Political Quotes

“I commend the majority leader for pressing forward to obtain a vote on the nomination of Jesse Furman, finally bringing to an end the 5-month Republican filibuster of this nomination. It should not have taken five months and the filing of a cloture petition to secure a vote on this superbly qualified, consensus nominee. When the Judiciary Committee voted on this nomination last September, it had the support of every Democrat and ever Republican on the Committee. Yesterday, I spoke, again, of the dangers posed by this Republican filibuster of a consensus Federal district court nominee. I am glad Senate Republicans have backed away from their misguided effort. The extended delay in considering the Furman nomination has not only been damaging to the Federal District Court of New York, but also to the people it serves. This has also led to some extreme groups on the far right making scurrilous attacks on the reputation of this good man. I trust that no Senator will credit the mischaracterizations of Mr. Furman's record. His role in filing an amicus brief in a First Amendment case in the Supreme Court on behalf of the Anti-Defamation League when he was in private practice has been misquoted and mischaracterized to the point where you have to wonder if it is intentional. Of course, no lawyer should be disqualified from being a judge for advocating on behalf of client.…”