Senate republicans block appeals court nomination of Goodwin Liu

Goodwin Liu, a UC Berkeley law professor, becomes the first judicial nominee appointed by President Obama to be successfully filibustered by Senate Republicans. He had been nominated to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Reporitng from Washington— Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a vote on the nomination of UC Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu to the federal appeals court in San Francisco, making Liu the first judicial nominee appointed by President Obama to be successfully filibustered.

Democrats failed to come close to the 60 votes needed to override the filibuster, with just one member of the GOP breaking ranks. The final tally was 52-43.

Liu's nomination to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had languished for more than year, but Thursday marked the first attempt by Senate Democrats to force a floor vote on Liu, who has been fiercely opposed by Republicans for what they say are too-liberal legal views.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/sc-dc-0520-goodwin-liu-20110519,0,4613946.story

Memorial Day holiday coming up.

They don't want to vote? Fine. Recess appoint him. Funny how the "up or down" vote demand no longer applies when it's a Democrat doing the nominating...

When a couple of Bush's more egregious nominees were being held up in 2005 and 2006, Republicans in the Senate loosed their inner Stentors, fulminating against the depradations of a Senate minority that would thwart the Will of the People. Some went so far as to call it unconstitutional to deny a nominee an up or down vote (DeMint, Graham, Hatch, Isaakson, et al). Several Senate Republicans had until today never voted against a cloture motion on a court nominee.

That was apparently then; this is now.

I bring this up not just for the rank hypocrisy of the Senate Republicans (which we expect, and rightly score them for), but because it seems to have another application for folks who insist on observation of constitutional requirements and treaty obligations when the Oval Office has a Republican occupying it, but who seem quite comfortable with all manner of legal transgressions perpetrated by a Democratic incumbent.

they don`t have the balls to stand up to the republicans so why the fuck do they even bother to nominate anyone? these people are disgusting

:puke: