# Senator Leahy, have you no sense of decency?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-leahy-have-you-no-sense-of-decency/127167>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [September 5, 2002, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-leahy-have-you-no-sense-of-decency/127167 "2002-09-05T18:35:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 6

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**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\
**Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-leahy-have-you-no-sense-of-decency/127167/101 "2002-09-15T13:48:47Z")

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Bush’s “decency”? Or simply political calculation that Leahy was right to point out, D?

If you’re in a hole, stop digging.

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**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-leahy-have-you-no-sense-of-decency/127167/102 "2002-10-09T14:55:27Z")

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Pat Leahy’s conduct continues to hit new lows:

> [@](#):
>
> Mr. Leahy pulled a fast one on both Senate rules and courtesy by reneging on his multiple promises to give Judge Shedd a committee vote this fall. In the process he took a special slap at retiring Senator Strom Thurmond. A fellow South Carolinian, Mr. Shedd used to work for Mr. Thurmond when he was chairman of Judiciary. Mr. Leahy had assured the Senator as recently as last week that Judge Shedd would get a vote. He’d made similar promises to Senators Hatch, Grassley and Brownback, among others.
> 
> Apparently Mr. Leahy counts his promises as less important than winning an election by whatever means. And there’s a competitive Senate race in South Carolina, where Judge Shedd is being painted as an anti-black, anti-woman Neanderthal. This might just be the get-out-the-vote issue in the black community that Democrats hope will send Democrat Alex Sanders to victory over Republican Lindsey Graham. (Don’t count on it.)
> 
> Refusing to vote on a nominee who has had his confirmation hearing and has been scheduled for markup in committee is entirely unprecedented. No Judiciary chairman in memory has done this. But we’re told that Democrat Joe Biden had told Republicans he would vote for the nominee, and Mr. Leahy couldn’t let that happen. Judge Shedd has even more Democratic support on the Senate floor, including that of South Carolina Democrat Fritz Hollings.

> **[Shedded by Judiciary](https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1034122010782499916)**
>
> Senate Democrats cast off another appointee.

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**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-leahy-have-you-no-sense-of-decency/127167/103 "2002-10-09T16:12:15Z")

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Bumping, because my last post failed to move the thread to the front of the queue.

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**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-leahy-have-you-no-sense-of-decency/127167/104 "2002-10-09T16:29:21Z")

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Incidentally, Nat Hentoff, who is no conservative, also sees a problem with the judicial confirmation process. [http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/hentoff.html](http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/hentoff.html)

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