Senate Panel Approves Nomination Of Loretta Lynch As Attorney General

Via the New York Times:

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved Loretta E. Lynch to be the next attorney general, sending her nomination to the full Senate for what is likely to be a contentious vote. The panel voted 12 to 8 to advance Ms. Lynch, President Obama’s pick to replace Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. as the nation’s top law enforcement official, with all of the votes against her coming from Republicans. The full Senate will most likely vote in the next week or two. While praising Ms. Lynch’s credentials, Republicans made it clear that their objections to her nomination hinged on her belief in the legality of the president’s executive action on immigration, the same issue that has tied up the approval of funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

Republicans voting against: Grassley, Sessions, Cornyn, Lee, Cruz, Vitter, Purdue, Tillis. Republicans voting for: Graham, Flake, Hatch. The Tea People are already calling for the heads of the three "yes" voters.

Sen. Orrin Hatch Demands Religious Exemptions In LGBT Executive Order

Yesterday it was announced that President Obama plans to issue an executive order forbidding federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT employees. Today Sen. Orrin Hatch declared that he wants to create the same gaping religious loophole in the order that has caused several major LGBT rights groups to denounce ENDA.

“While the specifics of this executive order are not yet clear, I believe it must include the same religious protections that are included in the bipartisan Employment Non-Discrimination Act that passed the Senate,” Hatch said. “ENDA strikes a good balance to ensure that discrimination based on sexual orientation will not be tolerated, but also that one of our nation’s fundamental freedoms — religious freedom — is still upheld. The same must be said for any Obama Administration initiative on this issue.” Hatch offered the most pronounced reaction to the executive order among other Republicans federal lawmakers, who were largely silent when the White House made the news. In September, Hatch was among 10 Senate Republicans who voted for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, legislation that would bar LGBT discrimination among public and private employers, not just federal contractors. At the time, Hatch said he was able to support the legislation because of the bill’s religious exemption.

The wording of the executive order has not been revealed.

RELATED: Last month Hatch announced that nationwide marriage equality is a done deal and that any member of the GOP who feels otherwise just hasn't been paying attention.

Orrin Hatch Surrenders On Gay Marriage

"Let’s face it, anybody who does not believe that gay marriage is going to be the law of the land just hasn’t been observing what’s going on. There is a question whether [the courts] should be able to tell the states what they can or cannot do with something as important as marriage, but the trend right now in the courts is to permit gay marriage and anybody who doesn’t admit that just isn’t living in the real world. We have an excellent federal bench [in Utah]. Other federal judges down there might not have arrived at the same conclusion that these two have. But I think it’s a portent of the future that sooner or later gay marriage is probably going to be approved by the Supreme Court of the United States, certainly as the people in this country move towards it, especially young people. I don’t think that’s the right way to go; on the other hand, I do accept whatever the courts say." - Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), speaking on Utah radio.

RELATED: The Salt Lake Tribune points out that Hatch "played a key role" in the appointment of the judge who overturned Utah's ban on same-sex marriage. They also note that his website continues to back a federal ban.

Senate Mormons Helped Win ENDA

The New York Times reports that ENDA passed yesterday not just with the help of the top Mormons in the Senate such as Majority Leader Harry Reid, but with the de facto blessing (or at least, without the objections) of the church itself.

Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, who at 79 is one of the Senate’s longest-serving members, became the first Republican to signal he would reverse his opposition as the bill faced a crucial vote in committee. He voted against a similar bill the last time it came up in the Senate — 17 years ago — but changed his mind earlier this year after Gordon H. Smith, a fellow Mormon and former Republican senator, convinced him there was nothing in it that violated church doctrine. “The church does want to be helpful where we can be, without violating our own conscience,” Mr. Smith, a former bishop, said in an interview. And as the bill approached a vital vote earlier this week, Senator Dean Heller, the Nevada Republican who has taught Sunday school at his Mormon church, provided the crucial 60th vote to break a filibuster. In the end, all but two of the Senate’s seven Mormons voted yes. Their support for including civil rights protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people is the latest example of a broader evolution by some of the most visible members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who have come to cautiously embrace gay rights. It is a remarkable turnabout from just five years ago, when the church faced a maelstrom of criticism for backing the initiative in California that took away the right of same-sex couples to marry.

The LDS-owned Deseret News notes that ENDA is as far it goes.

