Saturday, November 2, 2013

The Millett Nomination: A Case in Reverse Affirmative Action by Senate Republicans - Andrew Cohen - The Atlantic

Patricia Millett



I suppose that if you think that government is best which governs least, you're not very upset by one which doesn't govern at all.  The Republican Party is approaching that point.  Yesterday every Republican in the Senate but two (Murkowski and Collins) blocked the nomination of Patricia Millett to the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  Millett had majority support but the GOP filibustered - even though no one questions her fitness for the job.  They are trying to reduce the size of the court to lock in the conservative majority on the court which hears appeals of federal agency actions. - GWC
The Millett Nomination: A Case in Reverse Affirmative Action by Senate Republicans - Andrew Cohen - The Atlantic:
by Andrew Cohen
No less than 43 Senate Republicans Thursday afternoon used a filibuster to block the judicial nomination of Patricia Ann Millett for a spot on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the most important federal court short of the United States Supreme Court. Thirty-seven did so directly, three by voting "present" and three by simply not voting at all. And so another eminently-qualified candidate for public office, a legal expert willing to make a great financial sacrifice to serve her country, has been rejected for reasons everyone agrees have nothing at all to do with her substantive qualifications for the job.
Who, exactly, is Patricia Ann Millett? All you need to know comes from this headline, from an organization devoted to military spouse attorneys: "Faith and Family at the Core of Military Spouse DC Circuit Nominee Patricia Millett." Got that? The Republicans in the Senate just filibustered the nomination of a highly-talented lawyer and hard-working woman of faith who is married to a member of our armed forces. In doing so, by defeating today's cloture vote, they prevented this nominee from re-joining the federal government even though Millett received enough votes to pass a straight-majority vote for her post.
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