An old saying: be careful what you do and say because it come back to bite. Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the new ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee was once a upon a time, nominated for judgeship. In 1986, Sessions was nominated for a federal judgeship by then President Ronald Reagan.
CQ Press:
In 1986, Sessions was only the second judicial nominee in 48 years whose
nomination was killed by the Senate Judiciary Committee — which refused
even to let the nomination come to the Senate floor for a vote. Sessions’
opponents accused him of “gross insensitivity” on racial issues. On a 9-9
vote, the panel killed the nomination. (The nays included the man Sessions
replaced in the Senate, Democrat Howell Heflin.)
For his part, Sessions says that the Senate on occasion has been insensitive
to the rights and reputation of nominees. Now a member of the Judiciary panel
and a subcommittee chairman, he allows that his presence on the committee
alongside several of the members who voted against him is a “great irony.”
But he has been welcomed even by political opponents who voted against
his confirmation, and he is often looked to for guidance on how to handle
controversial nominations.
Sessions was serving as chief prosecutor for the Southern District of
Alabama and making a name for himself through his prosecution of drug
dealers when President Reagan nominated him to be a federal judge. But
according to sworn statements by Justice Department lawyers, Sessions
called the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union “communist inspired” and said they tried to “force civil rights down the throats of people.”
Sessions reportedly said of the Ku Klux Klan that he “used to think
they’re OK” until he learned that some Klan members were “pot smokers.”
Sessions said his words were in jest or had been misrepresented.
Even though his remarks got him in trouble as a nominee, he is not afraid
to speak his mind, even when a little more judicious caution or diplomatic
phrasing is called for.
Sessions himself has voted “nay” on at least one judgeship nomination, in
both the Judiciary Committee and on the floor, each year since he has been
in the Senate. And he has held up nominees to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
in a long-running battle with other Western conservatives against the court,
which he characterized as “the furthest-left circuit in the American judiciary.”
1 comment:
Jeff Sessions and I are the same age yet raised to see different America's. Now Sessions was born/raised in the heart of the South when blacks had no rights. He lived in the small town outside of Selma Alabama which is now History to the greatest horror of my time. The only time I visited the South as a child I saw a man hanging from a tree, which was for the Southern people normal. Hate was ebbeded in those days. I on the other hand lived in Jesery were for some reason race wasn't pushed on kids.
Now Sessions like George Wallace is seeing how God works. Sessions will have to see his pass as he decides Judge Sotomayor's appointment. Just think how many who still have hate in their hearts feel about the US having a Black President. Yes it's been over 40 plus years since the JFK, Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy years of teaching respect/love/equality but some hold on. Sessions lost the Judgeship because of his racism and now he will have to vote for not only a minority but a woman too.
These are some of the lessions to learn from as we watch others. Do unto others as you want others to do unto you. Those aren't just words but action is put behind them. You'll see with your own out come in life.
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