Thursday, March 03, 2005
Advice and Consent
The federal constitution stipulates that one of the duties of the Senate is to give the President its advice and consent regarding judicial nominations. The other day in an interview on The News Hour with Jim Lehrer Senator Frist, the majority leader, seemed to imply that "advice and consent" meant voting for the President's judicial appointees. I emphasize voting for, because it is well-known that Dr. Frist views his primary duty to be unquestioning support of whatever whim George Bush chooses to perpetrate on the American Public.
There are other ideas as to what "advice and consent" means. When Lyndon Johnson was President, it usually meant that the Senate would provide advice in the form of suggested nominees put forward by various Senators. The choice of nominees for federal judgeships involved some political wheeling and dealing. Johnson once asked the minority leader, Senator Everett Dirksen, what the price was for six Republican votes in favor of a particular bill. Dirksen's answer was "six judges, Mr. President." Of course, in those days the Republican Party was not yet in the grip of a combination of ideological conservatives and fundamentalist Christian evangelicals.
I miss Everett McKinley Dirksen. We need a man like him again.
There are other ideas as to what "advice and consent" means. When Lyndon Johnson was President, it usually meant that the Senate would provide advice in the form of suggested nominees put forward by various Senators. The choice of nominees for federal judgeships involved some political wheeling and dealing. Johnson once asked the minority leader, Senator Everett Dirksen, what the price was for six Republican votes in favor of a particular bill. Dirksen's answer was "six judges, Mr. President." Of course, in those days the Republican Party was not yet in the grip of a combination of ideological conservatives and fundamentalist Christian evangelicals.
I miss Everett McKinley Dirksen. We need a man like him again.
