Dispatches from the Creation Wars

Yes, Harry Reid has "fast tracked" the nomination of Judge David Hamilton. Hamilton was nominated on March 17th, for crying out loud. He was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 12-7 vote on June 4th. Since that time, the Republicans have been filibustering his nomination - and doing so based on some rather ridiculous lies about Hamilton's record. The same Republicans who screamed holy hell about any filibuster of a Bush judicial nominee, railing about how "unprecedented" it was and considering the "nuclear option" of doing away with such filibusters.

Let's not forget this statement by Republican judiciary committee member Jon Kyl swearing that no Republican would EVER filibuster a nominee because they were just so gosh darn principled:

"Republicans seek to right a wrong that has undermined 214 years of tradition - wise, carefully thought-out tradition. The fact that the Senate rules theoretically allowed the filibuster of judicial nominations but were never used to that end is an important indicator of what is right, and why the precedent of allowing up-or-down votes is so well established. It is that precedent that has been attacked and which we seek to restore....

My friends argue that Republicans may want to filibuster a future Democratic President's nominees. To that I say, I don't think so, and even if true, I'm willing to give up that tool. It was never a power we thought we had in the past, and it is not one likely to be used in the future. I know some insist that we will someday want to block Democrat judges by filibuster. But I know my colleagues. I have heard them speak passionately, publicly and privately, about the injustice done to filibustered nominees. I think it highly unlikely that they will shift their views simply because the political worm has turned."

So now Reid cuts a deal with Sen. Mitch McConnell to finally get Hamilton a vote by the full Senate -- a vote that he will win handily -- a full 8 months after he was nominated and nearly 6 months after his nomination was sent to the floor, and in the fevered minds of the folks at the Worldnutdaily, the nomination is being "fast tracked." It becomes more and more difficult to parody these people.