With Congress back in session, and major liberal interest groups throwing throwing their weight behind her, is the conservative campaign to defeat Dawn Johnsen ramping up?
Some signs certainly point in that direction.
Yesterday, The Washington Times–one of the country’s leading conservative newspapers–published an op-ed calling her a “radical” and urging Republicans (and, comically, Democrats) to filibuster the President’s choice to head the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel.
Also yesterday, McClatchy quoted Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) saying she faces a tough road ahead. “I think she’s in real trouble,” Voinovich said. “From what I’m picking up from consensus, she’s got a problem.”
And Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, has sent word out to her members to call their senators and urge them to filibuster Johnsen’s confirmation. Some of those callers will enjoy friendly hearings. Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) has already vowed to block the nomination of David Hamilton, who Obama selected to fill a vacancy on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
As I reported earlier this week, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA)–a key holdout, who’s been tacking to the right in the last few weeks–has yet to decide whether he’d support a filibuster, and leadership hasn’t yet scheduled a debate and vote on her confirmation on the Senate floor.
