Last Thursday, the Senate voted by a 53-40 margin to approve the nomination of Michael Mukasey as Attorney General. Mukasey was confirmed by the narrowest margin in over fifty years according to the Associated Press. His confirmation was opposed by human rights and legal activists–including the American Civil Liberties Union–after he suggested that he might support a form of torture known as “waterboarding” that is occasionally used in the “war on terror.”
Michigan’s Democratic Party Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow both voted against Mukasey’s nomination. However, six Democrats supported his nomination and four chose not to vote, including Democratic Party presidential contenders Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, and Barack Obama. This is the latest example of the Democratic Party “caving” to the Bush administration despite its majorities and apparent elections in November 2006 due to frustration over the war and the Bush administration’s policies.
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