Specter Too Worried About the NFL to Confirm Appointments

No question, Arlen Specter has been a major disappointment. Many people, including this blog, opposed his elevation to the chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee due to the wishy-washy nature of his support for Bush appointees. He's lived up to many of our worst fears.

Hugh Hewitt has a piece in World Magazine that describes that looks back on Specter's promises...and his failures:

One year ago Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter was campaigning hard for the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He lobbied fellow Republicans and took to the pages of The Wall Street Journal to declare, "I am committed, in word and deed, to prompt action by the Judiciary Committee. Last April, I introduced Senate Resolution 327, a protocol to establish prompt action on all judicial nominees. Specifically, my protocol provides that all nominees will have a Judiciary Committee hearing within 30 days of nomination, a Judiciary Committee vote within 30 days of the hearing, and a floor vote 30 days later."

Many conservatives opposed Mr. Specter, but his promises persuaded his Republican Caucus colleagues that he could be trusted to chair the committee in a manner in keeping with their goals and the promises he had made. Now, his word seems worthless.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in the deep freeze given the nomination of White House Staff Secretary Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Mr. Kavanaugh, originally nominated in July 2003, was not blackballed by the infamous Gang of 14 deal this past spring, but he still languishes in Mr. Specter's committee, just as nominee Terrence Boyle languishes on the floor of the Senate.

The entire machinery of judicial nominations seems to have ground to a halt under Mr. Specter's leadership. The White House demanded December hearings on Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court but Mr. Specter held back, and we'll now see relentless attacks until the hearings open the second week of January. The chairman has also dithered on the Patriot Act extension that representatives of the House and Senate worked out in a mid-November compromise.

Surely there must be a reason why Specter couldn't find the time to get the work above done, or schedule the Alito confirmation hearings before Christmas. Maybe this is what's been tying up his time:

Senator Arlen Specter is accusing the National Football League and the Philadelphia Eagles of treating Terrell Owens unfairly.

The Pennsylvania Republican says he might refer the matter to the antitrust subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which he chairs.

Specter said at a news conference Monday in Harrisburg it was "vindictive and inappropriate" for the league and the Eagles to forbid the all-pro wide receiver from playing and to prevent other teams from talking to him.

He said, "It's a restraint of trade for them to do that" and "it might be a violation of antitrust laws.

Just what the country needs - a Congressional investigation into an NFL personnel matter. I'm glad Specter has his priorities straight. Maybe next he'll want to tackle the suspension of Kurt Busch by Rousch Racing. Oh wait, Kurt is a rich white guy, so I guess he's on his own.

Hugh Hewitt has a suggestion to solve the problem:

If Mr. Specter doesn't soon remember his pledges of November 2004, then the Republican Caucus should revisit the vote it took in reliance upon those assurances.

The only problem with voting Specter out now is that Specter would become an avowed enemy of the Republicans and the administration, and would probably join in Dem efforts to block Alito or other qualified conservative judges. The GOP made a bad deal in allowing Specter to ascend to the chairmanship, and now they'll have to live with his failure to perform.