UPDATE: And the right-wingers have their way. They have now blocked Prof. Liu’s confirmation, and it is now likely dead. My guess would be that he withdraws at this point. It is really a shame, as he would have been an outstanding jurist. So much for the up or down votes that Republicans had been clamoring for just a few years ago.
For far too long now, the nomination of a very qualified attorney, Goodwin Liu has been held up in the Senate. It appears the “We’re not going to filibuster” gang that was formed during the Bush administration only really applied to conservative judges. When a moderately progressive judge, and that’s really what he is, gets nominated, apparently all bets are off.
And the LA Times called bullshit today, as they have done in the past:
Liu, who has been rated “well qualified” by the American Bar Assn., is widely regarded as a brilliant lawyer with a temperament that would well suit him to the bench. He is undeniably on the liberal end of the legal spectrum but is admired for his fair-mindedness by many conservatives. Nevertheless, he was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee without a single Republican vote. Republicans complained that he was “outside the mainstream,” which seems to be a synonym for liberal.
Republicans – and Democrats – inclined to oppose Liu’s nomination are free to vote against it. But they would do an injustice to Liu and the Senate by refusing to allow his nomination to come to a vote. The Senate should make such a vote possible – and then approve Liu.(LA Times)
The thing is, Liu really isn’t that liberal. He’s certainly no more out of the “mainstream” of legal thought any more than Thomas or Alioto on the Supreme Court. The Berkeley professor is known for his moderate demeanor and generally being a decent guy, traits that would serve him well on the bench. Though he is only 40, he has built up an excellent record of legal scholarship.
The 9th Circuit, which includes California, has a plurality of the Asian-American population, yet none of its members are of that community. President Obama has nominated a well qualified (judged by the ABA) nominee, and he should be confirmed.
Politicians are no longer serious people.
What percentage of the Liu backlash is because he spoke out against Alito? It was stupid of Liu to do such a thing, but shouldn’t politicians be able to look at the merit of a candidate not the political theater?
There’s probably some Estrada blowback and that’s more of a doozy to overcome, and a true can of worms that I fear we haven’t finished suffering for.
But ideally we’d simply look at Liu for his qualifications and he’d be approved by a 99-1 vote
duder
Can’t Liu be appointed with a recess appointment ?
That is, if the President is NOT a wimp and NOT a coward
Sadly, this is not the case
The down side of being an ‘Inspirational’ ‘Leader’
My senators, present and future, please remember this when there is a GOP president and a demand for an up and down vote on their next neanderthal nominee.
Chambliss
Cornyn
Crapo
Demint
Graham
Hatch
Hutchinson
Isakson
Kyl
Sessions
Shelby
Thune
These senators think that their records will not follow them. You cannot hide in the blogosphere, but in the corporate media, their assumption seems to be correct.
1. They saw Liu as a very capable jurist who could easily be elevated to the Supreme Court AND he is only 40. They don’t want to see a young, capable jurist in that kind of position.
a potential SC nominee in the future, so the GOP will not give him the experience to serve on the federal bench.
Obama would be wise to consider him for Solicitor General.