We just returned home to Denver and the first news we see is good news--Bush judicial nominee Miguel Estrada has withdrawn his name from consideration for a federal judgeship on the powerful D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Democrat's filibuster worked. Estrada came up for a vote six times and each time the Republicans failed to get the necessary 60 votes.

From People for the American Way's (PFAW) press release:

Estrada’s withdrawal highlights the importance of continued Senate scrutiny of President Bush’s judicial nominations.

Estrada had been blocked by a courageous Democratic filibuster based on his troubling right-wing record and his refusal, and the refusal of the Bush administration, to answer many legitimate questions about his record and judicial philosophy.

We continue to urge the Bush administration to engage in bipartisan consultation, cooperation, and compromise in naming judges to these important courts. Unfortunately, the administration’s most recent nominees to the very same DC appeals court – Brett Kavanaugh and Janice Rogers Brown – reflect a rejection of that path. The administration continues to pursue a strategy of confrontation and resist any meaningful bipartisan dialogue on judges.