What Goes Around, Comes Around

“If ever there is a time when all Senators should be extremely reluctant to shut off debate, it is when the Senate debates a Supreme Court nomination. If Congress makes a mistake in the enactment of legislation, it can always return to the subject matter and correct the error at a later date. But when a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court is confirmed by the Senate, the nominee is not answerable thereafter to the Senate or to the people, and an error cannot be easily remedied. . . .

“Whatever one’s view may be concerning the practical effect of Senate rules with respect to the enactment of legislation, there are strong reasons for commending them in the case of a nomination to the Supreme Court.”

This reasoned defense of judicial filibuster came from Senator Robert Griffin (R-Mich), a key figure in the opposition to Abe Fortas in 1968.

Isn't it ironic how Republican political analysis has changed over the years?

Still, even more ironic is that one of the Bush nominees currently involved in the latest "nuclear option" anti-filibuster controversy is Richard Griffin, the son of the former Senator Robert Griffin. Judge Griffin is a ideologue whose nomination is opposed by both Michigan senators (which, in the quaint old days, would have been enough to stop it.)

Also, from the "small world" department, one of those senators is the man who defeated Senator Griffin in 1978, Carl Levin.