Dole Hits Another Clinton Nomination

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, April 23) -- Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kan.) issued a blistering attack on President Bill Clinton's nominee for a federal appeals court judge on Monday as being too inexperienced for the job(128K WAV sound) .

Dole also criticized U.S. Appeal Judge Martha Craig Daughtrey, a Clinton appointee, for what the Kansan said was her overly strict interpretation of search-and-seizure protections. Dole cited two 1994 criminal cases where Daughtrey, who sits on the 6th circuit, voted to suppress evidence gathered in police searches.

It was phase two of Dole's election-year offensive on Clinton's judges--what the Kansan has described as the president's "all-star team of liberal leniency." Speaking from the Senate floor, the majority leader charged: "Those who seek to sit on the federal bench should be well grounded in basic constitutional law."

Miami attorney and Clinton ally Charles "Bud" Stack, according to Dole, "doesn't meet this standard (224K WAV sound)." Stack, 62, is a personal injury and product liability attorney with no previous experience on the bench. Senate Republicans have already expressed concern that Stack, who raised $7 million for Clinton, is merely a political patronage nomination, and ill-prepared for the nation's second highest court.

Dole's criticism will likely doom Stack, but for now "the White House stands by Mr. Stack and his distinguished 35-year career as a litigator," Clinton aide George Stephanopoulos responded. "It would be a lot better for Senator Dole to spend his Senate floor time doing something thoughtful, like raising the minimum wage."

Separately, Dole, speaking before farm broadcasters Monday, defended his support of ethanol subsidies, for which he earned the nickname "Senator Ethanol." He's also been criticized for that support in a year when the GOP has dramatically scaled back farm supports. Though he said the program should be examined for excesses, he said overall it's been "a winner."

Dole has received contributions from Archer Daniels Midland, an agribusiness with a large stake in ethanol. "He's given to Democrats," too, Dole said of ADM head Dwayne Andreas. "I remember writing to President Nixon about it, long before ADM got involved in it."

Dole Hits Another Clinton Nomination

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