43
GOP opposition was shaky
On the side
Partisan shots: U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, said he wants to be bipartisan, but can’t help himself when it comes to taking shots at Republicans.
Republicans campaigned against federal bailouts and the stimulus package because of the impact on the national deficit. Ryan said the campaign was a “hoax” and a “phony argument” because Republicans insisted a tax bill passed last month retain tax cuts for the wealthy that would add about $700 billion to the national deficit.
The deal received approval from plenty of House Democrats. Ryan said he supported it because it also included an extension of unemployment insurance and the continuation of tax cuts for low- and middle-income Americans.
Chief of staff: U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson of Poland, R-6th, elected as a political outsider, hired Mike Smullen as his chief of staff.
Johnson called Smullen a “veteran of the Hill.” Smullen is the former chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Steve Austria of Beavercreek, R-7th, and was also on the staff of U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot of Cincinnati, R-1st.
The Senate confirmation of new U.S. District Court Judge Benita Y. Pearson, based in Youngstown, was held up for nearly a year supposedly because of concerns by Republicans about her views on animal rights.
What brings the legitimacy of the argument into question is since 1839, there’s only been one animal-welfare case in the U.S. Northern Ohio District Court, which is where Judge Pearson is located.
That one case, dismissed in 1991, came from a Geauga County animal-rights group that objected to the transfer of a lowland gorilla named Timmy from the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo to the Bronx Zoo to mate.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat who recommended Pearson for the judicial position to the president in July 2009, said the delay by Republicans on confirmation had more to do with political games than concerns about her animal rights views.
One Senate Republican official told me Pearson “has been outspoken and expressed some controversial views, most notably her views about animal rights.”
She worked as an adjunct professor teaching animal law and is a member of several animal rights advocacy groups, including the Animal Legal Defense Fund. Among its many positions, the ALDF wants animals to have standing to sue in court.
When asked about animal rights during the confirmation process, Pearson replied she was an “advocate for doing what is in the best interest of animals.”
U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked Pearson a loaded question about whether it was in the best interest of a steer to be slaughtered.
Her answer was it’s “probably not in the best interest of the steer,” but “you have to look beyond that. I mean, the steer is going to lose its life. It’s a painful situation and steers, evidence has shown, through scientific testing, may have some idea or an apprehension about the slaughter that’s impending.”
Pearson added: “The next step is it necessary to slaughter the steer in order to provide food for those who would otherwise go hungry or perhaps be malnourished without the substance that this steer’s flesh and hide could provide.”
Forget that the American Bar Association judged her well-qualified and that she has a distinguished legal career. Republicans were supposedly concerned Pearson thinks steers aren’t happy to get slaughtered. She didn’t say they shouldn’t be killed for food. She just thinks the animals are likely to be bummed about their impending death.
On Dec. 21, the day of Pearson’s confirmation by the U.S. Senate, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association sent letters to the Senate leaders in opposition to her because her connections to the ALDF “would make it difficult for her to be an impartial judge in cases regarding actions by animal rights activists.”
The Senate voted 56-39 to confirm Pearson. All the yes votes were from Democrats, with then-U.S. Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio the only Republican supporting her. Also, U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska was the lone Democrat voted against her.
The president had nominated her in December 2009 to the Senate. The judiciary committee recommended in February 2010 that the full Senate confirm her by a 12-6 vote with all Democrats voting for her and all Republicans against her.