Despite Senate Majority Leader Reid's (D-NV) promise to make all efforts to put up three appellate court nominees before the the Memorial Day Recess, we sit two days away from the recess and only Judge Agee has been brought to the Senate for a vote. Senator Reid asserts that the failure of the Kethledge and Judge White nominations would be "despite [his] best efforts" and hints that the blame should be on Senate Republicans. However, there is no ABA recommendation for Judge White who was nominated in April of this year.

This is in stark contrast to the Fourth Circuit nominee Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr and the DC Circuit Nominee Peter D. Keisler. Judge Conrad has his blue slips in and a Well-Qualified rating from the ABA yet Senator Ried has yet to make efforts to give him a deserved vote despite being nominated July 17, 2007 - over 300 days ago! Mr. Keisler has a Well-Qualified rating from the ABA yet Senator Reid, again, has yet to make efforts to give him a deserved vote despite being nominated January 9, 2007 - almost 500 days ago!

In light of the circumstances surrounding Conrad and Keisler, any efforts by Senator Reid to place blame on Senate Republicans is a misdirection designed to keep blame away from him for failing to make his best efforts to get qualified nominees a well-deserved vote.