Post by showcase on Feb 21, 2004 10:57:56 GMT -5
President Bush bypassed the Senate on a high-profile judicial nomination yesterday for the second time in five weeks and seated William H. Pryor Jr., the Alabama attorney general and an outspoken opponent of abortion, as an appeals court judge through 2005.
Pryor is among six of Bush's appeals court nominees who have been blocked from confirmation votes by delaying tactics of Senate Democrats who contended the nominees are extreme conservatives.
He took the oath of office in Alabama last night and joined the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which covers Alabama, Georgia and Florida.
Pryor, 41, has described Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court's landmark abortion rights decision, as "the worst abomination in the history of constitutional law." In 1997, his first year as Alabama attorney general, he invoked God's will while speaking at a Christian Coalition rally to defend a state judge who posted the Ten Commandments in his courtroom.
Senate Democrats said such comments show Pryor is out of the mainstream. But that same history has made him a luminary of the religious right. Bush made the election-year appointment during a weeklong Senate recess. In an e-mailed announcement, Bush said that Pryor's "impressive record demonstrates his devotion to the rule of law and to treating all people equally under the law," and that he "has received widespread bipartisan support from those who know him and know his record."
Bush's recess appointment was hailed by conservatives at a time when the right wing of his party has complained to the White House about issues including record federal spending and a delay in an endorsement of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
Pryor is among six of Bush's appeals court nominees who have been blocked from confirmation votes by delaying tactics of Senate Democrats who contended the nominees are extreme conservatives.
He took the oath of office in Alabama last night and joined the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which covers Alabama, Georgia and Florida.
Pryor, 41, has described Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court's landmark abortion rights decision, as "the worst abomination in the history of constitutional law." In 1997, his first year as Alabama attorney general, he invoked God's will while speaking at a Christian Coalition rally to defend a state judge who posted the Ten Commandments in his courtroom.
Senate Democrats said such comments show Pryor is out of the mainstream. But that same history has made him a luminary of the religious right. Bush made the election-year appointment during a weeklong Senate recess. In an e-mailed announcement, Bush said that Pryor's "impressive record demonstrates his devotion to the rule of law and to treating all people equally under the law," and that he "has received widespread bipartisan support from those who know him and know his record."
Bush's recess appointment was hailed by conservatives at a time when the right wing of his party has complained to the White House about issues including record federal spending and a delay in an endorsement of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
It would be ironic if the Dem's 'moral' opposition to a handful of judges provided Bush with a handful of opportunities to give a boost to his base...
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58072-2004Feb20.html