BLUE SLIPS

Byron York has an interesting piece on how Michigan Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow have quietly blocked four of President Bush’s nominees to the 6th Circuit.

Majority Leader Bill Frist is apparently going to try to ride roughshod over the blue slips by forcing a floor vote anyway, something not likely to work in a 51-49 Senate. It strikes me that the more obvious solution would be for Bush to withdraw the four nominees in question and instead nominate four even more conservative Republicans from states other than Michigan. The Circuit has jurisdiction in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. I’m guessing the senators from Kentucky and Tennessee, especially, would be quite amenable to this move.

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