The Washington Post
Wonkbook: How do you talk about jobs when you can’t really do anything about them?
By Ezra Klein, August 4, 2011

Domestic Policy

The Senate needs to get serious about confirming judicial nominees, write Andrew Blotsky and Doug Kendall: “There have been at least 80 vacancies on the federal courts for the past 760 straight days and counting, according to a recent Constitutional Accountability Center study. At the same time, only 35 new permanent judgeships have been authorized by Congress in the past 20 years — even as the overall federal caseload has expanded by fully a third. The third branch is deteriorating largely because of unprecedented Republican obstruction. Senate Republicans refuse to agree to votes for well-qualified nominees, who enjoy the unanimous support of their Republican and Democratic colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Today, 16 such nominees are waiting for a vote by the Senate, with four more qualified nominees approved by the Judiciary Committee.”