Today, Senate Democrats and President Obama showcased their misplaced priorities after they pushed for a long series of cloture votes on district court judges instead of moving forward on a bipartisan House-passed bill that would create jobs.

The Hill writes today, “Senate GOP leaders attacked their Democratic counterparts on Tuesday for scheduling action on judicial nominees instead of acting this week on a jobs bill. But the White House came out in strong support of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) decision to invoke cloture to break a Republican filibuster to confirm the 17 court nominees. . . . Fresh off the overwhelming passage of the House-backed JOBS Act last week, McConnell called on Reid to forgo the ‘manufactured crisis’ over 17 judges, and move on the JOBS Act. ‘We have a way of dealing with judicial and other appointments in the Senate — this effort to have 17 cloture votes in a row is manufactured crisis. … This is a needless exercise and waste of the Senate’s time,’ [Senate Republican Leader Mitch] McConnell told reporters. Reid noted that he liked the House-passed bill and said it would be acted on in the near future but, at this point, he was resolved to move the judicial nominations.”

The Wall Street Journal noted the choice Democrats are making, asking “Are jobs more important than getting federal judges confirmed?” Even a Los Angeles Times opinion piece backing the Democrats acknowledged, “Jobs bills are arguably more urgent than judicial nominations . . . . Compared to, say, someone laid off because of the recession, a judicial nominee waiting for confirmation isn’t a particularly poignant figure.”

Apparently, President Obama’s White House has decided to give “a ringing endorsement” to Reid’s move, despite the president’s insistence that he’s focused on jobs. White House Counsel Kathy Ruemmler went so far as to tell reporters on a conference call, “What the president is really asking — what he’s demanding — is that the Senate do its job on behalf of the American people.” The president is “demanding” that the Senate put jobs on the back burner and instead have show votes on district court judges?

Recall that Democrats’ messaging chief, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday that “Democrats are focused like a laser on jobs, the economy, and the middle class.” It’s hard to see how setting aside a jobs bill that has support from both political parties in both houses of Congress and the president in favor of a long series of votes on judges.

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