Political Quotes

“I intend to vote against the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. This youthful, relatively inexperienced nominee lacks the credentials to be approved for a lifetime appointment to the second most important Federal court in the country. At the outset, let me contrast this nomination with a circuit court nomination we recently approved: the nomination of Milan Smith to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Smith is a pillar of the California legal community, a distinguished practicing lawyer with 27 years of experience in complex legal transactions. His nomination was the product of extensive consultation with Democratic Senators. The Judiciary Committee approved his nomination 18 to 0, and the full Senate gave its consent unanimously. The Smith nomination is an example of the way the process is supposed to work. The Constitution gives the President and the Senate a shared role in filling vacancies on Federal courts. Working together, we can move highly qualified nonpartisan nominees through the process without rancor or delay. But when the President uses judicial appointments as a reward to the extreme rightwing of the Republican Party, he invites controversy and conflict. Regrettably, that may be just the result that the White House wants. Cesar Conda, a former domestic policy adviser to Vice President Cheney, recently wrote in the Roll Call newspaper: ``For Bush, a renewed fight over conservative judges . . .…”