9/22/00 1:20 p.m.
No More Judges
Can the Senate hold the line against confirming any more Clinton judges?

By Roger Clegg, general counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity

udos to Senator James M. Inhofe (R-OK) for urging his colleagues not to confirm any more of President Clinton's judicial nominees this year. Inhofe is rightly outraged by Clinton's use of his "recess appointment" authority to formalize Bill Lann Lee's status as head of the U.S. Justice Department's civil rights division.

Lee's nomination, it will be recalled, died in the Senate almost two years ago because of fears that he would continue his quota-mongering ways — a highlight of his career as a civil rights activist — as the nation's top civil rights official. Clinton ignored the Constitution and made Lee the "acting" head of the division anyhow. Since then, he has amply vindicated the Senate's fears, never missing an opportunity to propose, support, and defend quotas based on race, ethnicity, and sex.

So Senator Inhofe's call to arms was already well supported when he made it on September 11. And a few days ago Mr. Lee's civil rights division provided further support.

The division has now filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, supporting the city of Denver's system of preferential treatment based on race, ethnicity, and sex in its municipal contracting. U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch had struck it down. According to the administration's brief, however, such discrimination is perfectly legal so long as there are numerical "disparities" that might be traced to the "effects" of "past discrimination" by somebody, somewhere. In other words, the city can engage in its politically correct discrimination forever.

So the Senate has two reasons to be upset by Lee's appointment. Institutionally, the president has ignored the Senate's "advice and consent" role. And the equal-protection guarantees of the Constitution are being imperiled by Lee's actions. Since the President has abused his appointment authority, the Senate should exact the obvious political price: no more confirmations.

Sad to say, however, many Republican Senators are reluctant to confront the administration on the issue of quotas or judicial nominations. It will be interesting to see whether the Senate holds the line.