Judicial issue, back?

Perhaps the folks in the Senate will take heed to the Wall Street Journal piece today, begging them to return to some kind of sanity going into the midterm elections......

Perhaps the following partial transcript from Senator Specter's appearance on Fox is a hopeful one, signalling that the judicial nominations fight is afoot again.....hope springs eternal.....


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CHRIS WALLACE: it's a month of of work before congress adjourns for the election, there are a number of key issues to be resolved. For more we turn to the chairman of the senate judiciary committee, arlen specter...

WALLACE: Senator, let me turn to judges, and I hope you'll be just as frank on this one. The president renominated five conservative choices for the federal appeals court. We have them up on the screen there. Is there a realistic chance that any of these five will be confirmed in the month before you adjourn, or is this really more about politics and firing up your conservative base?

SEN. SPECTER: Now, chris, you asked me to be brief and responsive. Now you want me to be frank, too? I will be frank with you. I think it's tough, very candidly. But the president has resubmitted those names, and i'm chairman, and we're going to handle them in regular order, and they're all going to be on the executive calendar for next thursday. We're going to move -- we're going to move right ahead. Nominee smith is embroiled in a controversy between a couple of states. I think we can get him confirmed. Mr. Wallace is far back in line, but he's entitled to a hearing.

WALLACE: Let's put up his picture. This is michael brunson wallace. He's no relative. The american bar association found him to be unanimously not qualified. Senator, again, being frank, doesn't he have a pretty steep climb to confirmation?

SEN. SPECTER: I think he may have a steep climb, but let me remind you about the constitution, chris. I know you're concerned about the constitution. Constitution doesn't say the american bar association confirms. Constitution says the senate confirms. And we'll consider what the american bar association has to say. We'll consider what a lot of people have to say. And then we're going to consider him in committee. Is he a lock to be confirmed? Absolutely not.

WALLACE: And let me ask you about one other controversial nominee, and that is judge terrence boyle. There have been allegations, as you know far better than i, of a conflict of interest, that he ruled in several cases involving companies in which his family held stock. Doesn't that nomination, senator, have big problems?

SEN. SPECTER: Well, i think it does have big problems. When you have a judge who has ruled on cases where there were stock of his own involved, yeah. He has given an explanation, that they were minor, that they were oversights, but there are a number of them. But let's consider that. Again, it's a matter of an evaluation and a matter of judgment, but i think that judge boyle ought to have an up or down vote in the senate. Chances are candidly, chris, he'll be filibustered, but so far as i'm concerned as chairman, i'm going to move them right along one at a time and let the full senate make its judgment....
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