Goodwin Liu is exactly the kind of judge who should be seated on the federal bench, and if it wasn’t for the constant threat of a Republican filibuster, he would be there already.
Liu was nominated by President Obama for a seat on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in February 2010, and re-nominated twice more during a year of unremitting obstruction. For 400 days and two confirmation hearings, Liu has cooled his heels while Republicans have distorted his record, condemned his mainstream positions, and done everything in their power to keep him from becoming a federal judge.
There is no valid justification for preventing a final vote on his nomination, a principle that should be particularly true for senators – like the so-called "Gang of 14" – who have expressed opposition to filibusters of judicial nominees in the past.
Today, Goodwin Liu finally awaits consideration by the full United States Senate, and the vote to proceed with his nomination is scheduled for tomorrow morning.
One of the most brilliant legal minds of his generation, Liu is renowned as a legal scholar, award-winning teacher, dedicated public servant, and savvy lawyer. Liu's views are well within the legal mainstream, and, as a consequence, he has widespread support from prominent individuals across the ideological spectrum. Liu's nomination also has historic significance: if confirmed, he would become only the second active Asian American appellate judge in the country, and the only active Asian American judge on the Ninth Circuit.
The caricatures of Liu's record offered by some Republicans are unfair and distorted, and are rooted not in the belief that he is unqualified or overtly ideological, but in the fear that because of his intellect, personal warmth, relative youth, and persuasive scholarship he may at some point in his career be on a trajectory for advancement.
If you want to know why Liu is so well-regarded within the legal community, watch some of the testimony he provided during his two confirmation hearings.
The problem Republicans have with Goodwin Liu isn’t that he’s not good enough to be a judge; it’s that he’s too good. The circuit courts require judges who are the best of the best, and thoughtful, fair-minded people seeking a strong, open-minded, and constitutionally faithful judiciary should be eager to have Goodwin Liu on the federal bench.
I'm asking people from every state to email or call their senators and tell them that Goodwin Liu deserves a final vote, and the people of the Ninth Circuit deserve a highly-qualified judge. Four hundred days of obstruction is enough.