Thad Cochran tries to rescue Bush nominee

The Hill, 7/3/7

Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) is making a last-ditch effort to save the nomination of an appellate court nominee from his home state by appealing to Democratic colleagues on the Appropriations Committee.

As the senior Republican member of Appropriations, Cochran seems to have decided he has a better chance of changing the minds of Judiciary Committee Democrats who work with him regularly to win funding for their favorite projects and causes. Cochran’s push may be all the more effective because Senate Republican leaders have hinted they will derail spending bills if Democrats obstruct conservative nominees.