Editorial: Where gays aren’t especially welcome

Thursday, June 10, 1999 | 10:25 a.m.

To his credit, Clinton has stood by Hormel and refused to bow to pressure to dump his nominee. Last week Clinton made Hormel the ambassador to Luxembourg, taking advantage of a provision in the Constitution that allows a president to install an official during a congressional recess without Senate approval.

In retaliation, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., said he would place a "hold" on all other presidential nominations requiring Senate approval. When senators are upset with the qualifications of a presidential nominee or an administration policy, they occasionally use the parliamentary maneuver of placing a hold on a nominee, a move other senators usually honor.

While Inhofe claimed that Clinton had shown contempt for Congress, the White House noted that Clinton has been judicious in using recess appointments. Clinton has made 57 of these appointments in his more than six years as president, while President Reagan made 239 such appointments in eight years and President Bush made 78 in four years.

Clinton's recess appointment was clumsy and did backfire, but the blame for this mess rests squarely on the shoulders of the Senate's GOP leadership, which has catered to the whims of ultraconservatives. Republicans should be ashamed of their behavior in refusing to confirm Hormel; they shouldn't compound this error by going along with Inhofe's plea to block other Senate confirmations that are needed to keep the government running smoothly.