(AUSTIN) In a 56 - 34 vote, Republican leadership filibustered the nomination of Judge Robert Bacharach to a federal appellate court with jurisdiction over six states -- despite strong bipartisan support, including from his two conservative Republican home state Senators.
Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee John Cornyn and retiring Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison have decided to put partisan politics over the needs of the American people.
"It's sad to see election year politics trump the appointment of qualified, bi-partisan nominees," said Progress Texas Executive Director Matt Glazer. "All Americans should be able to get their day in court and have the confidence that their judge will apply all our laws fairly. Right now, conservatives are keeping so many judges off the bench that they’ve left half the country without enough judges to keep our court system running properly."
During the Bush administration, John Cornyn spoke unequivocally on this issue and today he and Senator Hutchison made history in their opposition to a consensus, qualified candidate.
"Either we send our Senators to fight for us and appoint judges who will be fair to all hardworking Americans or keep dealing with the damage of court decisions that favor corporate interests over everyone else. Today our Texas Senators decided to keep our courts in a state of crisis and delay justice for millions of Americans. We are ashamed." said Glazer.
For more information on this issue visit: http://progresstexas.org/tags/tfj
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