President Calls Some Senators' Actions a 'Disgrace'
By Amy Goldstein and Helen Dewar
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, May 9, 2003; 1:05 PM
…Bush said that it was a ‘disgrace’ that three of his initial 11 nominees to the nation's federal appellate courts have been blocked so far ‘by a group of senators.’ The president used the sharp rhetoric that has come to typify the partisan debate over the handling of judicial nominations, saying that ‘American justice is suffering’ and that the independence of the federal judiciary was at stake.
…’Some senators have tried to force nominees to take positions on controversial issues before they even take the bench,’ the president said. ‘This is contrary to the constitutional design of a separate and independent judicial branch.’
Some Senators pointed out that they, too were part of a ‘separate and independent’ branch of government, which clearly implied they did not have to do whatever the Administration wanted. President Bush disagreed. ‘Separate and independent does not mean obstructionist, and it does not mean using the tools of office to pursue partisan political agendas at the expense of the administration of justice. The job of the Senate is to vote on these nominations.’ Asked if his ideal for the judiciary was to have it be as ‘independent’ as a Senate that obeyed his commands, Bush replied ‘Exactly.’
Asked how he defined the word ‘independently’ in the term ‘a free and independent press,’ Bush cited Fox News as ‘Independent as all get-out, unlike those Pinkos like Sy Hersh at the New Yorker.’