March 25, 2010

Debunking Marc Ambinder's "Washington Truism"

Marc Ambinder, blogger at The Atlantic, writes that it is a Washington truism that "to conservatives, potentially troublesome judicial appointments justify immediate action no matter how injurious to the smooth functioning of a legislative body." And that this has been true since Roe. This is outright stupidity. Has Marc ever heard of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg? You know, the former chief litigator of the ACLU's women's rights project and the co-founder of the Women's Rights Law Reporter. The one who was confirmed to the Supreme Court by a vote of 96-3!

Ambinder's shortsighted partisan hackery doesn't end there. In acknowledging why people wouldn't want Liu on the bench, he laments that "the prevailing theory that elections have consequences when it comes to judicial nominations is not particularly viable these days." These days? These days? Was Ambinder not around for the Bush years? He should google "Miguel Estrada" and "filibuster" and do some homework. When he is done he can move on to Clarence Thomas and Robert Bork.

This isn't even spin. It is an attempt to rewrite history. Pathetic.