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From ADF and Politico:
Will Senate ever vote on Goodwin Liu?
Liu has captured the hopes of liberals who see him as a bold judicial pick.
AP Photo
CloseBy ABBY PHILLIP
3/3/11 12:40 AM EST
President Barack Obama’s most controversial judicial nominee, Goodwin Liu, has been waiting for more than a year for his nomination to be voted on by the Senate after Republicans deemed him to be too inexperienced and controversial to be a federal appeals court judge.
This spring, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has assured Liu’s backers, he intends to push for a vote.
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Though the Senate Judiciary Committee is likely to endorse the nomination of the University of California at Berkeley law professor in the next few weeks, Republicans who accuse Liu of judicial activism are almost certain to filibuster his nomination to the 9th circuit court of appeals when it reaches the Senate floor. His chances of confirmation - whatever Reid’s efforts - appear as slim as they were last year.
“We will have to work very, very hard on his behalf and I know that Goodwin Liu is intending to meet with every senator that he can,” said Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. “I hope that through his one to one meetings people will see how reasonable and measured he is, and he can get enough support so that he can break through cloture.”
Liu, 39, has captured the hopes of liberals who see him as one of Obama’s few bold judicial picks, someone with the intellect and youth for the circuit court bench, a traditional stepping stone to the Supreme Court. But Republicans have argued that he lacks any judicial experience, his legal writings are proof of his intention to legislate from the bench, and his criticism of Supreme Court Judge Samuel Alito after he was nominated to the court revealed an inexperienced social activist who has no place on a federal bench.
Liu’s nomination has languished for so long that some had questioned the Obama administration’s commitment to his nomination.
“He knew from the beginning that it might take longer,” said Karen K. Narasaki president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center, who has worked closely with Liu during the confirmation process. “He knew that he was likely to draw some challenge given his background and particularly the fact that he had testified against a Republican nominee for the Supreme Court.”
In the last year, Liu’s nomination has been returned to Obama twice, and Senate leaders did not attempt to push a vote either time, anticipating that Republicans would filibuster.
Democrats and the Obama administration have broadly blamed judicial gridlock for the Senate’s failure to confirm Liu and other nominees. But Republicans have suggested that Democratic leadership had been unwilling to take time on the Senate calendar in order to entertain a lengthy floor debate about Liu’s positions on controversial issues like affirmative action and the death penalty.
Up until this point, the White House has been conspicuously quiet about Liu’s nomination, even while they pushed Democrats and Republicans to resolve the stalemate on dozens of other far less controversial nominees who went unconfirmed in the last Congressional session.
Helped by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ end-of-the-year report in which he stressed the need to prevent a judicial crisis by confirming more judges, Obama has had some success in resolving the judicial stalemate. After confirming nearly two dozen stalled nominees during the lame duck session, the Senate has confirmed seven of Obama’s “consensus” judicial picks since January. And Obama has also stepped up the pace of his nominations, responding to bipartisan complaints that he has not moved quickly enough to fill judicial vacancies.
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At a rare second confirmation hearing for Liu on Wednesday—requested by Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee – GOP senators continued their criticism of his liberal legal record and past statements.
“If confirmed, I’m concerned that Mr. Liu will deeply divide the 9th Circuit and move that court even further to the left,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
For his part, Liu acknowledged some of the missteps in his past that Republicans have latched on to, especially his earlier criticism of Alito’s legal views which he said suggested that Alito’s record “envisions an America where police may shoot and kill an unarmed boy to stop him from running away with a stolen purse … where a black man may be sentenced to death by an all-white jury for killing a white man.”
“I think the last paragraph of that testimony was not an appropriate way to describe Justice Alito as a person or his legal views,” said Liu in his opening statement Wednesday. “I think that I should have omitted that paragraph and quite frankly, senator, I understand now much better than I did then, that strong language like that that is really unhelpful in this process. If I had to do it over again, I would have deleted it.”
With his nomination moving into his second year, the White House, led by White House Counsel Robert Bauer and Obama’s nominations coordinator Susan Davies, both big Liu boosters, have pushed for closure in the matter even if it means a defeat.
“If the option is hanging in limbo or going down, we’ll take the loss,” said a Senate Democratic aide involved in the push.
Glenn Thrush and Shira Toeplitz contributed to this report.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/50567.html#ixzz1FbO5wXEf
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/50567.html#ixzz1FbNKO2Tw
Will Senate ever vote on Goodwin Liu?
Liu has captured the hopes of liberals who see him as a bold judicial pick.
