Patrick Leahy: “there was a suggestion made--I am sure inadvertent--by the distinguished Senator from Utah that it was unprecedented to…”

“there was a suggestion made--I am sure inadvertent--by the distinguished Senator from Utah that it was unprecedented to see a nominee with a well-qualified rating be voted against. Actually, the Senator from Utah has voted against such a person, like Judge Rosemary Barkett of Florida, as have a number of others. But then there were a whole lot of others who we can say were not voted against? Why? Because they were never allowed to have a vote during Republican control of the Senate. This is a partial list of nominees who never had a vote, but they had the highest rating possible: H. Alston Johnson from the Fifth Circuit was never given a hearing by the Republicans; James Duffy from the Ninth Circuit was never given a hearing; Kathleen McCree Lewis from the Sixth Circuit was never given a hearing or a vote; Judge James Lyons, from the Tenth Circuit, was never given a vote or a hearing; Allen Snyder, from DC, had a hearing but no vote; Judge Robert Cindrich, from the Third Circuit, was never given a hearing or a vote; Judge Stephen Orlofsky, from the Third Circuit, was never given a hearing or a vote; Judge Andre Davis, from the Fourth Circuit, was never given a hearing or a vote; and Enrique Moreno, of the Fifth Circuit, was never given a hearing and never given a vote. These are people with the highest possible rating from the ABA. Republicans can say they never voted against them. Why? Because they were never brought up and never given a vote.”