p******e 发帖数: 897 | 1 Senate Republicans staged the first successful filibuster of a judicial
nominee since 2005 on Thursday, dealing a blow to the Obama administration
on the long-stalled nomination of Goodwin Liu to the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals.
Only one Republican joined Democrats Thursday in supporting Liu, who needed
60 votes to break a filibuster. Meanwhile, 52 Democrats voted ‘yes’ to
open debate on the 39-year-old University of California, Berkeley professor
’s nomination. One Democrat voted no. The final vote was 52-43.
The filibuster will be met with disappointment from both progressives and
Asian-American groups who advocated for Liu and hoped to see him seated on
the Western court that covers a region of the country with a significant
Asian-American population. Liu even received the support from some prominent
conservative legal figures, including Ken Starr and John Yoo.
Some Democrats fear the blocked nomination will set a new precedent. During
the George W. Bush administration, a bipartisan group of 14 senators agreed
that they would vote to open debate on every judicial nominee that came
through the Senate except for in “extraordinary circumstances.”
“If this is not an extraordinarily well qualified person, I don’t know who
will be,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said moments before the vote. “I’m
afraid the phrase ‘extraordinary circumstances’ will suffer great damage
by this action.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski was the lone Republican to support Liu on Thursday.
“I stated during the Bush Administration that judicial nominations deserved
an up or down vote, except in ‘extraordinary circumstances’ and my
position has not changed simply because there is a different president
making the nominations,” Murkowski said in a statement after the vote.
Sen. Ben Nelson was the only Democrat to vote against Liu. Sen. Orin Hatch (
R-Utah) voted present. Four senators didn’t vote: Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.
), Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-Texas), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and David Vitter (R
-La.)
Other Republicans have maintained Liu’s liberal views on issues like same-
sex marriage and affirmative action put him outside of the mainstream,
pointing to his writings that additional individual rights can be found in
the Constitution. Liu also drew Republican ire over his criticism of Supreme
Court Justice Samuel Alito in testimony when the conservative judge was
nominated to the court.
“His outrageous attack on Judge Alito convinced me that Goodwin Liu is an
ideologue,” Sen. Lindsey Graham said before Thursday’s vote. “His
statement showed he has nothing but disdain for those who disagree with him.
Goodwin Liu should run for elected office, not serve as a judge.”
Graham was part of 2005’s bipartisan “Gang of 14” and the South Carolina
Republican, along with veteran GOP lawmakers like John McCain, cited that
group’s language of “extraordinary circumstances” in explaining their no
vote on Thursday.
Earlier this month, eleven Republicans helped break a filibuster on another
controversial Obama pick, Jack McConnell, who was appointed to a district
court in Rhode Island. Graham and McCain both supported McConnell.
Leading up to the Liu vote, several Republicans including John Cornyn of
Texas and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, noted the significance of a circuit
court appointment, drawing a distinction with McConnell’s district court
appointment.
“There is some sense that circuit court judges are different than district
court judges and so you won’t find those divisions now that we have a
circuit court judge, somebody who’s eligible for the Supreme Court,”
Cornyn told reporters Wednesday night.
And when explaining his “yes” on McConnell a few weeks ago, but a “no”
on Thursday, Alexander — another member of the Gang of 14 — said standard
for circuit court nominees requires increased scrutiny.
“District Judges are trial judges,” Alexander said in a floor speech. “
Circuit judges also must follow precedent but have broader discretion in
interpreting and applying the law. Circuit judges’ jurisdictions are
broader. Their attitudes and philosophies are much more consequential in the
judicial process.”
Democrats, however, believed there were stronger political reasons for
filibustering Liu Thursday: with his academic pedigree and young age he
could have been on track for a seat on the Supreme Court.
This is likely the end of Liu’s bid for the spot on the Ninth Circuit. Liu
made the rounds on the Hill Wednesday, meeting with senators and
administration officials in a last-ditch P.R. effort to salvage his bid.
In one of the most striking floor speeches, Democrat Jim Webb of Virginia
laid out his case for why he would not be able to vote to confirm Liu if
debate opened on the nominee, though Webb did vote to break the filibuster
Thursday.
Webb took issue with some of Liu’s opinions on affirmative action and
provided an anecdote about a Virginia businessman who had built a company
despite his poor upbringing in the Appalachian regions of the state.
“Intellect in and of itself does not always give a person wisdom, nor does
it guarantee good judgment, and the root word of judgment is, of course,
judge,” Webb said Wednesday. “And that is our duty today, to decide
whether Professor Liu’s almost complete lack of practical legal experience,
coupled with his history of intemperate, politically charged statements,
allow us a measure of comfort and predictability as to whether he would be
fair and balanced while sitting in one of the highest courts in the land.” | l****z 发帖数: 29846 | | p******e 发帖数: 897 | 3 人家接着当教授不就完了
不过你的答复真是好,把亚裔外F女对亚裔精英的仇恨都表达出来了
【在 l****z 的大作中提到】 : 好, 这个liu可以滚蛋了.
| T**********1 发帖数: 2406 | 4 亚裔精英?
能自己养活自己, 然后能养活别人, 那才能叫精英。
靠政府救济, 只能算 loser.
【在 p******e 的大作中提到】 : 人家接着当教授不就完了 : 不过你的答复真是好,把亚裔外F女对亚裔精英的仇恨都表达出来了
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