Now, tables may turn. For weeks now, the conservative Free Congress Foundation has been quietly and methodically compiling a stack of statements by Senate Democrats during the Clinton administration calling for the prompt filling of judicial vacancies, with plans to use it when President Bush makes his selections. We're going to look at what their position was when a Democrat was sending them nominees they liked. Now all of a sudden it's slowdown time at the farm. To many on the right and left, filling the 99 vacant slots on the federal bench represents the most critical undertaking Mr. Bush will face over the next four years.
Tax cuts are temporary.
Environmental policies can be reversed. But Bush's judicial appointments will continue to shape America's laws for years after he has left office. For this reason, fights over the federal bench have become increasingly bitter over the past 20 years - and for Bush, they're likely to get worse. Bush the closet moderate The Senate, now evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, must confirm a president's selections. Indeed, the Republican majority's refusal of Clinton nominees is one reason Bush is now faced with so many vacancies.