Big biz battles for Bush's bench

[paineinthearse]

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/03/01/bush_judges/index_np.html

Big biz battles for Bush's bench

Last year the Senate rejected former mining and cattle lobbyist William Myers for the Court of Appeals. Now Bush is trying again -- and this time Myers' business pals are waging a multimillion-dollar campaign for him.

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By Dan Noyes

March 1, 2005 | Last year, when the Senate considered William G. Myers III for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Democrats blocked his nomination with a filibuster after questions arose about his work as a lobbyist for mining and cattle interests. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., described Myers' environmental record as being "off the deep end," and environmental and Native American groups opposed Myers for his criticism of laws such as the Endangered Species Act and his alleged disrespect for Indian lands and rights. On Tuesday, Myers' nomination goes back before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the opening battle in Washington's on-again partisan wars over President Bush's judicial nominees. This time around, Myers has the full support of his friends in industry.

On Feb. 14 Bush renominated Myers and 19 other unsuccessful judicial candidates, seven of whom were blocked by Democrats in the last Congress, hoping that the four-seat Republican gain in the 2004 election would help push the nominees through. Myers is the test case. If Myers' nomination is blocked again, the GOP leadership might resort to what is known as the "nuclear option," whereby it would try to change the Senate's procedural rules and ban filibusters. Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., apparently believes that Myers has a good chance of reaching the 60 votes that would ensure a filibuster-proof Senate. Two Democrats voted with Republicans to try to end the first filibuster of Myers, and Colorado's new Democratic senator, Ken Salazar, whose state went for Bush in 2004 and has big mining and cattle interests, has indicated he might vote for Myers.

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[annabanana]

1. Of all the candidates that B*sh has put up for the bench

all but, what 10? Were confirmed. The ones that were filibustered, in addition to being ideological cranks, were NOT QUALIFIED to be judges. Putting the same unimpressive batch back up is a slap in the face to the whole Senate.