CNN.com - White House aide confirmed to federal bench - May 26, 2006: "In a statement, Bush said Kavanaugh will be 'a brilliant, thoughtful and fair-minded judge.'Well, you got your wish. I just want to know what that compromise was for. They haven't used anything to stop two Supremes and a slew of conservative underlings.
The vote marked the latest in a string of confirmations for conservative appellate court nominees in the year since a centrist group of senators agreed on terms designed to prevent a meltdown over Bush's conservative picks.
Kavanaugh was not mentioned by name in an agreement announced by the so-called Gang of 14, but his nomination was pending at the time and he figured in the discussions. More recently, the seven Democrats who were members of the group had intervened in his case, calling for a second Judiciary Committee hearing into his appointment. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, chairman of the panel, agreed, defusing any threat of a filibuster designed to block a vote.
Still, Democrats highlighted the American Bar Association's recent downgrading of their rating of Kavanaugh from 'highly qualified' to 'qualified.'
'It's clear that he is a political pick being pushed for political reasons,' said Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. 'This is not a court that needs another rubber stamp for this president's exertion of executive power.'
The White House and Specter said Kavanaugh's Ivy League education, a Supreme Court clerkship and other work have prepared him well to become a federal judge. Specter's committee approved the nomination along party lines.
'It is hardly a surprise that Brett Kavanaugh would be close to the president because the president selects people in whom he has confidence,' Specter said. 'Brett M. Kavanaugh must be confirmed.'"
What the heck is the point? Gang of 14? More like the kindergarten 14.
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