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By Mr Right Posted in User Blogs — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Not content to have their reputation in mere tatters over the phony Texas Air National Guard Documents they used to try to smear President Bush just before the election last fall, CBS News has apparently picked up another shovel and started digging itself a new grave!

In an interview that was run on the CBS Evening News on Monday and picked up all over the MSM, including this AP news story, CBS purported to show former Federal Appeals Court Judge and Whitewater Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr slamming the Republicans in the U.S. Senate who would back the so-called "nuclear option" to end the Democrats' 4-year filibuster of numerous qualified judges:

Kenneth Starr -- an appeals court judge on the D.C. circuit from 1983-1989 -- came out against the Republican plan to ban judicial filibusters on Monday. He told CBS Evening News that it is a "radical, radical departure from our history and our traditions, and it amounts to an assault on the judicial branch of government."

(Emphasis added.)

Score one for the Democrats and their cohorts in the media, right? What a coup! The much hated, much maligned Ken Starr, a conservative and a former judge, calling the "nuclear option" to end the filibusters "radical!"

Not so fast!

Ramesh Ponnuru at NRO's The Corner in an article entitled Ken Starr's Real Views smelled something fishy and went straight to the horse's mouth:

CBS, AP, and other outlets reported earlier this week that Starr had said that getting rid of the judicial filibuster would be a "radical, radical departure from our history and our traditions, and it amounts to an assault on the judicial branch of government."

This seemed like a very odd thing for Starr to say, so I contacted him.

He forwarded to me an email he had sent to someone else who had asked about this matter:

"In the piece that I have now seen, and which I gather is being lavishly quoted, CBS employed two snippets.  The 'radical departure' snippet was specifically addressed -- although this is not evidenced whatever from the clip -- to the practice of invoking judicial philosopy as a grounds for voting against a qualified nominee of integrity and experience.  I said in sharp language that that practice was wrong.  I contrasted the current practice . . . with what occurred during Ruth Ginsburg's nomination process, as numerous Republicans voted (rightly) to confirm a former ACLU staff lawyer.  They disagreed with her positions as a lawyer, but they voted (again, rightly) to confirm her.  Why?  Because elections, like ideas, have consequences. . . . In the interview, I did indeed suggest, and have suggested elsewhere, that caution and prudence be exercised (Burkean that I am) in shifting/modifying rules (that's the second snippet), but I likewise made clear that the 'filibuster' represents an entirely new use (and misuse) of a venerable tradition. . . .

"[O]ur friends are way off base in assuming that the CBS snippets, as used, represent (a) my views, or (b) what I in fact said."

(Emphasis added.)

Okay folks. Time to let CBS have it with both barrels until they can prove with an unedited tape that they did not quote Mr. Starr out of context in such a way as to completely change the meaning of his words from being against the Democrats' position on judicial filibusters to vehemently opposed to the Republicans' proposed solution. Barring that, they better issue an immediate retraction and apology or prepare for the onslaught. This will NOT be allowed to stand!!!

Spread the word, my fellow bloggers! To arms! To arms!

Hat-tip: Right Pundit