Last posts on obama

”It would be wrong for us to be a rubber stamp for each nominee,” Alabama

2009-11-05T19:24:32+01:00

"It would be wrong for us to be a rubber stamp for each nominee," Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said in a recent confirmation dustup in the Senate.That sounds familiar.After Estrada gave up, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. said, "This should serve as a wake-up call to the (Bush) White House that it cannot simply expect the Senate to rubber stamp judicial nominations."The Republican stall at this point is focused on two appellate court judges whose nominations were sent by the Judiciary Committee to the full Senate on June 4:

Several of Bush's nominees waited for years — two years for Chief Justice

2009-11-05T19:24:03+01:00

Several of Bush's nominees waited for years — two years for Chief Justice John Roberts when he was nominated for a previous appellate court post.Priscilla Owen waited through four years of Democratic blocking tactics before she was confirmed for the New Orleans-based federal appeals court. Miguel Estrada withdrew his bid for an appellate seat after a Democratic filibuster lasting more than two years.As an institution that lets the minority party use rules to block legislation and nominations, the Senate often acts as a filter for preventing the more politically strident bases of each party from tilting the judicial branch too much one way or the other.While moderate nominees win confirmation easily, both parties use what is essentially the same argument to block or at least delay action on others: The particular nominee would substitute his or her own liberal or conservative philosophy for the law and the Constitution.

It's primarily two federal judges — one from Indiana, the other Maryland —

2009-11-05T19:23:44+01:00

It's primarily two federal judges — one from Indiana, the other Maryland — who've been waiting five months for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to bring their nominations for appeals court promotions to the Senate floor.Republicans contend they are activist judges, and Reid hasn't forced the issue — although he said Wednesday he might do so by Veterans Day for at least one of the nominees.One other nominee has been waiting since Sept. 10. But seven others have been waiting from only one to five weeks. That's not a long time for the Senate, which prides itself as a deliberative body, and Republicans say they're ready to vote on most of them.Democrats have a record of their own that is far from being a bright light. Just three years ago, they were blocking votes on some of former President George W. Bush's more conservative judicial nominees.

”We knew it was just a matter of when, not if, we were going to get paid, so

2009-11-05T19:23:29+01:00

"We knew it was just a matter of when, not if, we were going to get paid, so we kept our foot on the gas," Longo president Tom Rudnai said. Ten months into Barack Obama's presidency, Democrats are accusing Republicans of creating "a dark mark on the Senate" by delaying confirmation of his federal court nominees.The mark might not be as dark as Democrats make it seem.Of the 27 judicial nominations Obama has made so far, all five brought up for votes in the Senate have won relatively quick confirmations, including new Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.So what is this "dark mark" that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., talks about?

• In at least 15 deals in nine states, owners of large pickups cashed in old

2009-11-05T19:23:15+01:00

• In at least 15 deals in nine states, owners of large pickups cashed in old trucks for between $3,500 and $4,500 toward new Hummer H3 SUVs that got only 16 mpg.• In at least 32 deals, drivers traded older vehicles for new large trucks — including versions of Toyota Tundras, GMC Sierras, Chevrolet Silverados, Dodge Rams and Ford F150 pickups — that got only 14 mpg.Car-crazy California led clunker sales with more than 76,000 trade-ins, followed by Texas with roughly 43,000 and New York with nearly 37,000. In California, the Honda Civic was the No. 1 new car and no pickups ranked higher than 18th. In New York, the Hyundai Elantra was No. 1.The clunkers program was very good for Longo Toyota of El Monte, Calif., just east of Los Angeles, which sold more than twice as many vehicles under the program as any other dealership in the country, worth more than $30 million. That sole dealership was responsible for 1,432 sales worth nearly $6 million in clunkers rebates, mostly from its sales of 323 Toyota Camrys, 277 Corollas and 171 Priuses.

Chris Moss of Smithtown, N.Y., traded in his 1992 white Ford F150 pickup —

2009-11-05T19:23:01+01:00

Chris Moss of Smithtown, N.Y., traded in his 1992 white Ford F150 pickup — "it had 5 million miles on it and needed $50,000 in repairs, if you know what I mean" — for a new Chevrolet Malibu hybrid for his wife. When he drove his old truck to the dealership's back lot with the rest of the clunkers, "90 percent of what you saw were old 150s and Explorers," he said. Moss posted a video on YouTube of his old truck's final day, called "Rust In Peace."The $3 billion program, known officially as the Car Allowance Rebate System, ran