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Can Hatch Redeem Himself?
Manuel Miranda (former legal counsel to Sen. Bill Frist) has an editorial at the Wall Street Journal’s OpinionJournal site entitled “Road to Redemption” saying that for Biden and Hatch, the Robert’s hearings are a chance at redemption for past mistakes. What Hatch mistake is Miranda talking about? foo
To the consternation of conservatives, Mr. Hatch claims credit not only for the pacific confirmations of liberals Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer but for recommending their selection as well. (According to George Stephanopoulos’s book, it is a credit Clinton insiders deny Mr. Hatch.)From OpinionJournal - The Next Justice
Referenced Thu Sep 01 2005 11:14:39 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Miranda see the stakes for Hatch as being nothing less than his re-election and a chance to become President Pro-Tem:
For Mr. Hatch the stakes are no longer presidential, but they are high. But the office he now covets he may well attain if he can win a sixth term in 2006—president pro tem of the Senate, three breaths from the presidency. (By tradition the president pro tem is the most senior member of the majority party; currently, three Republicans are ahead of Mr. Hatch.)
For a Mormon of his generation, this would be a high honor. But re-election in 2006 is no longer certain. Last month Steve Urquhart, a serious Utah political leader with deep roots in statewide politics, announced that he would challenge Mr. Hatch at the Utah Republican convention, a hurdle that Hatch almost did not clear in 2000. Mr. Urquhart’s challenge was well met by Utah newspapers and leaders. Three weeks ago, technology billionaire Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, announced that he would throw muscle into defeating Mr. Hatch.
Mr. Cuban is not alone in throwing seed money at Mr. Urquhart. Conservatives from all over the country are flocking to him for several reasons, ranging from Mr. Hatch’s broken 2000 campaign promise on embryonic stem-cell research (he now favors it) to his divisive roles on pro-life and family issues for the past three decades. Last year, after Mr. Hatch’s surrender in “Memogate,” the Federalist Society had to pull a fund-raising letter with Hatch’s once-coveted signature. They reasoned it would not get them the result they wanted. Next week, Hatch will be well staffed and on his best behavior.
For these two very different men, Joe Biden and Orrin Hatch, the Roberts hearings offer an opportunity to start over in the eyes of constituents and a political base that questions their judgment, as they question the nominee.From OpinionJournal - The Next Justice
Referenced Thu Sep 01 2005 11:15:49 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Utahns would do well to watch Hatch’s performance here as well. Interesting to me that outsiders see Urquhart as a “serious Utah political leader with deep roots in statewide politics” whereas many in Utah tend to discount is experience. Keep in mind that Orrin had far less experience when he was first elected.
Posted by windley on September 1, 2005 11:06 AM
