Hear, Hear!

The majority simply did not like the result of the case and decided to intervene. The shift of jurisdiction from the state courts to the federal courts violated yet another conservative principle: respect for the autonomy and diversity of states in the federal system.

The Republicans implicitly acknowledged that this intervention was a violation of several of their avowed principles. Instead of writing legislation that would affect similar cases, they passed a bill for the relief of this one patient.

But principles are brittle, and every time one is violated, it is weakened. This is not the first time that Republican leaders such as Sen. Bill Frist and Rep. Tom DeLay have cast aside sound conservative principles and precedents to achieve a short-term political objective.

Principled conservatives should be calling them -- and the president who cheered them on -- to account. When Congress overrules a state court judge, it is hard to argue with a straight face that a Senate minority has no right to block a federal judge's confirmation.

Restraint is a virtue for all involved.

-- David Broder, Washington Post.