Is Feinstein the Democrats' Next Lieberman?

Sen. Feinstein's support for the Mukasey nomination is a big victory for the White House. (Getty Images

Feinstein, Lieberman, Mukasey, Schumer - can anyone tell me what these four have in common? Afterall, birds of a feather do flock together.

For the second time in recent months, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) on Friday confirmed that she will break ranks with a majority of her Democratic colleagues on the Judiciary Committee, in this case to confirm President Bush's nominee for attorney general.

Feinstein along with Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), announced that she will support Michael B. Mukasey's nomination, virtually assuring his confirmation despite the nominee's controversial refusal to declare an interrogation technique called waterboarding to be an illegal form of torture.

The decision to back Bush's nominee sparked immediate outrage among the liberal anti-war "Netroots" community, many of whom had been pushing aggressively for the undecided Democrats on Judiciary to oppose Mukasey. Within minutes of the Schumer-Feinstein announcements, timed to be released at the same moment, the liberal blog Talking Points Memo blasted the news on its home page, while Democrats.com urged readers to refuse to give money to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which is chaired by Schumer.

Schumer's wavering on the issue was much debated and discussed over the past week, as his indecision was featured in profiles in The Washington Post, New York Times and insider publications like Roll Call and The Hill. Feinstein's role was just as pivotal and received nowhere near as much attention, but some think that will change.

Norman Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, predicted short-term headaches for Schumer but long-term issues with the anti-war liberals for Feinstein, because it's her second major break from Democrats in the past three months. "The next Joe Lieberman for them is going to be Feinstein," Ornstein told Capitol Briefing, referring to Connecticut's Joe Lieberman, who has been effectively chased from the party for his strong support for the Iraq war.

Feinstein was just as critical as Schumer, who had originally recommended Mukasey to the White House, because in recent days the pair were essentially viewed inside the Capitol as their own voting bloc. They would either support Mukasey together or oppose him together, providing the key votes sealing his defeat.

With all nine Republicans on Judiciary likely to support the nominee, just one of the 10 Democrats needed to flip in order for him to be approved by the panel. Once the nomination is sent to the full Senate, it's virtually a sure thing, since all 49 Republicans and Lieberman -- Mukasey's law school classmate -- are likely votes in favor.

But neither Schumer nor Feinstein was willing to be the lone Democrat siding with committee Republicans, which would have created potentially an enormous political backlash focused on one senator. Their statements supporting Mukasey struck similar themes.

Feinstein said her support was based largely on the proposition that Bush would not nominate another attorney general, leaving in place a long-term acting attorney general not confirmed by the Senate: "Judge Mukasey is the best we will get and voting him down would only perpetuate acting and recess appointments, allowing the administration to avoid the transparency that confirmation hearings provide and diminish effective oversight by Congress."

In early August Feinstein played the role of "Lone Democratic Ranger" when she supported U.S. Judge Leslie Southwick's confirmation to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans. She rejected allegations that he was racially insensitive in previous judicial rulings involving a racial slur, giving Southwick a 10-9 vote out of Judiciary.

"I don't believe he's a racist...I believe he's a good person," she told the committee.

For that vote, she was hailed by conservative activists who called it an "act of decency," while liberal activists said Southwick amounted to a "slap in the face" to minority voters.

On Tuesday morning, when she casts her vote in the Judiciary Committee in favor of Mukasey, Feinstein will at least have Schumer by her side to take some of the heat from outraged activists on the left.