Judicial Filibusters Aren't New

As I've said several times before (here, here, and here), Republicans in the Senate who are actively seeking the nuclear option have often disengenuously maintained that no filibuster has ever been carried out against a federal judicial nominee - when in fact such a manuever was implemented against the nomination of Abe Fortas to the chief justice's chair back in 1968. Rutgers history professor David Greenberg has a well-argued essay on this topic in Tuesday's LA Times. Aside from the fact that the filibuster did occur, Greenberg also maintains that (shock of shocks) some (not all) of the opposition to Fortas (including that of Republican Strom Thurmond) was based on ideological grounds, something which Frist & Co. today seem to think is completely inexcusable.

Yes there were other reasons to oppose Abe Fortas, no he wasn't going to end up getting confirmed anyway. But still, a filibuster occurred.