Politico reported that Reid, who is LDS, told a group of reporters, most of them working for LGBT publications according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, that his social views have shifted over time to support issues like ENDA. He said he thought that was true of other Latter-day Saints. The church did not directly address the broad range of LGBT rights. It responded to media inquiries with its statement, which read in part, "As the church has said before, elected officials who are Latter-day Saints make their own decisions and may not necessarily be in agreement with one another or even with a publicly stated church position. "On the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), the church has not taken a position. On the question of same-sex marriage, the church has been consistent in its support of traditional marriage while teaching that all people should be treated with kindness and understanding. If it is being suggested that the church’s doctrine on this matter is changing, that is incorrect."

Giving Credit Where It's Due

Via Memographs.

Sen. Orrin Hatch Backs Civil Unions In Order To Ward Off Same-Sex Marriage

In an interview with a Utah radio station, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) suggested that legalizing civil unions would be a great way to ward off the national advent of same-sex marriage.

"I’ll say this, I do believe this could be solved greatly by a civil-union law that would give gay people the same rights as married people," said Hatch, who mentioned hospital visitations and tax benefits. "I think we can solve this problem without undermining the very basis of marital law in our country." Six states offer civil unions, including Colorado and Hawaii, while nine others and the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriage. Same-sex marriage is illegal in the rest of the nation. The senator and his office did not immediately respond to a request for comment and elaboration.

Hatch also told the station that he does not believe people choose to be gay, but that he "draws the line on traditional marriage."

RELATED: During the 2012 presidential election campaign Hatch appeared to buck Mitt Romney when he said that he did not support a federal constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Hatch later retreated from that position saying that he merely thinks the issue should be left up to the states. A call for a federal ban remains on his website.

Gary Bauer Vs Sen. Orrin Hatch

"The goal of the gay rights movement is to take a state that has same-sex marriage and to use that state as a battering ram and a lawsuit before the Supreme Court to force every state to have same sex marriage. So I’m sorry that Orrin fell for it. But if only your side was willing to allow each state to make the decision on their own. I think Orrin Hatch may have had a bad moment or he forgets what’s happened in the last 30 years -- courts forcing radical social change on the American people." - Evangelical leader Gary Bauer, speaking to Michelangelo Signorile at the RNC. Two days ago Hatch said that while he opposes same-sex marriage, he does not support Mitt Romney's pledge to write a ban into the federal constitution.

Orrin Hatch On "Abysmal" Airport Security

As much as it grievously pains me to agree with Orrin Hatch on anything, it does seem unbelievable that one can buy an airline ticket in cash, at the counter, with no luggage, and stroll onto a flight to the Middle East (or anywhere) without further attention.

Hillary Clinton Rumored For SCOTUS

Once again, Hillary Clinton is being rumored to be on the short list of potential appointees to the Supreme Court.

Sen. Orrin Hatch says he's heard Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's name mentioned in connection with the Supreme Court vacancy brought about by the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens. Hatch didn't elaborate in an interview Monday. Appearing with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy on NBC's "Today" show, the Utah Republican said only, "I heard Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's name today and that would be an interesting person in the mix."

I can't even begin to imagine the circus that would be Clinton's confirmation hearings.

Orrin Hatch: I Might Vote For DADT Repeal

He gave himself a bit of wiggle room, but Sen. Orrin Hatch, of all people, today said that he might be willing to support a repeal of DADT.

Glenn Beck & Orrin Hatch: Health Care Reform Is Unconstitutional

No American will be ever be "born free" again if those dirty communists in Congress try to expand the availability of health care.

Sen. Orrin Hatch: Health Care Reform Will Destroy The Two-Party System

Today Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said that health care reform could mean the end of America's two-party system, because everybody will come to depend on Democrats to stay alive. Or something.

Hatch asserted that the health bills, which he believes represent a "step-by-step approach to socialized medicine," will lead to Americans' dependence on Democrats for their health and other issues. "And if they get there, of course, you're going to have a very rough time having a two-party system in this country, because almost everybody's going to say, 'All we ever were, all we ever are, all we ever hope to be depends on the Democratic Party,' " Hatch said during an interview with the conservative CNSNews.com. "That's their goal," Hatch added. "That's what keeps Democrats in power." That claim led Hatch to suggest that some Democrats are "diabolical" in their pursuit of health reform. "Do I believe they're that diabolical? I don't believe most of them are, but I think some of them are," Hatch said. "Maybe diabolical's too harsh of a word, but the fact is, they really, really believe in socialized medicine."

If socialized medicine could cause the end of the GOP, I'd almost say 'bring it on,' except that what replaces them could be much worse.

Who Will Replace Ted?

Sen. Orrin Hatch thinks it should be his wife.