“Yeah, that’s what I said. What of it?”

Byron York has a great review of yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for William Pryor who has been nominated to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Coming from York, it’s an eye-opener when he says: “The result was one of the most extraordinary Judiciary Committee sessions in recent memory.”

Pryor is strongly anti-abortion and, when confronted by Senate Democrats, he didn’t vacillate, didn’t equivocate, and didn’t backtrack. He stood his ground. I guess he figured he wasn’t going to get a Democratic vote anyway, so he might as well lay it all out. The problem for the Dems is that Pryor also has a strong record of upholding the laws – even the ones he seems to personally disagree with – while state attorney general of Alabama.

Of course, that doesn’t mean he won’t suffer yet another filibuster by Senate Democrats. And here’s where I’m a little surprised at York:

So maybe he will be filibustered and maybe not. In the end, Pryor's nomination might be the ultimate illustration of the capriciousness of the confirmation process as currently practiced in the Senate. How could Democrats filibuster Pryor when they confirmed [anti-abortion conservative Michael] McConnell? On the other hand, how could they not filibuster Pryor when they are filibustering Priscilla Owen, the Texas judge who angered Democrats by her views on the decidedly tangential issue of parental notification for teenage girls seeking abortions?

Believe you me: Pryor will be filibustered. There’s not a doubt in my mind. The Democrats will do it for several reasons, not least of which is they’d like to have a white guy held up just to show that they’re not picking on women (Priscilla Owen) and minorities (Miguel Estrada). But more importantly, Democrats would like to elevate the abortion issue since their other avenues of attack on Republicans have narrowed. Finally, Pryor’s a white guy from the South and you know what that means. Despite the favorable testimonials from black leaders in Alabama, the Democrats will find some oblique way to interject their other weapon of choice: the race card.

Sorry, Bill, it’s gonna happen. At least you stood like a man