Far Right Sen. Sessions To Take Over For Specter On Judiciary Committee...For Now
In a grand bargain of sorts for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) will take over as ranking member on the Judiciary Committee for the remainder of this Congress, and give way in 2011 to the Iowa Republican. According to The Hill, Sessions "will take over the ranking member position on the Senate Judiciary Committee after striking a deal with his more senior colleagues over the weekend."
Under terms of the deal, Sessions will serve as ranking member until the 112th Congress, when he will take over the ranking member post on the Senate Budget Committee. Current Budget Committee ranking member Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) is retiring at the end of the 111th Congress.
Grassley--who's senior to Sessions--will be forced to abdicate his seat as ranking member of the Finance Committee when he comes up against term limits in the 111th Congress. He's stated in the past that he'd prefer to become the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee than on the Budget Committee, but before today's deal, it looked like he'd have to choose between taking over for Specter on Judiciary Committee now, or taking over for Gregg on the Budget Committee next Congress.
Sessions' compromise assures that Grassley will get the placement he wants, when he wants it. That'll be welcome news for conservatives who couldn't have asked for a farther-right senator to oppose President Obama's first Supreme Court nominee at the committee level. It'll also please health reformers (at least for the time being) who were worried that Grassley would give way on the Finance Committee to industry-connected Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) just as that panel takes up comprehensive health reform legislation.
Josh
Matt
Eric
Ahh, Jeff Sessions. The same Jeff Sessions who once called the NAACP and ACLU "un-American, communist-inspired" people who had "forced civil rights down the throats of the American people." The same Jeff Sessions who said that he didn't have a problem with the KKK until he found out "they were a bunch of pot smokers." Even Arlen Specter voted against Sessions's confirmation as a federal judge in 1986.
This is also the same Jeff Sessions who was one of nine Senators to vote against the McCain anti-torture amendment.
May 4, 2009 12:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
The GOP = so many assholes, so little time.
May 4, 2009 12:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
But their numbers are getting lower and lower... it's just that the ones remaining are the biggest assholes.
They've got so few senators that they've got problems staffing all the committees, especially for leadership posts.
May 4, 2009 12:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is EXCELLENT news!
What's the brand of the GOP right now? Old, tired, stoopid bigoted Southern white men like Sessions, with a sprinkling of Joe the Plumbers and a few secessionists. Toss in a few David Vitters and Larry Craigs for good measure, & add Rushbo as their leader.
You go, GOP.
May 4, 2009 12:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ron White says, "you can't fix stupid".
May 4, 2009 12:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh my God...The confirmation hearings are going to be so much fun! This Asshat will undoubtedly say someting that the rest of his party will have to walk away from!
May 4, 2009 12:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Will he have the power to obstruct judicial nominations? Theatre is fine, but if he has any real power isn't this a serious downside to Specter's new DINO status.
May 4, 2009 1:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
He will have no power at all! They are outnumbered and the nominee will undoubtedly get voted out of committee. That is of course, unless Patrick Leahy caves in to him, which has been known to happen. Orin Hatch used to regualary roll Joe Biden and Patrick Leahy. But, I don't think Dems have the same respect for Sessions!
May 4, 2009 1:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Agreed on this. Hatch is one of those long time, "respected" conservative nuts that folks like Joe and Leahy show too much of that respect of. unless Patrick Leahy caves in to him, which has been known to happen. Orin Hatch used to regualary roll Joe Biden and Patrick Leahy. Sessions isn't.
One important thing to remember: Leahy was on the Committee when it voted thumbs down on Sessions back in 1986. Specter was as well, and joined the Dems in voting thumbs down. Biden was as well.
Of course Orin and Grassley were on there as well. But I don't think Leahy has much respect for Sessions at all.
What's nice about this is that Sessions will be one of the GOP's "faces" of these confirmation hearings. And if Obama starts rolling out women and minorities, Jeffy is just about the *last* guy on the GOP side you'd want being the face.
Of course it will play great for the Base. But the rest of the country isn't as racist or bigoted as the Base. So Jeffey isn't going to make the GOP look good.
I wouldn't mind seeing Obama nominate Sotomayor to put Sessions in the double bind of trying to block both a woman and the court's first latino. Even better, it would make the GOP look horrorific if they pull the Rules Stunt of *no one* voting in Committee to prevent her from going to the floor.
I would love to see Kagan get nominated to fill Ginsburg's seat when the time comes, because it would be a giant "Fuck You" to Orin for his stunt back in 1999 of not even scheduling a hearing for her appellate nomination. The GOP who voted for her as Solicitor General:
Coburn (R-OK)
Collins (R-ME)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lugar (R-IN)
Snowe (R-ME)
Arlen voted against when he feared being primaried. It was 61-31 without these Dems voting:
Boxer (D-CA)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Murray (D-WA)
And:
Franken (D-MN)
;)
No Dem voted against. So there is margin to work with for Kagan.
I'd prefer her second since she likely will be the tougher fight. But replacing Ruth likely gives here a bit of a leg up, and probably would help draw in the Snowe & Collins Show to help keep the margin for Cloture in hand. I don't think either of them really want to go back to Maine with a vote against a Woman ASCJ to replace a retiring Woman ASCJ.
For Stevens when the time comes, I'd like to see a hardcore Liberal to be a true heir to Marshall's long lost seat.
John
May 4, 2009 3:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Rank" is the right word.
Better an out-and-out crazy to oppose BO's nominees than someone who can SOUND reasonable.
May 4, 2009 1:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is actually very good news, because it leaves Grassley in position to continue working with Baucus on health care. The danger was a cascade of Republican committee changes that would have put senators, such as Orrin Hatch, in Grassley's position. Hatch is so beholding to the health insurance industry, that any sort of public option would be automatically off the table.
Grassley is conservative, but he is scrupulously independent of special interests, and he has always shown a commitment to amicable dialogue and honest attempts to find bipartisan solutions to pressing issues.
May 4, 2009 2:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good news, I agree. On the next one or more Supreme Court nominations, Sessions is guaranteed to go way over the top and make himself and the Republican Party look utterly ridiculous. Can't wait to watch the GOP self-destruct.
May 4, 2009 2:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
When I read about some of the GOP members fighting over who is going to be the first to spit on the nominee for the court who has not been named yet I am reminded of the song from the Marx Brothers movie Horsefeathers:
I don’t know what they have to say,
It makes no difference anyway --
Whatever it is, I’m against it!
No matter what it is or who commenced it,
I’m against it.
Your proposition may be good
But let’s have one thing understood --
Whatever it is, I’m against it!
And even when you’ve changed it or condensed it,
I’m against it.
May 7, 2009 5:45 PM | Reply | Permalink