AP Photo
CloseBy ABBY PHILLIP
3/3/11 12:40 AM EST
President Barack Obama’s most controversial judicial nominee, Goodwin Liu, has been waiting for more than a year for his nomination to be voted on by the Senate after Republicans deemed him to be too inexperienced and controversial to be a federal appeals court judge.
This spring, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has assured Liu’s backers, he intends to push for a vote.
Continue Reading Text Size
-+reset Listen Latest on POLITICO
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Democratic Senators ditch 2012 runs
Counteroffer in budget talks
Huck rips Portman's pregnancy
Wilson to announce for Senate
POLITICO 44
Though the Senate Judiciary Committee is likely to endorse the nomination of the University of California at Berkeley law professor in the next few weeks, Republicans who accuse Liu of judicial activism are almost certain to filibuster his nomination to the 9th circuit court of appeals when it reaches the Senate floor. His chances of confirmation - whatever Reid’s efforts - appear as slim as they were last year.
“We will have to work very, very hard on his behalf and I know that Goodwin Liu is intending to meet with every senator that he can,” said Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. “I hope that through his one to one meetings people will see how reasonable and measured he is, and he can get enough support so that he can break through cloture.”
Liu, 39, has captured the hopes of liberals who see him as one of Obama’s few bold judicial picks, someone with the intellect and youth for the circuit court bench, a traditional stepping stone to the Supreme Court. But Republicans have argued that he lacks any judicial experience, his legal writings are proof of his intention to legislate from the bench, and his criticism of Supreme Court Judge Samuel Alito after he was nominated to the court revealed an inexperienced social activist who has no place on a federal bench.
Liu’s nomination has languished for so long that some had questioned the Obama administration’s commitment to his nomination.
“He knew from the beginning that it might take longer,” said Karen K. Narasaki president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center, who has worked closely with Liu during the confirmation process. “He knew that he was likely to draw some challenge given his background and particularly the fact that he had testified against a Republican nominee for the Supreme Court.”
In the last year, Liu’s nomination has been returned to Obama twice, and Senate leaders did not attempt to push a vote either time, anticipating that Republicans would filibuster.
Democrats and the Obama administration have broadly blamed judicial gridlock for the Senate’s failure to confirm Liu and other nominees. But Republicans have suggested that Democratic leadership had been unwilling to take time on the Senate calendar in order to entertain a lengthy floor debate about Liu’s positions on controversial issues like affirmative action and the death penalty.
Up until this point, the White House has been conspicuously quiet about Liu’s nomination, even while they pushed Democrats and Republicans to resolve the stalemate on dozens of other far less controversial nominees who went unconfirmed in the last Congressional session.
Helped by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ end-of-the-year report in which he stressed the need to prevent a judicial crisis by confirming more judges, Obama has had some success in resolving the judicial stalemate. After confirming nearly two dozen stalled nominees during the lame duck session, the Senate has confirmed seven of Obama’s “consensus” judicial picks since January. And Obama has also stepped up the pace of his nominations, responding to bipartisan complaints that he has not moved quickly enough to fill judicial vacancies.
Continue Reading Text Size
-+reset Listen
At a rare second confirmation hearing for Liu on Wednesday—requested by Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee – GOP senators continued their criticism of his liberal legal record and past statements.
“If confirmed, I’m concerned that Mr. Liu will deeply divide the 9th Circuit and move that court even further to the left,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
For his part, Liu acknowledged some of the missteps in his past that Republicans have latched on to, especially his earlier criticism of Alito’s legal views which he said suggested that Alito’s record “envisions an America where police may shoot and kill an unarmed boy to stop him from running away with a stolen purse … where a black man may be sentenced to death by an all-white jury for killing a white man.”
“I think the last paragraph of that testimony was not an appropriate way to describe Justice Alito as a person or his legal views,” said Liu in his opening statement Wednesday. “I think that I should have omitted that paragraph and quite frankly, senator, I understand now much better than I did then, that strong language like that that is really unhelpful in this process. If I had to do it over again, I would have deleted it.”
With his nomination moving into his second year, the White House, led by White House Counsel Robert Bauer and Obama’s nominations coordinator Susan Davies, both big Liu boosters, have pushed for closure in the matter even if it means a defeat.
“If the option is hanging in limbo or going down, we’ll take the loss,” said a Senate Democratic aide involved in the push.
Glenn Thrush and Shira Toeplitz contributed to this report.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/50567.html#ixzz1FbO5wXEf
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/50567.html#ixzz1FbNKO2Tw
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