Key Dem Senator Likely To Vote Against Top Obama Legal Nominee (Dawn Johnsen)

[babylonsister]

:banghead::banghead: :grr:

Greg Sargent's blog
Key Dem Senator Likely To Vote Against Top Obama Legal Nominee


Uh oh. This could signal real trouble for a key Obama nominee under assault by the right: Office of Legal Counsel chief Dawn Johnsen, a fierce Bush critic who would be at the center of the war over whether Obama will meaningfully reverse a host of Bush-era legal policies.

Conservative Democratic Senator Ben Nelson is all but certain to vote against Johnsen, Nelson spokesperson Clay Westrope tells me. Westrope confirms that while Nelson will take into account any further information that emerges, the Senator cannot now envision a scenario under which he’d support her — potentially making it an uphill climb to get her confirmed.

Johnsen is an important nomination: The OLC is the office where the torture memos were produced, and Obama’s pick of Johnsen cheered many liberals because it signaled a desire for his lawyers to aggressively articulate what the law allows. Johnsen has written that OLC lawyers should be “prepared to resign” if the White House ignores their opinions.

Johnsen has been under relentless attack by Republicans who claim her harsh legal criticism of Bush’s war on terror proves she’s weak on national security and cite her previous pro-choice statements as proof she’s an ideological hard-liner. But now a Democrat is echoing the latter criticism. Westrope emails:

“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.”

GOP Senators may filibuster the Johnsen nomination, meaning it will require 60 Senate votes to get through. So the loss of a Dem like Nelson could be a big deal.

[ErinBerin84]

1. surprise, surprise.

I guessed it would be him as I was opening the thread.

[rurallib]

3. Yep - Ben's pretty consistent

That is why 60 dems aren't near enough with Ben and Evan etc.

[NewJeffCT]

2. OMG - she's pro choice like 70% of America

WTF.

[NC_Nurse]

4. well, that just sucks.

Nelson is such a jerk.

[Old and In the Way]

5. Nelson's gotta go.

We need better Democrats to replace these DINO's.

[rateyes]

6. I guess we'll see if the Republicans in the "Gang of 14" have

any integrity about their "uprdown vote" crapola.

[mmonk]

7. Bookmarking as extra ammunition.

[mod mom]

8. Isn't abortion legal in this country? Why should her stance on a legal option for women

be a factor?

[Supersedeas]

9. it is like the election of Obama just will not sink in--Nelson rubberstamped every Bush appointee

b/c it was a presidential perogative.

[jsamuel]

10. that is a totally bogus reason to oppose a legal nominee