From: Steve Ewing 

On Sat, 17 Jan 2004 00:35:41 -0500, Mark Hessey  wrote:

> "John Cuccia"  wrote: The Bushies
are bunch of
> corrupt
> criminals with no regard for law or tradition...
>
> Recess appointments are lawful and traditional. What the heck are you
> talking about?

 From the same article:

=====
There have been more than 300 judicial recess appointments in the nation's
history, though the Congressional Research Service says few have occurred
in recent years. In the final days of his term, President Bill Clinton used
recess-appointment power to name Roger Gregory, a black lawyer, to the
appeals court based in Richmond, Va., saying he needed to do so because
Republicans had blocked his efforts to give that court its first
African-American. Three Supreme Court justices were also initially put on
the court as recess appointments.
=====

So, yes, it's not unprecedented.  But this particular guy is unusually
divisive, and the timing (the day after laying a wreath on MLK's grave) is
unfortunate.

=====
Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. Ranking Member, Judiciary Committee
To President Bush� �s Recess Appointment Of Charles Pickering To The Fifth
Circuit U.S. Court Of Appeals
January 16, 2004

� �This is a cynical, divisive appointment that will further politicize the
federal judiciary.  To do this on a Friday afternoon in the shadow of a
visit to honor the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr., is all the more
troubling.  President Bush has begun the New Year as he ended the old --
intent on dividing the country, not uniting us.� �
=====

and (also from Sen. Leahy's site,
http://leahy.senate.gov/issues/nominations/november2003.html ):

=====
The Senate has only blocked 3.5 percent of President Bush's judicial
nominees.  This is compared to the Senate, under Republican control,
blocking 20 percent of President Clinton's judicial nominees.
=====

--
Steve 
http://www.qmss.com/~sewing

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