Borking 101

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic Sen. John Kerry urged the White House on Friday to release "in their entirety" all documents and memos from Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' tenure in two Republican administrations.

"We cannot do our duty if either Judge Roberts or the Bush administration hides elements of his professional record," said the Massachusetts senator who was his party's presidential candidate last year.

Opening what is expected to be a broader attempt by Democrats to pry loose documents, Kerry issued his statement as Roberts made the latest in a series of courtesy calls on senators in advance of confirmation hearings.

Does anyone else see the irony in John Kerry demanding that ANYONE on this earth release records "in their entirety"?

What a joke!

How many times did Kerry dodge the issue of signing SF 180 and releasing his military records "in their entirety"?

This is as bad as Ted Kennedy complaining about the U.S. military using interrogation techniques that involved simulated drowning.

Democratic officials also said Friday they want access to all material regarding Roberts at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. Roberts served in the White House counsel's office from 1982-1986. He was principal deputy solicitor general in the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

The Reagan Library, in Simi Valley, Calif., holds an unknown number of documents relating to Roberts, arranged by subject matter. While material in some subjects are designated on the library's Web site as available to the public, most is not.

Among the publicly unavailable material is an entry marked "Specter, Senator." Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold hearings on Roberts' nomination, beginning either in late August or early September.

You can see the same strategy that the Dems used on John Bolton taking shape here.

The plan is to say that if they don't have access to every scrap of paper that ever stuck to the bottom of Roberts' shoes, they can't vote to confirm him.

The Dems must see everything. Release it all! If any material is kept back, based on matters of good reason and precedence, the Dems will charge that something is being covered up.

Remember how forthcoming the Clintons were when it came to releasing records? ("I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers." --Hillary)

Of course, they refused to cooperate in what they deemed to be a partisan witchhunt, a vast right-wing conspiracy.

This is all so hypocritical it makes me sick.

The Democratic officials said Democrats also are eager to learn details of Roberts' activities in Florida in 2000, at the time of the state's contested presidential recount. They spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to provide details.

An attorney in private practice at the time, Roberts flew to the state at his own expense to offer advice to Republican Gov. Jeb Bush, as the governor's older brother tried to clinch the election over then-Vice President Al Gore.

Yeah, that will fire up the base. Tie Roberts to the 2000 election. Good Lord!

That paragraph about helping Jeb is a tad biased, don't you think?

Roberts is so close to the Bush family that he flew down "at his own expense" to advise Jeb.

Ooh, what a revelation!

It should be noted that Jeb recused himself from the recount process, maybe on Roberts' advice.

Also, the part about his "older brother [trying] to clinch the election over then-Vice President Al Gore" is utterly lame. AP is certainly making the whole thing sound sinister, as if Roberts had a role in stealing the election.

When will the libs get it through their heads that recounts by media and independent sources all came to the same conclusion? BUSH WON!

Obviously, the Dems are grabbing at straws and desperate to plant doubts about a nominee that is clearly golden.

...Kerry is not a member of the committee. But he nonetheless injected himself into the debate at the end of a week in which Bush appeared to catch Democrats off guard by picking a court candidate with conservative credentials, yet one with little judicial experience, and thus, little public paper trail...

"The American people should know whether John Roberts will protect their constitutional rights if confirmed as a justice to the court," Kerry said in a statement.

Of course, we should; but the confirmation process should move forward in a civil fashion, not with the hysteria that Kerry and company are trying to incite.

...Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, said he voted against Roberts in committee for his appeals court seat two years ago partly because he didn't feel the nominee fully answered senators' questions.

"I urged Judge Roberts, as far as he can legally within the canons of ethics, to be forthcoming and honest with his answers," Durbin said after their meeting. "If he is open and honest, I think it will go a long way."

"Open and honest" does not equal answering ridiculous hypothetical questions about how he might rule.

Read this excellent analysis by Jay T. Jorgensen, "PRECEDENT FROM THE CONFIRMATION HEARINGS OF RUTH BADER GINSBURG FOR THE CONDUCT OF JUDICIAL NOMINEES."

(Excerpt)

Senator Biden said “the public is best served by questions that initiate a dialog with the nominee, not about how she will decide any specific case that may come before her, but about the spirit and the method she will bring to the task of judging. There is a real difference … between questions that focus on specific results or outcomes, the answers to which would risk compromising a nominee’s independence and impartiality, and questions on judicial methods and philosophy. The former can undermine the dispassionate and unprejudiced judgment we expect the nominee to exercise as a Justice. But the latter are essential and contribute critically to our public dialog.”

Biden will be singing a different tune when it comes to John Roberts. Guaranteed.

The Dems are sure to hammer away at him. Precedence be damned! Get out the litmus paper!

We'll see how far the Dems are willing to go to smear Roberts. My guess is they'll try to control themselves on his nomination because Bush is sure to have at least one other Supreme Court seat to fill.

Nonetheless, I suspect the Dems will use John Roberts for target practice to sharpen their skills for future battles and Borkings.