Reid, Senate Dems Win FEC Standoff

The long standoff over Bush's FEC nominee, Hans von Spakovsky--Bush's chief operative on voter suppression--has ended with a win for the Dems. Spakovsky has withdrawn his name from consideration.

The move follows Harry Reid's offer earlier this week:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday that President Bush has two options to break the ongoing standoff with Democrats over nominations to the Federal Election Commission: either withdraw the controversial nomination of Hans von Spakovsky or force Senate Republicans to agree to votes on individual FEC nominees.

"Despite your commitment that you would accept and agree to individual votes on each of the pending nominations, including Mr. von Spakovsky's, Republican Senate leaders indicated last week that they intend to continue to block such votes," Reid said in a letter to White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten.

Here's Reid's statement on today's news:

"I welcome the President's decision to withdraw the controversial nomination of Mr. von Spakovsky.  It is an action I have repeatedly urged the President to take for more than six months.  Democrats stood united in their opposition to von Spakovsky because of his long and well-documented history of working to suppress the rights of minorities and the elderly to vote.  He was not qualified to hold any position of trust in our government.

"His withdrawal today is a victory for our electoral process.  With Mr. von Spakovsky now removed, I anticipate that we will be able to swiftly put a functioning FEC in place.  That too is what the American people deserve."

(More discussion in Matt Keener's diary.