Sharpton Confounds Democrats

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Janice Rogers Brown’s nomination to the D.C. Court of Appeals today. Al Sharpton created what could be a major problem by breaking ranks with the Democratic monolith and urging that Brown receive a vote: “I don’t agree with her politics. I don’t agree with some of her background. But she should get an up-or-down vote.”
A group of Democrats led by the reprehensible Julian Bond, head of the NAACP, held a press conference yesterday to denounce Justice Brown as a “far right-wing extremist” who is “outside the mainstream.” Which led to the following exchange:
“They were asked how Justice Brown could be described as a right-wing ideologue when 76 percent of California voters cast ballots to return her to the bench in 1998, the highest percentage of any justice in that retention election.
“‘It’s inexplicable to me,’ Mr. Bond said. ‘I cannot think of a response. But nonetheless, that election does not invalidate any of the things [we] have said.'”
Great argument, Julian. That’s the Dems’ slogan: Never let the facts get in the way of politically-opportune slander.
Told that Sharpton had supported a vote for Justice Rogers, one of Bond’s colleagues responded: “I don’t believe it. That can’t be true. It would be shockingly surprising.” Shockingly surprising, indeed, but Democratic dissent is breaking out all over.
Meanwhile, a group that supports Justice Brown is running television ads in South Carolina attacking John Edwards for voting against her in the Judiciary Committee. Edwards is small beer, but the issue could be a potent one against many Democrats next November.