Talent's Not His Own Man

To those who have followed Jim Talent's career, one thing has always been clear: He's not his own man.

Whether it's voting slavishly in support of Newt Gingrich's agenda, or stepping aside in the Speaker's race because Tom DeLay told him to, or being moved around like a chess piece by the Bush White House, or doing what the monied special interests tell him to do, his decisions and his vote have always been someone else's to make on his behalf.

Never has that been more obvious than it is in how Senator Talent has approached Bush's judicial nominations.

When Justice Sandra Day O'Connor retired, before Justice Roberts name had even been hinted at, Jim Talent rushed out and pledged his vote to President Bush.

Here's an excerpt from Talent's official statement:

We all wish President Bush wisdom as he makes the difficult decision in choosing her successor. I am going to look carefully at his nominee and my intent is to vote to confirm this individual provided they are honest, effective, a leader in the legal community...

After pledging his vote, sight unseen, Talent followed through and voted for Bush's ultimate nominee.

When the second vacancy arose, Talent again pledged his vote to the President.  But then the right wing special interest groups started questioning Miers qualifications and credentials.  Feeling the political pressure, Talent started to hedge.  He told the Missourinet:

Missouri's junior U.S. Senator wants to learn more about the nominee before deciding whether to support her...

...Senator Jim Talent wants to know more about Miers, and will ask plenty of questions when she pays a visit to his Capitol Hill office. Talent says Miers must make it clear that as a justice she will be an umpire - not a rulemaker - and will not legislate from the Bench.

And no matter what Talent's handlers try to tell the Post Dispatch, he has clearly shifted his rhetoric away from blind support to Bush on Miers in response to pressure from conservative special interests.  So he's taken his proxy from Bush and given it to the right wing of his party.

And he is shifting, purely for political purposes, as this KR story makes clear:

Democrats need a net gain of six seats to recapture control of the Senate - a task made easier if Bush alienates religious conservative voters who helped give him his margin of victory in 2004.

"That can hurt Republicans in very, very close races," said Tony Fabrizio, a Washington-based Republican pollster and political strategist. "If there is no enthusiasm, or if the backbone of the street organization feels disenfranchised or disillusioned, there is no reason for them to go out and do anything."

Such disillusionment could be especially problematic for Republican senators Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania, Jim Talent in Missouri and Mike DeWine in Ohio, seeking reelection in close races.

It's a shame that Missouri doesn't have a Senator who will make these decisions based on principle rather than being told what to do by the Bush White House, or the leadership, or some conservative special interest group.

Jim Talent's not his own man, and he's definitely not Missouri's man in Washington.