Great news from the White House, which plans to fight right wing obstructionism by reappointing several blocked nominees, once the Senate returns to session, later this month. The Huffington Post's Sam Stein first reported that the list includes:
Dawn Johnsen, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel
Christopher Schroeder, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy
Mary Smith, Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division
Craig Becker, National Labor Relations Board
Louis Butler, U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Wisconsin
Edward Chen, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of California
The White House has now confirmed these names to Stein, who explains the significance of the Johnsen nomination:
This is huge news for progressive activists who have longed to see the White House come to Johnsen's defense after her nomination was held up by a united Republican opposition and several skeptical Democratic senators. Johnsen was first nominated a year ago to take over the same position that Bush administration lawyers occupied when they effectively constructed legal arguments to authorize the use of torture. Her criticism of those past OLC officials has caused her appointment to be stalled. Rather than drop the effort altogether, the White House is now going to go back to the Senate and push for the necessary 60 votes to get her confirmed.
The key word is "push," because there is no doubt that the obstructionists will try to kill this nomination, just as they killed the first one. But the president clearly wouldn't be resubmitting Johnsen's name if he didn't intend to fight to get her confirmed.
As I wrote a couple weeks ago, Emperor Ben Nelson was among those that killed the president's first nomination of Johnsen, and his excuses were blatantly hypocritical, given his support for Bush nominees:
But Greg Sargent got an email from Nelson's spokesperson, who made Nelson's rationale odiously clear:
Senator Nelson is very concerned about the nomination of Dawn Johnson, based on her previous position as Counsel for NARAL. He believes that the Office of Legal Counsel is a position in which personal views can have an impact and is concerned about her outspoken pro-choice views on abortion.
And just in case you were wondering if Nelson always takes such stands about personal views, Sam Stein explained, last May:
Where was the principled opposition from the Senator during the Bush years? Why is he refusing to show Obama the same deference that he offered the previous administration?
The votes, they argue tell the story. Nelson supported cloture or confirmation for some of Bush's most controversial judges and political nominees, including several who were never able to be confirmed even under a GOP-controlled Senate. Moreover, Nelson often defended his positions by citing presidential prerogative.
"The president's nominees, especially to the Supreme Court, deserve an up-or-down vote," he said of the nominating process, "even if the nominee isn't popular with the special-interest groups in Washington."
Stein points out that Nelson backed the Bush nominations of anti-choice extremists Samuel Alito and John Roberts to the Supreme Court, and equally anti-choice John Ashcroft as Attorney General. And just in case you think Nelson's hypocrisy is limited to ensuring that federal appointees share his view that women's bodies should be subject to government regulation, he also apparently had no problem backing a Bush appointee who was the poster boy for Bush era corruption: Alberto Gonzales, as Attorney General.
The Republicans, on the other hand, were simply being Republicans:
The Republicans opposed her for their usual and no longer astonishingly dishonest reasons. As explained by the Washington Post:
Johnsen's nomination, in particular, has been controversial from the moment in January when Obama announced her as his choice. She was outspoken in her criticism of the Justice Department during President George W. Bush's administration as "tainted" by political considerations.
Republicans questioned during a hearing on her appointment whether Johnsen had the "requisite seriousness" to head the Office of Legal Counsel.
After all, how could anyone take seriously someone who was critical of the Bush Administration's exemplary Justice Department?
Torture memos.
Warrantless wiretapping.
U.S. Attorneys scandal.
Political persecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman.
And how could anyone take seriously someone with this thin resume?:
B.A. in economics, political science at Yale College, 1983
J.D. at Yale Law School, 1986
* Graduated Yale College summa cum laude with a B.A. in economics and political science
* Member of Phi Beta Kappa
* Article and book review editor of the Yale Law Journal at Yale Law School
* Acting Assistant Attorney General (1997-1998) and Deputy Assistant Attorney General (1993-1996), U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel, Washington, D.C.
* Legal Director, National Abortion & Reproductive Rights Action League (currently NARAL Pro-Choice America) (1988-1993)
* Staff Counsel Fellow, American Civil Liberties Union Reproductive Freedom Project, New York (1987-1988)
* Clerk, Hon. Richard D. Cudahy, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Chicago (1986-1987)
And in her current job, as Professor of Law at Indiana University's Maurer School of Law:
Johnsen serves on the national board of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy and as co-chair of the ACS Issue Group on Separation of Powers and Federalism. Her research interests include issues of separation of powers (especially presidential power) and civil liberties (especially reproductive rights).She has testified before Congress and appeared on many national television and radio news programs as an expert on these issues.
Her courses include Constitutional Law, the First Amendment, and Seminars in the Separation of Powers and Sexuality, Reproduction and the Constitution.
Particularly in comparison to the eminently distinguished, apolitical people Bush appointed.
But Johnsen's name is going back to the Senate, and President Obama deserves our kudos and thanks. People For The American Way:
"President Obama made an excellent choice in Professor Johnsen to lead OLC, and today he's shown his willingness to stand on principle and call the Republicans on their attack and delay tactics," said Marge Baker, Executive Vice President of People For the American Way. "President Obama's decision today is a refutation of the GOP's efforts to spin this eminently qualified nominee as a controversial choice, and he should be applauded. Professor Johnsen's legal scholarship, her integrity, her substantive knowledge, and her commitment to this nation's security and to the rule of law will serve this country well once she's confirmed."
In a recent analysis, People For the American Way documented the new records in abuse of the filibuster set by Senate Republicans, who have forced time-consuming procedural votes on dozens of legislative matters despite broad bipartisan support.
"Despite being presented with an obviously qualified group of nominees, the GOP has plumbed new depths in delay and obstruction in the Senate-especially in preventing the President from filling crucial administration positions," said Baker. "The GOP seems intent on delay, delay, delay, no matter what the cost to the nation. The Senate should move quickly to confirm these nominees."
PFAW is collecting signatures to petition for Johnsen's confirmation. You can read it here.
It's not only that Dawn Johnsen deserves this effort, and it's not only that she deserves this job; it's that we, the people, need Dawn Johnsen in this job, to help clean up the mess that was the Bush DOJ, and to work to help reinstate the concept of rule of law.