WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made the following remarks on the Senate floor today regarding John Bush, of Kentucky, the president’s nominee for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals:

“Mr. President, yesterday several of my Democratic colleagues spoke in opposition to the nomination of John Bush to serve on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. They were particularly concerned about his activities outside the courtroom, especially his personal blog posts. The comments of my friend, the junior Senator from Minnesota, were representative of their concern.

“He reminded us that he has been serving on the Senate Judiciary Committee for eight years. He said that by confirming someone to the federal bench, like Mr. Bush, who has blogged about controversial political and policy matters, the Senate would be doing something unprecedented.

“Specifically, my friend from Minnesota—in angst—said, ‘I don’t think we’ve been here before. I don’t think we’ve been here before.’ Well, I’d encourage my friend to think a little harder about his tenure on the Judiciary Committee.

“Just a few years ago, the Senate considered President Obama’s nomination of Stephen Bough to be a federal judge in Missouri. Mr. Bough had been quite an active blogger himself. His blogging and on-line commentary were not simply confined to political satire and sarcasm. His blogging didn’t use merely flippant or intemperate language.

“His blogging demonstrated a real—and palpable—animus toward conservatives and Republicans in general, and to elected Republicans in particular and by name. He insulted and impugned people like his home-state senators, his governor, the President of the United States, and a Republican nominee for President, just to name a few.

“Mr. Bough’s posts were truly mean-spirited. It wasn’t just that he called Republicans ‘knuckleheads’—which he did. That was when he was feeling especially kind. No. He said specific Republicans were ‘corrupt. That they had done ‘evil things’--’evil things,’ Mr. President. I can go on and on with his corrosive rhetoric.

“He approvingly posted an article describing how San Francisco was contemplating naming a sewage plant after President Bush as a suitable legacy for the President and posted another one that said his governor was highly ‘ignorant.’

“His invective was not reserved to members of the political branches. He said his state Supreme Court was the most corrupt in the history of his state. I’m not making this up. This is an officer of the court.

“For my Democratic colleagues who now profess to care about the judgment of judicial nominees who blog, I submit that impugning the integrity of the tribunal that has jurisdiction over their professional conduct and law license, as Mr. Bough did, is more than a few tweaks shy of exhibiting sound judgement.

“Mr. Bough also implied that President Bush made his Supreme Court appointments as some sort of quid pro quo. He harshly criticized numerous sitting Supreme Court justices by name. And he claimed the Republican nominee for President only wanted federal judges who would disregard the law and rule in favor of the ‘religious right’ and that he was ‘sucking up.’ And he made a crude comment about women that I will not repeat.

“Now, some of our Democratic colleagues have criticized John Bush because he said he would try hard to be impartial as a judge. By contrast, in one of his blog posts, Stephen Bough flat-out said that he, himself, ‘shouldn’t be a judge.’ But every one of our Democratic colleagues on the Judiciary Committee at the time, including our friend from Minnesota, disagreed.

“They all voted for him, which is especially curious in hindsight, given the superior weight our Democratic colleagues now place on blog posts. Only one Member of the Democratic Conference voted against him. These are many of the same Democrats, of course, who are supposedly aghast at the Bush nomination. Mr. Bough is now Federal District Court Judge Stephen Bough.

“Finally, I would like to set the record straight on the subject of the slur. Mr. Bush did not use the slur in a blog post. And he did not use it flippantly. In fact, he said he has never used this term and would never use it.

“Rather, Mr. Bush quoted, by name, a prominent author who had used the slur, and Mr. Bush quoted him to show how various authors had viewed Louisville over time. Both those who praised it, and those who criticized it. In short, Mr. Bush said he used it to show the ‘good, the bad and the ugly.’

“Who was this author he quoted, verbatim and by name? Noted liberal Hunter Thompson. I note that Mr. Thompson’s use of the slur did not prevent liberals, including Democratic officeholders, from praising him. In fact, two Democratic Presidential candidates attended his funeral.

“Now, Mr. President, the Senate has considered a judicial nominee who did use this slur in a blog posting. The exact same slur, in fact. This judicial nominee was not quoting any literary or published work. And this judicial nominee did not use the slur for any critical purpose. This judicial nominee used it flippantly and cavalierly.

“Who was this judicial nominee? President Obama’s judicial nominee and current federal district court judge Stephen Bough—who sits on the bench after being confirmed by the votes of our Democrat colleagues.

“I hope I have refreshed the recollection of my friend from Minnesota and of some of my other Democratic colleagues.”