Free Republic

Senate Republicans staged the first successful filibuster of a judicial nominee since 2005 on Thursday, dealing a blow to the Obama administration on the long-stalled nomination of Goodwin Liu to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Only one Republican joined Democrats Thursday in supporting Liu, who needed 60 votes to break a filibuster. Meanwhile, 52 Democrats voted ‘yes’ to open debate on the 39-year-old f University of California, Berkeley professor’s nomination. One Democrat voted no. The final vote was 52-43. The filibuster will be met with disappointment from both progressives and Asian-American groups who advocated for Liu and hoped to...

(CNSNews.com) – Senator Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, dodged a question about the controversial writings of Goodwin Liu, who was nominated by President Barack Obama to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last year. Feinstein instead said that Liu indicated that he understands the difference between being an advocate and a judge. To serve on the court, Liu must be confirmed by the Senate. At the Capitol on Wednesday, CNSNews.com asked Sen. Feinstein, “In a 2008 law review article Professor Liu argued that there was a constitutional right to welfare – what he...