Democrat Won’t Halt Hearing on Pro-Abortion Obama Appeals Court Pick Liu
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 7, 2010
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee has said he has no plans to delay the hearing on the abortion advocate President Barack Obama selected for an appeals court position. Sen. Patrick Leahy made the decision even though Goodwin Liu failed to complete 117 items on his Senate questionnaire.
As LifeNews.com reported yesterday, Senate Republicans called on Leahy and committee Democrats to delay the hearing because of the lack of a response.
Leahy replied in a statement today, saying “At the time of Professor Liu’s twice-rescheduled hearing, Committee members will have had more than seven weeks to review the nominee’s record, and two weeks to review the materials submitted to the Committee on April 5."
“I see no reason to further delay this nominee’s opportunity to appear before the Committee and respond to the questions its members may have," he added, chastising Republicans for refusing to "put political rancor aside."
The planned hearing for April 16 will now likely move ahead as planned.
If confirmed by the Senate, Liu would serve on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers pro-life legislation and lawsuits related to California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Hawaii and Montana.
Conservative writer Ed Whalen wrote at National Review that Liu’s omissions from his questionnaire are important.
"Did Liu try to hide some of the most controversial aspects of his record from the Senate?" he asked.
"I believe that there is a disturbing pattern that Liu’s most inexplicable omissions contain some of his most controversial and incendiary comments and that this pattern reasonably invites the suspicion that Liu was indeed trying to hide aspects of his record from the Senate. Indeed, given what I’ve heard about White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel’s initial opposition to nominating Liu, I have to wonder whether Liu was equally eager to hide these aspects from the White House," he wrote.
All seven of the Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked for a delay when officials discovered the omissions.
“At best, this nominee’s extraordinary disregard for the Committee’s constitutional role demonstrates incompetence; at worst, it creates the impression that he knowingly attempted to hide his most controversial work from the Committee,” the Republicans charged.
“Professor Liu’s unwillingness to take seriously his obligation to complete these basic forms is potentially disqualifying and has placed his nomination in jeopardy," the GOP members added.
Obama nominated the pro-abortion law professor in February.
Liu clerked for pro-abortion Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, worked in the Clinton administration, and spoke out against Supreme Court nominees John Roberts and Samuel Alito.
Tom McClusky of the Family Research Council talked more about Liu’s liberal bona fides.
"Professor Liu is an outspoken liberal University of California law professor. At just 39 years old, he is already a leading light of the judicial activist left and has served as Chairman of the Board of the left-wing American Constitution Society," he says. "He opposed the confirmation of Chief Justice Roberts and testified against Justice Alito’s confirmation. This is one of President Obama’s most controversial judicial appointments to date. "
Whelan also weighed in on Liu’s pro-abortion record.
"Liu is closely aligned with various left-wing groups. For example, he is (or recently was) on the boards of directors of the American Constitution Society, the ACLU of Northern California, and the National Women’s Law Center. He apparently practiced law for about two years," he notes.
Liu has said he believes in the pro-abortion notion of a changing Constitution that can, for example, allow for unlimited abortion rights.
"What we mean by fidelity is that the Constitution should be interpreted in ways that adapt its principles and its text to the challenges and conditions of our society in every succeeding generation," Liu has said.
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