shoe is on the other foot for those who oppose his nomination -- They have to come up with the votes to overturn it.
(BTW what is the number of votes needed to overturn such an appointment??)

[Political Junkie Too]

what is the number of votes needed to overturn such an appointment??

I think it's zero. The recess appointment is not confirmed. The Constitution calls it "granting Commissions."

-PJ

[byteback]

Did Not Vote

Cantwell (D-WA) Graham (D-FL) Kerry (D-MA) Lieberman (D-CT) Mikulski (D-MD) Miller (D-GA) Murkowski (R-AK) Murray (D-WA) Specter (R-PA)

The Presidential candidates bowed out but WTF is with Murkowski?

[3D-JOY]

Called back home because of storms?

I still think not voting is a chickens way out!

[You Dirty Rats]

Maybe 66-25 WILL be a party-line vote in 2005 :)

It was actually a BIPARTISAN confirmation - at least 14 'Rats. I doubt one Republican voted against confirmation. The opposition was entirely partisan.

Frankly, I don't care how they spin this. We need Deborah Cook on the 6th Circuit. It was showing signs of emulating the 9th. Dubya is getting the vast majority of his nominees through. The real battle will be over SCOTUS appointments. The 'Rats will then discover that it isn't 1987 or 1991 anymore - "Borking" perfectly good nominees just won't fly with the public.

[j_tull]

I can account for C*ntwell and Osmam Mama Murray, they were arm wrestling over who gets to wear the strap-on this time.

[WOSG]

Frankly, I don't care how they spin this. We need Deborah Cook on the 6th Circuit. It was showing signs of emulating the 9th. Dubya is getting the vast majority of his nominees through. The real battle will be over SCOTUS appointments. The 'Rats will then discover that it isn't 1987 or 1991 anymore - "Borking" perfectly good nominees just won't fly with the public.

Agreed, we need every candidate we can get and we need Conservative judges, not moderates, not acceptable compromises, but conservatives to properly interpret the law. I'd go so far as to say if Ted Kennedy doesnt hate the picks, they are NOT good enough.

[RJCogburn]

DeWine said Cook had also done plenty of charitable work, including starting a program with her husband to pay for the college tuition of poor children.

Irrelevent so far as judicial ability is concerned. That plays the left's game.

[okie01]

"It was actually a BIPARTISAN confirmation - at least 14 'Rats. I doubt one Republican voted against confirmation. The opposition was entirely partisan."

Two Republicans were not in attendance -- Murkowski and Specter. Thus, 17 Democrats voted in favor of the nominee.

Hardly "party line"...

[Steven W.]

to the contrary, the vote count shows, the DemoncRAT OPPOSITION was uniformly partisan. Bias + Inaccuracy.

[Consort]

This is fun to watch. Bush nominates two highly qualified candidates, one an Hispanic and the other a woman, that he knew would be blocked by the Democrats, at least initially. In the meantime, his other nominees are getting appointed and the Dems are getting nothing. Good strategery.

[q_an_a]

On a largely party-line vote of 66-25; how many times do you have to be told in 1984 we tell you what is the truth and you will believe us. It amy be 20 years later, but we are still telling the truth cause we lefties never retire.