WaPo reporter falsely downplays George H.W. Bush's appointment of Sotomayor

May 26, 2009 12:01 pm ET by Jamison Foser

Washington Post reporter Robert Barnes:

Obama also said he would try to bridge the gap between Republicans and Democrats, and I think Republicans will argue this choice is not designed to appeal to them. That is part of the reason the President pointed out this morning that Sotomayor was initially appointed to the bench by President George H.W. Bush, although that was part of a deal with New York's Democratic senators.

New York's senators at the time were Democrat Patrick Moynihan and Republican Al D'Amato.

Why is MM misleading their readers again?

It has now become a well-known fact that Moynihan and D'Amato had a pre-arranged agreement about the appointment of judges.

By a number of accounts, Moynihan and D'Amato had a longstanding arrangement. "It was a special deal whereby D'Amato agreed to defer to the pick of Moynihan for one out of every four district court seats," another former Bush official told me. "That was a deal that preceded President Bush I, so basically Moynihan was picking one of four district court nominees." That deal stood even though Republicans controlled the White House and thus (theoretically) the right to choose judges for the federal courts.

And at that moment, in 1992, it was Moynihan's turn to choose, and his choice was Sotomayor. There is no evidence that anyone in the Bush I White House or Justice Department thought Sotomayor was a conservative, or even a moderate, but no one wanted a fight with Moynihan. "She was not our first choice," recalls a third Bush I official, "but she was someone who was, if we were going to get a nominee confirmed to that position -- essentially someone we had to go with."

It's pretty sad that MM has to resort to this kind of deception and dishonesty.

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- by twseattle (May 26, 2009 1:27 pm ET)
  1
  
  Does that mean it doesn't count? Very lame attemp to remove Bushes appointment as a discussion point when the foaming at the mouth starts coming from the reactionaries.
  
  Reply Report Abuse
- by shoes89 (May 26, 2009 2:45 pm ET)
  1
  
  Why is MM misleading their readers again?
  
  It has now become a well-known fact that Moynihan and D'Amato had a pre-arranged agreement about the appointment of judges.
  
  By a number of accounts, Moynihan and D'Amato had a longstanding arrangement. "It was a special deal whereby D'Amato agreed to defer to the pick of Moynihan for one out of every four district court seats," another former Bush official told me. "That was a deal that preceded President Bush I, so basically Moynihan was picking one of four district court nominees." That deal stood even though Republicans controlled the White House and thus (theoretically) the right to choose judges for the federal courts.
  
  And at that moment, in 1992, it was Moynihan's turn to choose, and his choice was Sotomayor. There is no evidence that anyone in the Bush I White House or Justice Department thought Sotomayor was a conservative, or even a moderate, but no one wanted a fight with Moynihan. "She was not our first choice," recalls a third Bush I official, "but she was someone who was, if we were going to get a nominee confirmed to that position -- essentially someone we had to go with."
  
  It's pretty sad that MM has to resort to this kind of deception and dishonesty.
  
  Reply Report Abuse
  - by twseattle (May 26, 2009 5:21 pm ET)
    
    Thanks for proving my point.
    
    Reply Report Abuse

WaPo reporter falsely downplays George H.W. Bush's appointment of Sotomayor

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WaPo reporter falsely downplays George H.W. Bush's appointment of Sotomayor

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