Mustafa Taher Kasubhai, US District Judge nominee for the District of Oregon, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week 

Over the past several years, I’ve watched dozens of Congressional and Senate interviews of people nominated for important government positions. They are generally Biden nominees, and the interviews all seem to follow the same plotline.

First, the Democrat representatives toss the nominees softball questions, allowing them to strut their credentials. Then, the Republican representatives question them about opinions they’ve expressed on various politically sensitive topics in the past. Opinions that suggest they might approach their new jobs with bias.

The nominees first try to dismiss their former statements by putting them in an exculpatory context. “I was representing a client when I said that.” Or, “That was a college paper I wrote thirty years ago.” But when they are confronted with dozens of similar statements made over the years, including recent ones, they move to, “I don’t allow my political beliefs to influence my decisions.”

In my experience watching these interviews, the credibility of this line of defense ranges from hard-to-believe to “Are you kidding?”

Watch this one and tell me if you disagree.

Click here and here.

Let’s Be Reasonable

After a federal investigation into a complaint brought against them, United Airlines agreed to make concessions for passengers who use wheelchairs.

They did the right thing, I think… provided we’re talking about people who actually need wheelchairs – i.e., who use wheelchairs full-time. Not the oldsters that can walk perfectly well but ask for wheelchairs to get preferential treatment going through security and getting upfront seating.

Click here.