I didn't get to see the Rules Committee hearing on von Spakovsky's nomination to the Federal Election Commission today, so here is a round-up of reactions.
McClatchy wins both the headline and reporting award with this story:
McClatchy: U.S. ATTORNEYS
Ex-Justice Dept. lawyer can't recall his role in controversial policies
WASHINGTON - Another former Justice Department lawyer went before Congress on Wednesday with few answers for his Democratic interrogators and a spotty memory.
Hans von Spakovsky, who's seeking a full six-year term on the Federal Election Commission, deflected questions about whether he undermined voting rights laws, saying, "I was not the decision maker in the front office of the Civil Rights Division."
Time and again during his confirmation hearing, he cited either the attorney-client privilege or a cloudy memory for his purported role in restricting minorities' voting rights.
Von Spakovsky couldn't remember blocking an investigation into complaints that a Minnesota Republican official was discriminating against Native American voters before the 2004 election.
Under oath, he also said he didn't recall seeing data from the state of Georgia that would have undercut a push by senior officials within the Civil Rights Division to approve the state's tough new law requiring photo IDs of all voters. The data showed that 300,000 Georgia voters lacked driver's licenses. A federal judge later threw out the law as unconstitutional.
John Lewis, who spilled his blood for voting rights, and other Georgia Democrats have opposed von Spakovsky's nomination, 'saying his appointment "could potentially turn back the clock on 50 years of progress" in voting rights.'
salon.com: The grilling of von Spakovsky
NYTimes Editorial: Another Sorry Ascension
[] President Bush gave him a recess appointment to the commission last year. The new Democratic-controlled Senate now has the opportunity to strike a blow against electoral skullduggery with a blunt rejection of Mr. Spakovsky’s nomination for a full six-year term.
Slate: Implausible Deniability
The Internet foils fudging by three "voter fraud" warriors.
Senator Dick Durbin questions von Spakovsky:
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