Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Oh, Politico.Clik here to view.
What started as a noncontroversial nomination, cheered by Democrats and welcomed by at least some Republicans, has deteriorated into a four-month drama as the well-regarded New York prosecutor has become collateral damage in the fight over President Barack Obama’s immigration executive actions. Obama has even accused Republicans of holding her "hostage" to other issues.Even? Um, Lynch has already waited longer than any previous attorney general nominee for a vote. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has refused to have a vote on her nomination until he breaks Democrats on a completely unrelated issue. Democrats won't go along with his expansion of abortion restrictions, so the first black woman nominated as attorney general won't get a vote. That seems pretty much the definition of political hostage taking.
"Loretta Lynch is a consummate professional, and she's going to be an effective attorney general no matter what," said Ronald Weich, dean of the University of Baltimore School of Law and a former assistant attorney general in Obama's first term. The bitterness of her confirmation fight and the growing ranks of Republican opponents, he said, is "not a reflection on Loretta Lynch—it's a reflection on those senators."Ya think? None of this has anything to do with Lynch. Any nominee of President Obama's who would agree that his executive actions on immigration were perfectly legal—and he wasn't going to nominate anyone who disagreed—would be in the same boat. It just might not be as politically embarrassing and damaging for Republicans as this one.
