Republican senators take a stand on protecting American justice

Eight Senate Republicans gathered this afternoon to hold a forum on “Protecting American Justice: Ensuring Confirmation of Qualified Judicial Nominees.” Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) led the forum and said that it is not fair to the American people for Congress to block certain judicial nominees in an effort to obtain partisan revenge. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) agreed with Specter and said that U.S. courts are the front lines of contact between the American citizens and Congress.

Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said that there is no excuse for not considering voting upon a good judicial nominee. He said that republicans are ready to go to work and serve justice. Sen. John Warner said it is sad watching qualified nominees not get invited to hearings and go into the “partisan fight.” Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) agreed with Warner and said that good nominees should not be trumped by partisan politics.

John McGinnis of Northwestern Law School said the process of confirming judicial nominees has broken down in the last few years and become a partisan process. He explained that over the last twenty years, the Senate Judiciary Committee has often refused to hold hearings or take votes on federal court nominees of a President who is a member of the opposing political party. McGinnis said that by delaying or refusing to provide hearings for plausibly qualified federal court nominees, the Judiciary Committee is likely to harm the quality of the judiciary. He proposed that the Committee pass a rule requiring the Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing within six months of a nomination and to hold a Committee vote without one month of the hearing, unless at least two-thirds of the Committee agrees to postpone it.

David Bohn of the North Carolina Bar Association said that his association joins in calling for nominations to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to move forward immediately, specifically Judge Robert Conrad’s nomination. Bohn said that further delay in the nomination will cause more harm than good, and that to continue to have the State of North Carolina under-represented in the Circuit is “a misfortunate, unnecessary detriment to the public and the legal community of North Carolina.”

Roscoe Howard, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, explained that the D.C. Circuit has been affected by a growing caseload. He said that not having vacancies filled during a time like this is “just wrong.” Howard gave his support for Mr. Keisler and Judge Conrad and said that when the confirmation of men such as them fail to move forward, there is an appearance of a lack of appreciation of their capabilities, and of the respect they have earned. More importantly, Howard said that the integrity of the U.S. judicial system of selecting judges is harmed and diminished.

Republicans have "answers" to rising gas prices

In a press conference regarding gas prices, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY.) said that the Republican Party is committed to creating more American energy in order to lower gas prices. He criticized Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama and his stance on gas prices. He said that apparently Senator Obama is not concerned about the rising gas prices, only the fact that they rose so abruptly. McConnell said that lowering gas prices in the America is a top priority for the Republican Party.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH.) said that the U.S. must produce more oil in an environmentally friendly way. He said that the Democrats who run the Senate are not allowing sensible bills to be brought to the floor. He said that Democratic Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid (D-NY.) is taking partisan advantage in the Senate and it is making it impossible for Republicans to introduce legislation.

Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tex.) said that the Republican Party is prepared to act on lower gas prices, with an understanding that the issue involves supply, demand, and conservation. He said that most Republican senators voted for higher fuel efficiency standards, which according to Alexander, is essential to lowering gas prices.

A new "Manhattan Project:" Energy challenges for the next president

The Brookings Institution held a discussion on energy challenges for the next president of the United States, where Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) spoke about his Seven “Grand Challenges” for the next five years. The 5-year proposal, which he calls “A New Manhattan Project,” includes integration of plug-in electric cars and trucks, carbon capture for coal-burning power plants, cost-competitive solar power, nuclear waste management, advanced biofuels made from inedible crops, green building construction, and fusion energy.

Alexander said that the idea behind the original Manhattan Project, which was implemented during World War II to help America secure a nuclear weapon before Germany, is relevant to today’s energy situation because “it needs to proceed as fast as possible along several tracks to achieve the goal.” Centralized leadership that channels the talent of many great minds, Alexander said, is necessary to the invention of revolutionary energy ideas so that America need not be “held hostage” by oil-rich foreign nations.

While some people feel that election year is “no time for bipartisan action,” Alexander said he “can’t think of a better time” and expressed his support for presidential candidate Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) decision to dedicate this week of his campaign to energy independence discussion. Alexander called Republicans the “party of supply” and Democrats the “party of demand” in reference to their respective solutions to both energy independence and climate change.