Senate Republicans Delay Vote on Pro-Abortion Judicial Pick Goodwin Liu
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 7, 2010
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — In an apparent attempt to send a message to President Barack Obama that they will not support a radical nominee for Supreme Court, Senate Republicans on Thursday delayed by a week a vote on the nomination of pro-abortion law professor for an appellate court position.
The committee approved four district court nominees yesterday, but Republicans used their rights as the minority to delay a vote on Liu until next week.
As a result, Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a pro-abortion Vermont Democrat, scheduled a new vote meeting on Liu for May 13.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a pro-abortion senator from Rhode island attacked the decision by GOP lawmakers in comments to The Hill, saying it was “standard operating procedure for Republicans.”
“He seems to be bright, professorial, talented," he aid of Liu.
Nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Liu is a professor at the liberal University of California, Berkeley.
Republicans have stopped short of threatening a filibuster, but plan to oppose his nomination nonetheless.
“The concern here is whether this reflects President Obama’s view of what a good judge is,” Sen. Jeff Sessions, a pro-life Alabama lawmaker who is the top Republican on the judicial panel, said last month.
But, mindful of the Gang of 14, a group of bipartisan senators who are opposing filibusters except under "extraordinary circumstances," Sessions told Politico he would not back a filibuster — “I’m reluctant to filibuster."
Ed Whelan, a judicial expert writing at National Review, says Liu is a problem because he believes the Constitution to be a "living" document, the same view as those jurists on the Supreme Court who invented an unlimited right to abortion throughout pregnancy in the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton cases.
"Goodwin Liu has urged judicial invention (usually in an “interstitial” role) of constitutional rights," he writes today.
Liu "presents a volatile mix of aggressive left-wing ideology and raw inexperience," Whelan adds.
"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.
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. "
If Liu receives the approval of the committee, political observers are watching to see how quickly his nomination gets to the Senate floor for a debate and vote — which could become a preview of the timeline of approving a Supreme Court nominee.
ACTION: Contact members of the committee at https://judiciary.senate.gov and urge a no vote on the Liu nomination.
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