Political Quotes

“I rise today in support of Robert E. Bacharach, nominated to be United States Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit. Mr. Bacharach's nomination was pending before the Senate last year. In accordance with Senate custom and practice, the nomination was placed on hold, along with other circuit judge nominations, pending the outcome of the 2012 Presidential election. Unfortunately, the nomination was subjected to some unnecessary political theater when a cloture motion was filed and defeated last July. It is well-known that the practice and tradition of the Senate is to stop confirming circuit judge nominees in the closing months of a Presidential election year. One has to go back 20 years to find a Presidential election year when the Senate approved a circuit court judge in the latter part of the year. Of course, the rationale has been that whoever wins that election should be the one to pick these lifetime nominees who will run our judiciary system. A Congressional Research Service report on this subject stated: The Senator who most frequently has asserted the existence of a Thurmond rule has been the current chairman of the Judiciary Committee. The CRS report noted that on March 7, 2008, the chairman recalled: When President Reagan was running for President and Senator Thurmond, then in the Republican minority as ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, instituted a policy to stall President Carter's nominations.…”