Political Quotes

“What is interesting to me is how much things have changed on this committee--and we have a new Presiding Officer who also is on the committee--since before the Presiding Officer came on, when we would look at a person's personal record, what they have said, what they think the kind of judge they will be, and make a decision. So I do not understand, if we can confirm Professor McConnell by unanimous consent, why can't we grant cloture to a man who has distinguished himself as one of the great legal scholars of our country? Let me address one particular criticism that has been made of Professor Liu's writings, and that is his writings on constitutional interpretation and fidelity to the Constitution. Some in the Senate have harshly criticized his book ``Keeping Faith with the Constitution'' because he says at one point that the Supreme Court has taken ``social practices, evolving norms, and practical consequences'' into account when interpreting the Constitution. This, some colleagues say, means he will be an activist. First, Liu has said this book was written as a professor, as an academic, that it is in no way a roadmap for how he would decide cases as a judge. He said, in his own words: The duty of a circuit judge is to faithfully follow the Supreme Court's instructions on matters of constitutional interpretation, not any particular theory. And so that is exactly what I would do, is I would apply the applicable precedents to the facts of each case.…”