By AMY HARDER
Former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., urged a room full of Republican attorneys today to fight President Obama's judicial nominees -- but to stop short of the filibuster.
Speaking at a Republican National Lawyers Association conference at the National Press Club, Santorum insisted to a skeptical audience that filibustering judicial nominees would be counterproductive. Two questioners wondered why Republicans should show restraint after Democrats blocked several of President Bush's nominees. "We will lose every single filibuster attempt, even if it's the worst judge in the world. We don't have the votes," Santorum rejoined. "You don't pull out a gun if everyone in the room knows it's not loaded."
Santorum also predicted that a filibuster would cause dissent even within GOP ranks. "Half of the caucus will turn on you," Santorum said. "Democrats don't turn on other Democrats. Republicans do."
When NationalJournal.com caught up with Santorum after his speech, he said that the only way his party will be able to block any of Obama's nominees would be to wage massive campaigns against the most "egregious" ones to the point where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., decides not to bring the confirmation to a vote. Going against every single one of them will not work, he said. Would the former senator be involved in such campaigns himself? "Oh, I don't know," Santorum said with a laugh. "I like to light a lot of fires and then step out of the way."
One thing that the audience, Santorum and his fellow speaker, Wendy Long, could agree on was their concern about Obama's philosophy in making judicial nominations. Long, counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network, expressed her alarm about a comment Obama made on the campaign trail indicating that he preferred judges who have "heart" and "empathy." "This is the first time in history that a president has put forth as his gold standard for judicial nominees the very definition of judicial activism," Long said.
Obama has made just three nominations so far. The first, David Hamilton, nominated to a 7th circuit Court of Appeals seat in mid-March, has already drawn conservative opposition. Hamilton is now awaiting a confirmation vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Republicans on the committee, including Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., boycotted Hamilton's confirmation hearing on April 1, saying they didn't have enough time to prepare.
