In the Agora: Convention Time

November 18, 2007

Convention Time

After 25 years, The Federalist Society is optimistic. As they should be. From an organizational vantage, the Society is thriving: With nearly 40,000 members nation-wide and a staff of more than twenty, "growth" is the keyword. And the recent Lawyer's Convention was a great success. More than 400 attended, and Thursday's gala dinner at Union Station brought 1,600 together to hear the thoughts of President Bush, Justices Alito, Scalia, and Thomas, not to mention the always convivial Ed Meese. I was fortunate enough to attend this year's events, representing the Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis' student chapter.

While none of the proceedings during the three-day Convention held at the Mayflower Hotel were as sensational as ABSCAM, all went a long way in fostering a greater marketplace of ideas. Beyond the narrow point of any given lecture or panel, a reoccurring issue was the increasingly distorted role of judicial nomination hearings that has occurred over the past three decades. Noting that he occupies Justice White's old chambers, Justice Thomas marveled that White was nominated, confirmed, and took his seat on the court in a ten-day period. Ten days. On Thursday night Bush held up the Roberts' hearings as a case in point of how the hearings have become something of monster. Near the end of his address on Friday, tough guy Rudy plainly stated that members of the Senate should have the same courage the nominees display in holding their professional (and sometimes personal) lives out for scrutiny: Forget the rhetorical questions, end the threats of filibuster, and put the nominee on the calender for a fair up or down vote. At Saturday's luncheon lecture Mitch McConnell wondered what will happen with nominations should 2008 favor the Democrats. Holding back a wide grin, he reminded us that the "old guys" he works with have a hard time forgetting new tricks, like filibustering a nomination vote.

For media coverage: Washington Post; Legal Times; ABC News.

Posted by Seth Zirkle at November 18, 2007 08:38 PM

Comments

As an fan of the Federalist Society, I'm a bit surprised that they would invite President Bush or Rudy. He's not exactly the first leader who comes to mind when I think of preserving the principles of "the state exists to preserve freedom," or "the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution."

Posted by: Joshua Claybourn at November 18, 2007 11:27 PM | permalink

With Bush, I agree. This was especially pressed upon me when Ed Meese made a comment about Reagan, who seems to embody a conservatism very different than Bush's. Speaking of Rudy, it was the original hope to host a forum for a panel or debate. When it became clear that only Rudy would be able to participate, it suddenly became a stump speech opportunity.

Posted by: Seth at November 19, 2007 12:29 AM | permalink

Let me state for the record that should a Democrat win the White House in 2008, I would not support the Republicans following the Democrats' example of filibustering nominations. Unless the nominee is truly on the far left, Rudy is right--give them an up or down vote.

November 18, 2007

Convention Time

Comments

Post a comment