Laptop Battery Miguel Estrada, whose nomination by President Bush to an important federal appeals court post was blocked by an extraordinary filibuster mounted by Senate Democrats, gave up his two-year struggle today.
So far, Democrats have helped to confirm about 170 Bush judicial nominees but have blocked six others. In February, while the Senate was in recess, Bush installed Alabama Attorney General William Pryor, an outspoken foe of abortion rights, based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. A month earlier, Bush elevated U.S. District Judge Charles Pickering, whose civil rights record had been challenged, based Fifth Circuit appeals court.
Thinkpad "I write to ask you to withdraw my pending nomination," Mr. Estrada said in a letter to the president. "I believe that the time has come to return my full attention to the practice of law and to regain the ability to make long-term plans for my family."
Of course, the Democrats, prepared to make their "I'm shocked and concerned" statements. For example, Senator Jay Rockefeller, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, is already formulating a political strategy in order to use this report against President Bush. This is the same Rockefeller who, prior to the Iraq invasion, flew to Syria and Saudi Arabia to inform them about Bush's war plans.
Microsoft The fight over Mr. Estrada's nomination was the most prominent and most protracted battle in what has become a nasty ideological and political war with no end in sight between the White House and Senate Democrats over who gets to sit on the federal bench.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid ( Nev.) said it is not appropriate for Democrats to come forward with their own Social Security proposal, since Bush has yet to offer specific details of how he will accomplish his plan. He said Democrats are determined to stop Bush from ruining the program, especially since Social Security is not facing a real crisis.
Laptop Computers Republicans moved swiftly to deplore Mr. Estrada's fate and turn his withdrawal into a mobilizing moment among the party faithful akin to the 1987 defeat of Judge Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court. That event was depicted as a great injustice, and it generated long-term political fervor.
Meanwhile, as widely expected, the Democrat party won the House while the Republicans won the Senate in the US mid election results.
Laptop Computer "Despite his superb qualifications and the wide bipartisan support for his nomination, these Democrat Senators repeatedly blocked an up-or-down vote that would have led to Mr. Estrada's confirmation," President Bush said in a statement, referring to the Democratic filibuster or threat of extended debate that prevented the nomination from coming to a vote on the Senate floor.
According to the indictment, Jones would steal various IBM and Penguin computer servers from Verisign's warehouse in Virginia and sell them to Johnson. Johnson would then sell the servers to several individuals, who would sometimes place them for sale on eBay. As a result of this scheme, the indictment alleges that Jones and Johnson caused Verisign to lose more than $120, 000 worth of computer equipment. In the indictment, Jones and Johnson are charged in three counts with causing the interstate transportation of stolen property, namely IBM 330 and 335 servers, in violation of 18 U.S.C.
Desktop Computer "The treatment of this fine man is an unfortunate chapter in the Senate's history," Mr. Bush said.
Notebooks Other Republicans were far harsher, noting that Mr. Estrada became the first appeals court nominee defeated through a filibuster strategy. While they were reluctant to say so explicitly, some strongly suggested that he was opposed by Democrats because of his Hispanic heritage.
Lenovo Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, the House majority leader, said Mr. Estrada was the victim of a "political hate crime."
Hard Drive Although most of Mr. Bush's judicial choices have been confirmed easily, Democrats have blocked several of his nominees to the federal appeals court, asserting that they are part of an effort by the White House to tilt the courts in a more conservative direction.
Travelstar Republicans have countered that the ideology of the Bush nominees should not matter as they are all highly qualified lawyers who would enforce the law fairly from the bench, leaving their personal views behind.
Gateway Mr. Estrada, a 41-year-old Washington lawyer who has argued 15 cases before the Supreme Court, was widely known as an intellectual star in Washington's conservative legal lineup and is a prominent member of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group.
Laptop Parts But he has such a scant written record that Democrats complained he was a "stealth nominee," whose views were hidden from public view but would come out in his rulings from the bench.
Software Senate Democrats had demanded that the administration provide them with legal memorandums that Mr. Estrada had written while he was an assistant solicitor general in the Justice Department. The White House refused, noting that several Democratic solicitors general had said that was inappropriate.
Hard Drives For Republicans, Mr. Estrada had the strong advantage of an appealing personal story, that of an immigrant from Honduras who went on to graduate with honors both from Columbia University and the Harvard Law School. When Mr. Bush nominated him more than two years ago to be the first Hispanic judge on United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the White House celebrated the event as a chapter in the American immigrant success story.
Electronics In winning the Estrada battle, Democrats were muted in victory today, saying they hoped the administration would now seek to nominate consensus candidates who would win Senate approval.
Canon "This should serve as a wake-up call to the White House that it cannot simply expect the Senate to rubber-stamp judicial nominations," said Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts.
Desktop Pc But Republicans lined up before microphones on Capitol Hill letting loose storms of outrage and repeatedly noting his Hispanic heritage in a clear effort to make Democrats pay a price with a group of swing voters that both parties are avidly courting.
Desktop Computers Republicans called the Estrada outcome "shameful," "sad" and "disgraceful." Senator George Allen of Virginia, son of a famous professional football coach, said the Democrats had committed "a personal foul here."
Think Pad Senator John Cornyn told reporters that Hispanic voters in his state of Texas would certainly question why the first appeals court nominee in history to be blocked from having a direct floor vote on his nomination was of Hispanic heritage.
Repair When he was pressed if he was asserting that Democrats blocked the Estrada nomination in part because of his ethnic heritage, Mr. Cornyn declined to say if that was what he meant to imply.
Data Recovery But Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the Republican leader, addressed the issue more directly. "I don't think it is rank bigotry which brought this man down," he said. Rather, he said, Democrats and other Estrada opponents resented how President Bush had demonstrated his commitment to diversity and "stood by the side of Hispanics."
Cisco Dr. Frist said that it was no secret that Mr. Bush was eager to promote Hispanic candidates for the bench and was hoping to name the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.
Keyboard Senator Charles E. Schumer, a New York Democrat who helped lead the opposition to Mr. Estrada, said: "The implication that anyone has blocked this because of Mr. Estrada's background is cheap and low. The Republicans can't seem to win the argument on the merits so they resort to below-the-belt tactics."
Monitor Mr. Estrada would have been the first Hispanic judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, widely viewed as the court second in importance only to the Supreme Court.
Desktop The announcement of Mr. Estrada's withdrawal came just hours before the Democratic presidential candidates were to appear at a debate in Albuquerque sponsored by the Democratic National Committee and Congressional Hispanic Caucus, aimed at the same kind of audience Republicans were courting with today's complaints.
Infosys But it was unclear if the timing was a coincidence, or if the White House was involved. Friends of Mr. Estrada, who was out of town today and did not respond to telephone messages, have said he had been dismayed for weeks about his poor chances of being confirmed.
Refurbished Laptops Dr. Frist offered an analysis that both sides of the debate might agree with when he said that the fight over judicial nominations had soured relations in the Senate. He said he was considering several options to change the system of judicial confirmations in order to prevent Democrats from being able to use a filibuster to block nominees.
Wipro Although the Democrats are in the minority, they have been able to fend off confirmation votes by threatening to hold an extended debate or filibuster, which can only be ended by 60 votes. Republicans, with 51 votes, were unable to attract the support of the nine Democrats needed to break the filibuster.
Lap Top Democrats have used a filibuster or threat of one to block at least three other Bush appeals court candidates.
Refurbished By Neil A. Lewis
New York Times - 9/5/2003
Topic: White House
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