EVEN MORE: In addition to conservatives Charles Pickering and Priscilla Owen, President Bush has renominated, for the D.C. Court of Appeals, two other jurists rejected or ignored by the Democratic Senate last year: strict constructionists Miguel Estrada, whose nomination was never voted on by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and John Roberts, onetime law clerk to Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who was never given a hearing by the committee when it was still in Democratic hands. Among the other judicial nominees once considered "dead on arrival" whose names were again sent to the Senate were Deborah Cook and Jeffrey Sutton of Ohio and state Judge Rick Griffin of Michigan, son of former Senate Republican Leader Robert Griffin (Mich.).
NO THANK YOU: Democratic Representatives Charles Rangel (N.Y.) and John Conyers (Mich.) have introduced a bill to reinstate a military draft. But critics point out that their concern is not to improve military readiness, or even to discipline America’s youth by putting them through boot camp. Instead, they are trying to use the military to further their trendy ideological agenda: "Successful implementation of the administration’s policy towards Iraq will require long-term sacrifices by the American people, particularly those with sons and daughters in the military who will be placed in harm’s way," said Rangel in a December 30 statement. "It is apparent, however, that service in the armed forces is not a common experience and that disproportionate numbers of the poor and members of minority groups compose the enlisted ranks of the military." The Pentagon criticized the proposal and released statistics showing that minorities are not disproportionately in combat positions in the military. Said Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness on January 6, "The members and supporters of CMR are closely watching news stories about men and women being called to defend America’s interests in the Middle East. We support the troops, and believe that the challenges they will face should not be made more difficult or more dangerous by those who would undermine the volunteer force or national security just to make political points." (For more on the draft proposal, see page 10.)
OOPS: On January 7, the FBI, which suspects it was the victim of a hoax, dropped its manhunt for five men of Middle Eastern origin who supposedly entered the country illegally last month from Canada into New York State. Canadian Immigration Minister Denis Coderre called on American leaders, in particular Sen. Hillary Clinton (D.-N.Y.), to apologize for smearing Canada’s reputation by buying into the hoax. In response, Clinton said that stories of infiltration through the northern border were "all too believable."
TERM LIMITS OUT: The only office in the hierarchy of the U.S. House leadership that is under term limits had them lifted this month. Under a motion offered by new House GOP Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.), the eight-year-old rule limiting the speaker of the House to four two-year terms was officially lifted, thus permitting Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (Ill.) to be re-elected to the office indefinitely beyond 2006. Blunt’s motion was part of the rules package that the House GOP Conference voted to accept by unanimous consent and that the full House subsequently adopted on a party-line vote. (See page 22.)
O’NEILL STRIKES AGAIN: Shortly after being forced out as Treasury Secretary for a series of mistakes and gaffes, Paul O’Neill undermined the President yet again by implicitly criticizing Bush’s new tax cut package. Said O’Neill on January 12 about the proposal, "I would not have done it." He suggested that the federal government needed the money for spending. He also claimed that he was not trying to criticize the President. "I’m a supporter of the institution of the presidency, and I’m determined not to say any negative things about the President and the Bush Administration," said O’Neill. "They have enough to do without having me as a sharpshooter."
BORDER EFFICIENCY: Instead of announcing new initiatives to secure the border, Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft and Acting INS Commissioner Michael Garcia announced on January 14 the expansion of the SENTRI, Secure Electronic Network for Travelers’ Rapid Inspection, program between the United States and Mexico. SENTRI dedicates a commuter lane for regular border crossers. "SENTRI was first implemented at the Otay Mesa Port-of-Entry [in San Diego] on Nov. 1, 1995," said the Justice Department. "The new and expanded enrollment center will enable the INS to boost the number of motorists being processed for participation in the local program by almost 30%."
