Political Quotes

“I rise today to speak in opposition to the nomination of Eric Miller to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. As an attorney and former attorney general, like my good colleague from Connecticut, I have a deep respect and appreciation for our Federal judiciary. I believe that carefully guarding the professional reputation of our Federal bench is critical to maintaining respect for the rule of law in our country. The American people must be able to trust that our Federal judges will be fair and neutral arbiters of any dispute before them. So in considering whether a nominee is deserving of the awesome responsibility of a lifetime appointment to the Federal bench, we must carefully evaluate their professional and personal qualifications to ensure that they are of the highest intellectual, professional, and moral caliber. I have carefully reviewed Mr. Miller's record, and I believe that he is the wrong candidate to fill this judicial seat. I believe my Republican colleagues know it. That is why they have made every effort to jam this confirmation through. The majority-led Judiciary Committee and Republican leadership have taken extraordinary steps to rush this nomination. Republicans held Mr. Miller's confirmation hearing during an October recess, without the consent of minority members of the committee, questioning him for just 5 minutes and then gaveling out. As you heard, only two Senators were at that hearing. That is not regular order in the Senate.…”