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Bush: Senate Democrats ‘playing politics’ with judicial nominees

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WASHINGTON (BP)–Senate Democrats are “playing politics” and are not following their “constitutional responsibility” in confirming judges, President Bush said in a statement Jan. 16 on the same day he named Charles Pickering to a seat on the federal appeals court.

Bypassing the confirmation process, Bush used his constitutional authority to name Pickering to a spot on the New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Pickering — whose nomination had been filibustered by Senate Democrats — will serve until January 2005, when the next Congress is sworn in.

The executive order, used by presidents in the past, often is referred to as a “recess appointment” — simply meaning that the appointment is made when Congress is not in session.

Pickering was sworn into office later Jan. 16.

“For the past two and a half years, Judge Pickering has been waiting for an up-or-down vote in the Senate,” Bush said in his statement. “A bipartisan majority of Senators supports his confirmation, and if he were given a vote, he would be confirmed. But a minority of Democratic Senators has been using unprecedented obstructionist tactics to prevent him and other qualified individuals from receiving up-or-down votes. Their tactics are inconsistent with the Senate’s constitutional responsibility and are hurting our judicial system.”

Pickering is one of six Bush nominees who have been filibustered by Senate Democrats. All have received enough votes for confirmation but not enough votes to overcome the filibuster. Needing 60 votes to stop the filibuster and end debate, Pickering received 54 votes in October.

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“He will perform a valuable service on a court that needs more judges to do its work with the efficiency the American people deserve and expect,” the president read. “Again I call on the Senate to stop playing politics with the American judicial system and to give my nominees the up-or-down votes they deserve.”

Also on Jan. 16, Bush issued a proclamation designating Jan. 18 as “National Sanctity of Human Life Day.” It stated “each person, however frail or defenseless, has a place and a purpose in this world.”

The proclamation noted that Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act last year reaffirming “our commitment to protecting innocent life and to a basic standard of humanity — the duty of the strong to defend the weak.”

“My Administration encourages adoption and supports abstinence education, crisis pregnancy programs, parental notification laws, and other measures to help us continue to build a culture of life,” the president said. “By working together, we will provide hope to the weakest among us and achieve a more compassionate and merciful world.”

Partial-birth abortion is a procedure in which the abortion doctor partially delivers a baby feet-first while leaving the head in the birth canal. The doctor then uses a sharp instrument to puncture the head before suctioning out the brains. A dead baby is then delivered.

The procedure is used in the final months of pregnancy, when the baby is often viable outside the womb.

Pro-choice activists have sued to have the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act ruled unconstitutional.
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Following is the complete text of President Bush’s National Sanctity of Human Life Day proclamation:

“As Americans, we are led by the power of our conscience and the history of our country to defend and promote the dignity and rights of all people. Each person, however frail or defenseless, has a place and a purpose in this world. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, we celebrate the gift of life and our commitment to building a society of compassion and humanity.

“Today, the principles of human dignity enshrined in the Declaration of Independence — that all persons are created equal and possess the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — continue to guide us. In November, I signed into law the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, reaffirming our commitment to protecting innocent life and to a basic standard of humanity — the duty of the strong to defend the weak. My Administration encourages adoption and supports abstinence education, crisis pregnancy programs, parental notification laws, and other measures to help us continue to build a culture of life. By working together, we will provide hope to the weakest among us and achieve a more compassionate and merciful world.

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Sunday, January 18, 2004, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. I call upon all Americans to recognize this day with appropriate ceremonies in our homes and places of worship and to reaffirm our commitment to respecting the life and dignity of every human being.

“IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-eighth.

“GEORGE W. BUSH”