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The case for Goodwin Liu
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Race
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| Contributor | Craverguy |
| Last Edited | Craverguy May 18, 2011 11:58pm |
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| Category | Opinion |
| Author | Richard W. Painter |
| News Date | Thursday, May 19, 2011 12:45:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | I served as the chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush for two and a half years. There, I worked extensively on the selection and confirmation of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito, as well as some of the president’s nominees for the courts of appeals.
As the Senate prepares to vote Thursday on the long-postponed nomination of Goodwin Liu to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, I am reminded of what it was like to be inside the White House, trying to help a nominee through this difficult process.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has now called for cloture. All that is required is for Senate Republicans to practice what they preached for so long under Bush: Give Liu an up or down vote rather than a filibuster.
Liu has been nominated to fill one of several “judicial emergency” vacancies that has been open for years. He’s an excellent choice, and should be confirmed. Most important, the seat should not remain vacant because the Senate refuses to fulfill its constitutional mandate and vote on this.
Liu is well suited for the bench. He is a highly regarded constitutional law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. His nomination is supported by Whitewater prosecutor Ken Starr, Goldwater Institute lawyer Clint Bolick and other leading conservatives — as well as by moderates and liberals.
Liu has not been afraid to speak out about public policy – even when his views don’t agree with those of leading Democratic politicians and interest groups. He opposed the Supreme Court nominations of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, but has also not been afraid to acknowledge the few instances when, in retrospect, he should have chosen different words.
Most important, Liu has demonstrated in both scholarly writings and in extensive Senate testimony that he knows the difference between making law — the job of elected officials — and interpreting law — which is the job of |
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