The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Priscilla Owen to the Fifth US District Court of Appeals after four years of Democratic obstructionism. She received 56 votes for confirmation, including two from Democrats:

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Priscilla Owen as a federal appellate judge, ending the four-year ordeal of the Texas jurist who was thrust into the center of the partisan battle over President Bush's judicial nominations.

The 56-43 vote to appoint Owen to the New Orlean-based 5th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was a consequence of an agreement reached earlier this week that averted, for the time being, a bitter dispute over Democratic use of the filibuster to block Bush's judicial choices.

Bush, pleased with the vote on a nominee he said would bring "a wealth of experience and expertise" to the bench, said it should be followed by others. "I urge the Senate to build on this progress and provide my judicial nominees the up-or-down votes they deserve," the president said in a statement.

Owen, said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., "withstood an orchestrated partisan attack on her record."

Both Robert Byrd and Mary Landrieu crossed the aisle to support Owen's confirmation. The vote showed that the four-year wait to hold Senators accountable for their position on Owen owed more to partisan politics than any notion of her being the extremist bogeyman that Harry Reid made her out to be. This has always been about the Democrats demanding majority power without majority votes, and the temper tantrum they throw when voters strip them of power.

Next up for the Senate will be John Bolton, who got moved ahead of Janice Rogers Brown on the calendar. That's a mistake. Brown has waited longer than Bolton for action on her nomination, and the pressure of media and constituent curiosity about possible secret parameters of this Memorandum of Understanding between the 14 so-called centrist Senators will wane quickly. Frist should have acted on both Brown and Pryor while the momentum exists for speedy judicial confirmations. Bolton could have waited another two weeks.

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» Not Quite the Extremist they made her out to be from hubs and spokes
Captain's Quarters: Both Robert Byrd and Mary Landrieu crossed the aisle to support Owen's confirmation. The vote showed that the four-year wait to hold Senators accountable for their position on Owen owed more to partisan politics than any notion... [Read More]

Tracked on May 25, 2005 2:34 PM

» What Can Bush and Frist Do? from Hard Starboard
According to ex-Republican and hopelessly ideological pugilist Pat Buchanan, they can fight back, that's what. What ought Frist to do? Hold a press conference and declare to the party and country that, while the McCain Compromise may bind the s... [Read More]

Tracked on May 25, 2005 2:36 PM

» Pyrrhic Victory #1 from Hard Starboard
Well, I guess the new Democrat/RINO majority in the Senate decided not to run up the score too badly. The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Priscilla Owen as a federal appellate judge, ending the four-year ordeal of the Texas jurist who was thrust i... [Read More]

Tracked on May 26, 2005 12:15 AM