Senate Democrats Approve Pro-Abortion Obama Judges on Party-Line Votes

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Sep 23, 2010   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Senate Democrats Approve Pro-Abortion Obama Judges on Party-Line Votes

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 23
, 2010

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Senate Democrats, on largely party-line votes today, approved three pro-abortion judges President Barack Obama put forward for key judicial positions. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the nominations of Goodwin Liu, Edward Chen and Louis Butler, for appeals court and district court positions.

If confirmed, Goodwin Liu would secure a place on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

They also approved Louis Butler Jr., a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, for the Western District of Wisconsin; and Edward Chen, a U.S. magistrate judge, for the Northern District of California.

The committee had previously backed all four nominees and did so again after Republicans prevented floor votes on the nominees and forced Obama to resubmit their names for the nominations. Leading conservative and pro-life writers and groups have presented concerns about all three.

The votes signal Democrats believe they can find a way to overcome a Republican filibuster against the judges, even though they were unsuccessful in overcoming GOP filibusters this week against a bill allowing abortions at U.S. military bases and another limiting free speech.

During the committee hearing, according to the Legal Times, pro-life Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma said Liu would violate his judicial oath “as soon as he takes it” because he will be a biased judge who will legislate from the bench.

"Presidential elections have consequences, and professor Liu’s nomination is exactly that: a consequence of the president winning," said Coburn. "My problem with Goodwin Liu is that I believe he’ll violate his oath as soon as he takes it."

Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a pro-abortion Vermont Democrat, was clearly frustrated during the meeting, according to an NPR report.

"We have debated Goodwin Liu over and over again," says Leahy. "And at some point, we keep on debating, which allows everybody to vote, maybe. At some point we ought to do what senators are supposed to do, either vote yes or no."

But pro-life Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the top Republican on the panel, said the GOP sent Obama a message when they rejected the nominees earlier that they are not welcome on the federal courts.

"President Obama has nominated and now re-nominated a string of very controversial nominees," says Sessions. "For each of these nominees, Republicans have voiced very specific objections and detailed concerns. These five nominees were returned with the hope the president would reconsider, and yet he has persisted."

 

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