Posted on 03/21/2017 8:43:27 PM PDT by Pinkbell
Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump's U.S. Supreme Court pick, said on Tuesday that he would have 'walked out the door' if the chief executive has asked him to over-turn Roe v Wade.
The federal judge mounted a defense of his independence as a judge as he was questioned by senators, and also suggested that the 44-year-old decision that legalized abortion, is a powerful legal precedent that would be difficult to overturn.
Gorsuch said in his confirmation hearing that the landmark women's rights case has been reaffirmed many times.
'It is a precedent of the United States Supreme Court,' Gorsuch told the Senate Judiciary Committee, 'so a good judge will consider it as precedent of the United States Supreme Court worthy as treatment of precedent like any other.'
Trump said during his presidential campaign that he would appoint only anti-abortion judges to the high court, and predicted that the long-term result would be Roe's demise.
But Gorsuch insisted the case's status as a repeatedly defended decision 'adds to the determinacy of the law. What was once a hotly contested issue is no longer a hotly contested issue. We move forward.'
He was asked by South Carolina Republican senator Lindsey Graham how he would have reacted to a demand from Trump when the president was interviewing him to overturn Roe v Wade.
'I would have walked out the door,' he replied.
'It is not a judge's due. They should not do it a that end of Pennsylvania Avenue and they should not do it at this end, respectfully.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I like him.
But he did answer it. His response should have been more generic re: being asked by the president what his views on specific cases are.
He might want to explain why he so strongly dissents with Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, FDR and other presidents who strongly criticized judges with whom they disagreed.
Judges are not saints, demigods or philosopher kings. Criticizing judges or other government officials is a right of all ciitizens.
Exactly. Trump should have picked 100% loyalists. Not 50% or even 95%.
No question about it - he has made some massive massive mistakes and I have no idea why.
He seems to enjoy fighting with one arm tied behind his back.
I’m not sure what to make of his responses. He knows he’s being hunted by the dems, that they’re looking for something to raise a ruckus over. If you parse him in that light, he could just be evading them, and doing a pretty good job of it. He opted not to have his nomination stalled or to be tarred as an ideologue on the hill of Roe v. Wade. At the same time, nothing in his response precludes the possibility of his deciding to overturn it given the right case and the right argument. He merely affirmed the fact that Roe is established precedent and that he would treat it as such per the conventions of our system. That doesn’t mean it can’t be overturned. He may turn out to he an unprincipled squish but it could also be that he’s just keeping his head down while he runs the gauntlet here.
When I could no longer bring children into an Episcopal Church because of its open heresy at the national, level regarding female ordination, abortion and homosexuality, I moved on.
I have to say, though, that EVERY SINGLE cradle Catholic of my acquaintance who converted did so either because they were female and wanted to be a priest, or because they were radically pro-abortion or pro-gay.
My experience is obviously limited. But Judge Gorsuch's conversion from Catholicism to the apostate and heretical ECUSA (the head of whose Divinity School in Cambridge MA declared abortion a blessing) after he reached the age of reason is very, very concerning.
Absolutely. Judges are no more above criticism than any other person in our government.
Exactly. His outrage was over any president trying to influence a supreme court candidate or judge.
This was not an indication of how he feels about Roe v. Wade.
Well, not really.
Scott versus Sanford decision: March 6, 1857
US Civil War: 1861-1865
13 Amendment (making slavery illegal): December 6, 1865
8 & 1/2 years (of Scott versus Sanford)
Roe versus Wade: January 22, 1973
44 years and counting. Meanwhile, millions of dead babies. Far more dead babies than all the slaves plus all the deaths in the Civil War combined.
“I don’t like Gorsuch at all and don’t trust him.”
I’m with you on that, nopardons. He’s a smooth operator — too smooth, in my opinion. Too clever by half, with a feigned humility that screams “arrogance!”.
And if he won’t answer any other questions about specific issues, why would he be so forthcoming on this VERY specific abortion issue?
I daresay I am uneasy about Gorsuch. He could be another Souter. Or he could simply be saying what he needs to say just to get past these a-holes.
If you don’t get a seat at the table you can’t play in the game.
If Gorsuch had made a statement that Roe is up for overturning then he wouldn’t be confirmed - simple. He is better than most of the others Trump had on his list. Take what you can get and move on.
Job ONE, in fact the ONLY job of a supreme court nominee is to get CONFIRMED.
After that, you can do as you like. We will just have to wait and see.
I think he will be confirmed, 60 or 60 plus votes. Dems are pissed because this was an Obama seat on the court AND the first not-Hilary’s seat, not to mention the first Trump seat. It’s a “triple whammy” seat.
The NEXT pick will be the one the Dems will REALLY fight over. Let’s hope that by then that we have enough Republicans in the Senate, that it won’t matter.
I do NOT like this guy.
I think you have the reading comprehension problem. I was agreeing with you.
Your lack of manners is appalling besides. Perhaps you missed my tagline.
Sorry to hear about the death of your sense of decency.
I’ve said this from day 1 and many times here on FR. He has everyone except the base against him on the outside. He does not need fighting on the inside. Pick people who agree with you and are 100% behind your vision.
That is interesting. I was not aware of that, but yeah, one reason that people might convert is because the rules are relaxed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.