For the record, I have voted against only five of the more than 1,500 nominees to life-tenured judicial positions that the full Senate has considered since I was first elected. Some Democratic senators, including those with far less seniority, have voted against more than three times as many nominees of the current president alone. I have strongly opposed all filibusters against judicial nominees, both Democratic and Republican. I have not taken a partisan approach to judicial confirmations.

But it does not take a partisan standard to see that that neither the Judiciary Committee nor the full Senate is doing its judicial-confirmation duty. At both stages in the confirmation process, the Judiciary Committee and the Senate floor, Democrats are failing to meet both historical and their own standards.

Democratic leaders are fond of saying that they will not treat President Bush's nominees as the Republicans treated President Clinton’s nominees. Indeed, they are not. In the last ten months, for example, the Judiciary Committee has held a hearing on just three appeals-court nominees. During the same period under President Clinton, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing on 11 nominees.

# posted by Michael Thielen @ 9:01 AM