How Well Can Dems Multi-Task?

From Kate Mewhiney

With Bush's nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court last night, and Karl Rove and "Plame-Gate" still on the front pages, it's time to find out how many battles the Left can fight at once.

In a thinly-veiled political move, Bush announced his pick for Supreme Court Justice a week earlier than expected. The hearings on Roberts won't begin until August at the earliest, but speculation and debate began before Bush finished his announcement.

The battle over the Supreme Court is a major issue that both sides have been preparing for since before the election, and Democrats must now be ready for it. We should not immediately reject Roberts simply because he is a conservative, but do our research and make informed decisions. In the confirmation hearings, senators must ask difficult and probing questions aimed at discerning his qualifications. For his part, Roberts must be honest and forthright in answering these questions. Should these things happen, we will have the "Fair and civil process" the president claims to want.

However, in the meantime we cannot let up on the administration for its role in the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame. That Bush announced his nominee early is a clear sign that he is desperate to take some of the heat off Rove. All the more reason to keep up the onslaught, and Democrats in Congress aren't about to let the matter drop.

This Friday, The U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee and the U.S. House Government Reform Committee Minority will conduct a joint hearing to examine the implications of revealing the identities of covert agents on national security. The Democratic Party is showing the country that it is united in its goal to get to the bottom of the crime that was committed and the cover-up that has lasted two years.

This issue must continue to stay in the spotlight if we are going to expose the truth. We cannot allow Bush's political strategizing to distract us from our goal. Democrats must be prepared to fight back, and in this case, multi-tasking is a necessary weapon.