The Senate has confirmed a Kentucky lawyer who equated abortion with slavery — calling them the "two greatest tragedies in our country" — to a lifetime appointment as a federal judge.
On a vote of 51-47, the Senate backed John Bush to serve on the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals despite strong opposition from Democrats who said his blog posts under a pseudonym disqualified him.
Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota argued that Bush's writings made him "uniquely unqualified for the job." But Bush was strongly supported by fellow Kentuckian Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who lectured Franken on the Senate floor.
McConnell called Bush "a man of integrity and considerable ability" and said that Franken needed to "think a little harder" before describing Bush as out of bounds.
