You can flat out thank the Democrats...
Tonio said:
It irritates me that both sides have already decided to support or oppose any nominee, even before Bush has made his nomination. They are declaring than any nominee's judicial resume is null and void. Pathetic.
...for this current state of affairs. The Bork fight under Reagan and then the Thomas hearings under Bush I set the tone and timbre for the modern era of Senatorial advise and consent. The Republicans had the opportunity to return the favor in kind over Justice Ginsburg under Clinton but declined. Remember the blood bath over her confirmation? No? There was none.
Now, we have the Democratic party claiming the singular right to consent to UN Ambassadors, FDA heads and janitors, thus, it is all out political war for the Democrats and they, Supreme Court nominees, are the greatest prize; lifetime appointments.
Plenty of public issues are muddled as to who is right or wrong and certainly plenty more are open to simple difference of opinion. But the acrimony and emotional nature of todays advise and consent duty and the responsibility for the attendent governmental disfunction and wasteful national divisiveness lay firmly at the feet of one side; the modern Democratic party.
It won't stop or get better until they put duty above party...or 5 more of them get sent home by their constituents.
We were thinking along similar lines.