The News & Record in Greensboro reports that Sen. Kay Hagan withdrew the nomination of N.C. Superior Court Judge Calvin Murphy for an appointment to North Carolina’s U.S. District Court because Murphy recently ruled in favor of a company partly owned by Hagan’s husband. The senator cited the appearance of a conflict for her decision.
News like this can’t cheer liberals, who want to quickly move the judiciary leftward. A couple of weeks ago, a Washington Post story noted that left is getting a bit testy with the Obama administration because it’s not providing much talent for senators to evaluate. (The story also blames Republicans for using filibuster threats and judicial holds to block candidates.)
With more than 90 openings on the federal bench ? about 10 percent of all judicial positions ? Obama has sent a mere 23 nominees to the Senate, and only three of them have been confirmed. Over the same period in his first term, President George W. Bush nominated 95 candidates for open slots on the federal bench. Administration officials vow to step things up.
You can understand liberals’ frustration, which may have grown in the aftermath of Tuesday’s election. As we get closer to November 2010, with the public rejecting the Democrats’ stands on a host of policy prescriptions, the last thing Democrats need as a campaign issue is a battle over the role of the judiciary, which remains a winner for conservatives and Republicans.
