Bogged Down By Democrats

The Michael Boggs judicial nomination by President Obama has run into the Honey Badger buzzsaw, and the entire process has turned into a complete mess, as Ed Kilgore points out.

As you may have heard, Senate Democrats—now including Majority Leader Harry Reid—are bailing on the president’s nominee for a district court position in Georgia, Michael Boggs, a state judge who was once a Blue Doggy Democratic state legislator representing a district in southeast Georgia. Mostly at issue are Boggs’ votes in the Georgia legislature for maintaining Confederate symbols on the state flag, placing restrictions on abortion providers, and enacting a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage (this last position came with some inflammatory conservative rhetoric about “judicial activism” as well. At his confirmation hearings yesterday, Boggs took the standard approach of not talking about his specific positions on specific issues, though he did indicate his support of the abortion restriction bill was the product of ignorance, and admitted his Flagger vote was a nod to his constituents’ convictions.

What I hope angry progressives do understand is that Boggs’ appointment was the product not of the Obama administration’s wishes, but of the system—imposed against significant precedents by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-VT)—of requiring positive “blue slips” (basically statements of approval) from both senators in the state where any judicial nominee would serve.

The Blue Slip process allows senators to cut deals, and in this case, the deal was to allow Boggs nomination to go through in order to get Georgia's two GOP senators to sign on to Jill Pryor's nomination to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which they have been blocking since 2012.  The deal has clearly crumbled and the permanent holds will continue on Obama nominees.

Yet another example of President Obama willing to negotiate, and then getting his throat cut by his own party.  And people wonder why Republicans control the House and the vast majority of states right now.