The American Spectator

p> SETTING UP SMITH br> Senate Republicans were somewhat surprised that one of George Bush’s nominees to the federal appeals bench, Judge D. Brooks Smith , passed the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 12-7 vote. Three Democrats, including Joe Biden , crossed over to put Smith before the full Senate. /p>

Smith was in some ways a more controversial — some would say questionable — nominee than Judge Charles Pickering, who was turned back by the Democratic controlled committee. Smith has had a large number of his cases reversed on appeal by higher courts, and had to face financial conflict of interest charges regarding work his wife performed while he was hearing related court cases. Longtime liberal crybaby and failed Democratic candidate Ralph Neas, president of People for the American Way, which single-handedly defeated Pickering, opposed Smith. So did the New York Times in a lead editorial.

So why did Smith sail through? Democratic staffers on the Judiciary committee cite several reasons. “First, we have to give the administration some victories or else there is concern they really will be able to use the lack of confirmations as a campaign issue,” says one Judiciary aide. “The other reason is that Smith and some of the others are probably worth bringing before the whole Senate for a vote, if only to give other Senators a chance to weigh in on his qualifications.”

The second reason strikes some as more plausible, if only because some Republican senators on the Judiciary Committee are said to have told the White House they expect Smith to be a tough vote on the floor. “We don’t expect Biden, for example, to support Smith on the full Senate vote,” says one staffer to Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter. “They just wanted Smith out so they could say later that they gave him a full Senate vote, and to give others a chance to sound off on Smith in front of the cameras.”

Other Democratic leadership staffers interviewed denied there is a concerted plan to bring more nominations to the floor just to shoot them down. “If we feel a nominee shouldn’t be held up further, and deserves a hearing by the full Senate, it’s up to the chairmen. In the case of Smith, Senator Leahy felt this nominee deserved it,” says a leadership staffer. “Republicans can’t complain when we bring forth these nominees for a vote, when that’s what they’ve been asking for. What’s the saying about be careful for what you wish for?”