Update [2005-5-8 18:32:59 by Armando]: From the diaries by Armando. Hagel admits what we all know. Good for him. Sounds like he is a no on Frist's nuclear option.
Today on This Week, Hagel strayed way off the reservation, to the point of completely undermining the Republican argument about judges in this one, beautiful sound-bite:
"The Republicans' hands aren't clean on this either. What we did with Bill Clinton's nominees - about 62 of them - we just didn't give them votes in committee or we didn't bring them up."
So much for the argument that Democrats have engaged in unprecedented obstruction by blocking 10 nominees. As Hagel makes clear, the Republicans' hands are even dirtier because they blocked six times as many Clinton nominees.
And so much for the argument that Republicans believe in up-or-down votes. When it came to over 60 Clinton nominees, the Republicans "just didn't give them votes."
Of course, this information is nothing new to any of us -- but to have it directly from the mouth of a "leading Senate Republican" gives us a perfect opportunity for an effective TV ad:
VOICE OVER: For months, radical Republicans in Washington have been trying to rewrite history about judges.
Images on Screen: Pictures of Frist, DeLay, Santorum.
VOICE OVER: Finally, one leading Republican has admitted the truth.
Text on the Screen: The quote "leading Senate Republican" from the AP story above -- preferably under the masthead of a local newspaper that ran the AP story.
HAGEL VIDEO CLIP: "The Republicans' hands aren't clean on this either. What we did with Bill Clinton's nominees - about 62 of them - we just didn't give them votes."
VOICE OVER: That's right -- the Republicans blocked votes on more than 60 of President Clinton's nominees. And now they're complaining about Democrats blocking just 10 of President Bush's most extreme nominees?
Who do they think they're kidding?
TAG LINE: Tell the Republicans in Washington to stop whining about judges, and start focusing on the real issues facing Americans.
Text on Screen: "Stop Whining"