Senate Blue-Slipping of Judicial Nominees

Re “Seeing Red on Blue Slips,” Commentary, May 16: While claiming to be motivated by the Constitution, it seems that Jonathan Turley’s main concern is that blue-slipping will prevent President Bush from “creating a lasting conservative legacy” by filling “over 100 open judicial slots.” The chutzpah of this statement is amazing! The only reason there are so many openings now is that Senate Republicans used the same blue-slip system to block or stall an inordinate number of President Clinton’s appointments. The conservative senators’ abuse of the system and the logjam they created was so egregious that they were publicly chided by Chief Justice William Rehnquist several years ago.

Many Republicans, including the president, ran on a promise to restore “integrity” to government. How’s this as a test of integrity: Are you willing to play by the same rules when they no longer work to your advantage?

Bob Ramsey

Glendora

Turley’s one-sided screed is another example of Bush’s bipartisanship: our way or the highway. There are 100 federal judicial vacancies because the Republican Senate, to fight the Clinton administration, allowed any single Republican senator to blue-slip a nominee, officially stopping the process. They also claimed the workload didn’t require these slots be filled. Now that there’s a Republican president, they want to require that both senators from a state blue-slip a nominee, and make this only advisory, which means they will ignore it.

Like the crybabies they are, the Republicans don’t want to play by the very rules they created to stymie Clinton. Turnabout is fair play!

Kelley S. Willis

Venice