U.S. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle on Tuesday vowed to block all of President Bush's judicial nominees unless Bush promises to stop seating federal judges while the chamber is on vacation.
"We will not be able to move on the confirmation of judges until we are given the assurance that they will not recess appoint future judges, especially judges who have been rejected by the Senate," the South Dakota Democrat said.
A White House spokeswoman replied that Bush has no intentions of giving up his constitutionally mandated power to make recess appointments, particularly when used to circumvent "unprecedented Democratic obstructionism."
This doesn't seem like a very good political move for Daschle. He's in a tough re-election race against popular former Representative John Thune, and the filibuster issue helped Bush regain the Senate in 2002.
Up until now Daschle was playing the centrist in his re-election bid. A threat like this makes me think that Daschle is jealous that John Kerry is getting all of the attention. Keep it up and they'll need a new minority leader.
Thune barely lost to South Dakota’s other Democrat in 2002, and there was enough irregularity in the returns that he may have been the winner.
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