Juan Williams is out with a column in The Hill about the supposed Republican Judicial "Log jam". According to Williams, the Senate Republicans are refusing to consider the appointments of judges named by Obama to the federal bench and this is creating a crisis. This is not a new story line from the left, but it remains a lie. Let's consider the facts:
1. There are 63 vacancies on the federal bench. The process to fill them requires president Obama to name a nominee after consultation with the senators from the state(s) where the judge will sit.
2. As of this moment, there are only 16 nominees selected by Obama. That means that Obama has failed to nominate people to fill three quarters of the vacancies.
3. Once a person is nominated, the FBI does a background check and supplies the results to the Senate. Of the 16 nominees, eight are in the process of confirmation. The other eight are still being investigated. That means that at most the Senate Republicans have held up eight judges with there being 63 vacancies. That's just over ten percent.
4. Of the eight awaiting confirmation, three are at the point where there will be committee hearings on their nominations. Five are actually in line for a vote. Those are the only ones that the Senate GOP could be delaying.
5. The Senate is in a rush to adjourn for August. It is unlikely that any nominations will be the subject of a vote before that recess. This happens every August; it is not a tactic by the Republicans.
So when you put all this together, you find that for the 63 vacancies, inaction by Obama is the cause of 75%; waiting completion of action by the FBI (which is controlled by Obama) is the cause for another 13%: about 5% are awaiting their confirmation hearings before the Judicial Committee; and only at most 8% could be said to be delayed by the GOP. With these numbers, however, Juan Williams still blames the Republicans.
The funny thing is that the false talking points which underlie this story were put out by the Democrats about a month ago in an effort to hide Obama's failure to nominate people for these posts. It was roundly derided at the time. Williams, however, must have been at a loss for something about which to write today, so he chose to go back to discredited and obviously phony talking points to write his column. That Juan Williams did this and that The Hill actually published such a phony story shows the true bankruptcy of the liberal media.
1. There are 63 vacancies on the federal bench. The process to fill them requires president Obama to name a nominee after consultation with the senators from the state(s) where the judge will sit.
2. As of this moment, there are only 16 nominees selected by Obama. That means that Obama has failed to nominate people to fill three quarters of the vacancies.
3. Once a person is nominated, the FBI does a background check and supplies the results to the Senate. Of the 16 nominees, eight are in the process of confirmation. The other eight are still being investigated. That means that at most the Senate Republicans have held up eight judges with there being 63 vacancies. That's just over ten percent.
4. Of the eight awaiting confirmation, three are at the point where there will be committee hearings on their nominations. Five are actually in line for a vote. Those are the only ones that the Senate GOP could be delaying.
5. The Senate is in a rush to adjourn for August. It is unlikely that any nominations will be the subject of a vote before that recess. This happens every August; it is not a tactic by the Republicans.
So when you put all this together, you find that for the 63 vacancies, inaction by Obama is the cause of 75%; waiting completion of action by the FBI (which is controlled by Obama) is the cause for another 13%: about 5% are awaiting their confirmation hearings before the Judicial Committee; and only at most 8% could be said to be delayed by the GOP. With these numbers, however, Juan Williams still blames the Republicans.
The funny thing is that the false talking points which underlie this story were put out by the Democrats about a month ago in an effort to hide Obama's failure to nominate people for these posts. It was roundly derided at the time. Williams, however, must have been at a loss for something about which to write today, so he chose to go back to discredited and obviously phony talking points to write his column. That Juan Williams did this and that The Hill actually published such a phony story shows the true bankruptcy of the liberal media.
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