On Friday Sen. Clinton voted "no" on two of President Bush's nominees, Michael Hayden (for CIA) and Brett Kavanaugh (U.S. Court of Appeals). Hayden was confirmed overwhelmingly, 78-15, with Hillary joining 13 other Dems and the lone Republican, Arlen Specter. One of the reasons she cited for her opposition to Hayden (despite admitting "he has had a distinguished career serving our nation") was his defense of the NSA surveillance, even though Hillary's husband supported pretty much the same thing back when he was president. Interestingly, New York's senior senator and Hillary nemesis Sen. Chuck Schumer voted for Hayden.
As for the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the federal bench, he encountered stronger opposition, as his nomination passed 57-36. Kavanaugh had been one of Independent Counsel Ken Starr's top aides, as he helped investigate the death of Hillary's law partner Vince Foster, as well as the sex scandal involving Hillary's husband and Monica Lewinsky. A few months ago, the American Spectator reported on how Sen. Clinton had placed a secret hold on Kavanaugh's nomination. Hell hath no fury like a woman investigated.
In recent weeks, the American Bar Association downgraded Kavanaugh's judicial nominee's rating from "well-qualified" to "qualified," despite the fact that the nominee graduated from both Yale University (cum laude) and Yale Law School, clerked for two top federal appeals court judges and Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, worked for several years at a top law firm, served in the U.S. Solicitor General's office, and was senior associate counsel to President Bush before being promoted to staff secretary, a stellar and "well qualified" resume by anyone's standards, except the ABA and liberals like Hillary. Of course, the lawyer whose recent interview with Kavanaugh led to the ABA's lower rating, Marna S. Tucker, is a registered Democrat whose friendship with Hillary is documented as going back to 1991. It looks like Hillary pulled out nearly all the stops, but alas, to no avail.
