Dumb Democrats

Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday rejected President Bush's nomination of Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owens to the US Court of Appeals. And in so doing, damaged former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk's campaign for the US Senate. Kirk himself certainly didn't help matters by opposing Owens last summer. But his opposition would have been rendered moot by Senate approval of the Owens nomination.

Kevin Phillips wrote years ago that the big three "Rs" of politics are race, religion and regionalism. The Owens issue is a regional issue; one of ours getting snubbed by a bunch of them. You'd think someone in the Democratic Party would have thought this through. In dissing Owens, the Democrats have dissed Bush and given the president and his party a good regional issue to use against Kirk. And use it they will.