cLose cALLs And tRAgedies 297
over the previous 14 years, with 325 dead, 1,500 injured and 6 million gal-
lons of hazardous liquids released. Washington’s senators worked with
McCain and John Kerry to fine-tune the bill and lobby for its passage.
Adopted by unanimous consent, it increased fines for safety violations
and provided an additional $13 million for federal oversight. It also man-
dated more training for pipeline operators and instituted protection for
whistle-blowers.^6
Six years later, Gorton would learn a lot more about refineries in the
wake of an explosion with nearly 200 casualties.
RLLngceA i the fALLout from the Manion-Dwyer deal 11 years earlier,
many were surprised to see Gorton challenging Murray and the White
House over judicial appointments. By 1997, however, Gorton’s fears about
the power of “activist” liberal judges were greater than ever. Ten of the 28
seats on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals were vacant or soon to be.
In a classic power play, he challenged a 150-year-old tradition that senators
in the same political party as the president were entitled to propose can-
didates for the federal bench in their states. Gorton told Murray she ought
to let him choose the next two judges to give “a philosophical balance” to
the federal courts in Washington. He also informed her that henceforth,
unless she sought his advice and gave his views “significant weight” he
would block Senate confirmation of any Clinton judicial nominee for
Washington State. No idle threat was this, with Republicans controlling
the Senate and many Clinton appointees already in limbo.^7
Murray said she always welcomed his input but beyond that, nothing
doing. She had discussed the matter with Clinton and his White House
counsel. They weren’t about to change the rules just because “someone is
upset that his candidate for president did not win.” It would be a shame to
see excellent judicial nominees “cut up in partisan battles.”
Gorton scoffed. How about all the excellent Republican judicial nomi-
nees who’d been cut up in partisan battles? “It shouldn’t matter which
party controls the White House. Republicans and Democrats alike should
have a say in nominating federal judges who will serve for life.”^8
Three months down the road, the Mutt and Jeff pair had forged a truce
of sorts, based in part on growing mutual respect but mostly practical
politics. After interviewing three finalists for the U.S. District Court
bench in Seattle, they agreed that King County Superior Court Judge
Robert Lasnik, a highly regarded centrist, should get the job. Then, in
1998, Clinton sealed a deal he’d made with Lott to break a logjam on judi-
cial nominations: Gorton was granted the right to name the next appoin-