Despite his controversial blog posts, Louisville attorney John K. Bush was confirmed Thursday by the U.S. Senate for a lifetime appointment on the 6th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals.

Although some Democrats said the posts — including one in which he equated abortion with slavery as America's greatest tragedies — rendered him unfit for office, the Senate voted 51-47 to confirm.

Background:Bush ducks questions about his controversial blog posts

Senate Majority Mitch McConnell, who supported the nomination, noted on the Senate floor that Democrats previously supported a nominee for a federal judgeship in Missouri despite his blog that demonstrated "a real — and palpable — animus toward conservatives and Republicans in general, and to elected Republicans in particular and by name."

Nan Aron, the president of the Alliance for Justice, a coalition of progressive groups that opposed Bush's nomination, called his confirmation "a new low for both the Senate and the federal judiciary."

She said Bush had "repeatedly denigrated" gay people, women and former President Barack Obama, "using coarse slurs and citing disreputable sources."

Bush has headed the Louisville chapter of the Federalist Society — a conservative legal group that has tried to move the national debate on gun rights and campaign finance to the right.

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White House Counsel Donald F. McGahn II said in May that the nominations of him and other conservatives were a vindication of President Trump's campaign commitment “to appoint strong and principled jurists to the federal bench who will enforce the Constitution’s limits on federal power and protect the liberty of all Americans."

Democrats needed three Republican votes to block the nomination for the $217,600-a-year post.

Carl Tobias, a law professor at University of Richmond who follows judicial appointments, attributed the confirmation to a hard sell by McConnell for a home-state vacancy. "It is very difficult for party members to oppose the leader in that situation," Tobias said.

He also noted that McConnell was was the only GOP member to speak in favor of Bush on the Senate floor, while a number of prominent Democratics senators spoke in opposition."

"Bush pledged to be an impartial judge, so I hope that happens," Tobias said.

McConnell had cited support for Bush from Republicans and Democrats alike, including Louisville attorney Sheryl Snyder, whom McConnell noted is a member of the ACLU. Snyder said in a letter of support for Bush that he has "every confidence that as a Court of Appeals judge, John will scrupulously follow the law and apply precedent." Snyder also wrote that Bush is "well known ... as an experienced, capable, ethical litigator," and that he "is knowledge of the law is unquestioned."

Bush will take the seat vacated by Judge Danny Boggs, who took senior status in February.

The Senate Judiciary Committee had sent the nomination to the floor on a party-line, 11-9 vote, after the committee’s ranking Democratic Sen. Diane Feinstein, of California, called Bush’s writings “strident” and “provocative” and said they raised questions about his ability to be impartial.

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But committee chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, noted that Democrats in the past had approved “prolific bloggers who write with no holds barred.”

Bush came under scrutiny from senators of both parties for his more than 400 blog posts written under a pseudonym, including ones that denounced gay marriage and questioned climate change.

A partner at Bingham Greenebaum Doll, Bush authored the posts on “Elephants of the Bluegrass,” a blog hosted by his wife, Bridget Bush, a lawyer and columnist.

Bush told the committee at a hearing last month that he wished he had worded some of the posts differently, including one in which he referred to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as “Mama Pelosi,” which he described as “a regrettable reference to her leadership position.”

Reporter Andrew Wolfson can be reached at 502-582-7189 or awolfson@courier-journal.com.

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