Senate Confirms Bush Judicial Nominee Crotty

Paul Crotty, whose nomination passed 95-0 today, will be the 205th nominee to be confirmed by the Senate. Many Republicans and conservative activists would have you believe that we're in some kind of crisis simply because Senate Democrats have determined that 10 out of 215 nominees are unqualified to sit on the federal bench. As ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee Patrick Leahy explains, the facts paint a far different picture of the situation:

"Once confirmed, Mr. Crotty will be the 205th of 215 nominees brought before the full Senate for a vote to be confirmed. That means that 829 of the 875 authorized judgeships in the federal judiciary, or 95 percent, will be filled. As late as it is in the year, we are still ahead of the pace the Republican majority set in 1999, when President Clinton was in the White House. That year, the Senate Republican leadership did not allow the Senate to consider the first judicial nominee until April 15." -Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)