My column this morning is already outdated, as it talks about the Republican members of the Gang of 14 and their roles in defying the White House on military commissions. A deal was struck last night that will end the stand off if all goes well. Still, there is some merit in discussing the Gang’s fight and how it relates to their first foray onto the national stage on the judges issue which made them media rock stars:

However, the Gang became media darlings. Countless editorials praised their “moderation,” “sensibility” and “reverence for tradition.” Clearly the liberal media saw the Gang’s actions as a blow to conservatives who want to confirm judges dedicated to interpreting the constitution (in the mold of Scalia and Thomas).

To date, the Gang’s stand has turned out better than expected for those conservatives, though. The high court is now presided over by Chief Justice John Roberts and he has a new associate, Samuel Alito, while the Senate has been able to approve a raft of President Bush’s lower level nominees.

But now, the Gang — especially the seven Republican members — are making a high profile return to the spotlight, and this time the outcome could be much different.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 22nd, 2006 at 8:44 am and is filed under national security. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.