Take a bow if you were among the tens of thousands who took action to torpedo a very bad judicial nominee. In case you missed the
news last week, the nomination of Michael Boggs to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia is dead. Boggs was the nominee that President Obama compromised with Georgia Republican Sens. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss on last year, forwarding this extremely conservative, anti-choice, anti-gay nominee in order to get their sign-off on other, less objectionable choices. Activist groups and organizations like Daily Kos raised holy hell over the nomination, and made Boggs so controversial that Senate Democrats nixed the nomination even
before the Judiciary Committee could vote on it.
Now, according to Isakson and Chambliss, President Obama has notified them that it's all over for Boggs, at least as long as there's a Democratic president.
"It is with regret that we announce that the President will not re-nominate Judge Michael Boggs to the United States District Court for a third time. We were informed of the President's decision by Denis McDonough, the President's chief of staff, prior to Thanksgiving. We regret the President's decision, as we have supported Judge Boggs throughout this process and remain steadfast in our support," the senators said in a statement.
They continued, "Throughout the process, Judge Boggs has exhibited enormous restraint and the temperament expected of a jurist. These traits will serve him well for the opportunities we are confident the future holds for Judge Boggs. We wish him the best and thank him for his service to the people of Georgia."
A White House spokesman confirmed that Obama won't renominate Boggs, but offered no additional comment.
Among Boggs' greatest hits as a state legislator: voting to make public the names of physicians providing abortions
at a time when clinics and doctors were being targeted with violence and death, voting to keep the Confederate insignia on Georgia's state flag, and sponsoring a state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. The other six nominees Obama negotiated for with Chambliss and Isakson were confirmed this year.