Liberal Lighthouse - I've been reading a lot lately about the "killing" of the Priscilla Owen nomination to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals by the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Byron York, of the National Review has written back to back laments on the subject. Republican Senators are issuing some bullying threats and are trying to "shame" their Democratic Colleagues for playing the same game of partisan politics with Judicial Nominations that was the modus vivendi for Republicans when Clinton was President. But even beyond that, Jason Zengerle of The New Republic has written an intriguing article which says that it is the very Bush Administration itself which should shoulder some of the blame for the litmus testing of federal judiciary nominees. Senate Republicans would be wise to read this article to realize that their grandstanding on this issue won't go very far (and may even backfire) if the public at large, like Zengerle, perceives the very "nominations" of judges by the Bush Administration to be the product of a pre-selection litmus testing process even before they reach the Senate. I, for one, can admit that Zengerle expresses a sentiment that resonates with what I have felt all along.