LCCR Condemns Bush???s Attempt to Bully Senate into Confirming Controversial Nominees

In an attempt to bully the Senate, President Bush hosted a breakfast this morning for stalled controversial nominees to the federal courts and high-ranking agency posts.  

The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) and the broader civil rights community have expressed grave concern about many of these nominees based on their questionable records and disregard for fundamental civil rights protections.  

LCCR even went to the unusual length of outright opposition to FEC nominee Hans von Spakovsky, a former Department of Justice attorney who worked to curtail the voting rights of minorities.  This marked the first time that LCCR ever opposed a nominee to the FEC.

“This isn’t about filling vacancies, it’s about red meat for his base,” said Wade Henderson, LCCR president. “President Bush is cheapening a serious process by using controversial appointments to rally right-wing activists. If he was serious about filling seats, he would consult congressional members and home-state senators to identify well-qualified, fair-minded consensus nominees.”